Day 3 started with me waking up in my bunk in Lake of the Clouds (I crawled back in from the floor at dawn) with a strange dude curled up next to me. Lake of the Clouds is the biggest hut, and there were a ton of people there. I think it sleeps 96, and then there were also about 20-30 thru hikers sleeping on the floor in the main room. It was an interesting culture, actually, because paid guests got first dibs on the food, and then I think the thru hikers could help with dishes for left overs. So, they were all sitting around waiting for us to eat, kind of like the poor step-children. Except, they were way cooler than us - I mean, they are thru hiking!
Breakfast again was delicious - coffee, oatmeal, pancakes, eggs and bacon. I ate a lot, knowing it was going to be another big day. On the agenda for the day: Monroe (elevation 5372), Eisenhower (elevation 4760) and Pierce (elevation 4310). I have done Pierce before, but there isn't a trail around it, so I was going over it again. The other two were optional. But, Monroe was practically at the door of the hut, so it could be done right away. Eisenhower was a little further, but the croo guy described it as such a nice mountain - it used to be called Mt. Pleasant, that I didn't want to bypass it. I set out at about 8 am feeling amazingly refreshed.
Monroe was a pretty tough one. It was another pile of rocks. But, it was only .3 mile and 360 feet elevation gain. Everyone had started out at pretty much the same time from Lake of the Clouds, so there were a fair number of people up there. The wind had died down even more and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! You could see Mt Washington perfectly, and the valley. It was gorgeous. I admired for a few minutes, and felt happy that I had done the hardest mountain of the day and it only took me about a half hour! I took a short rest to admire the view, but I wanted to keep moving.
After Monroe it was more than 1.2 miles to the turn off for Eisenhower. The trail was a lot easier, though. The AT here is the Crawford Path, which is the oldest maintained trail in the US (I think). Anyhow, it's been around for a while, and it's a little less rocky than some of the NH hikes, which is to say that you can see dirt sometimes. There was a lot of downhill, since everything goes down from Washington. By the time I got to Eisenhower I was feeling pretty tired again and I promised myself a long rest on the top. Eisenhower seemed even bigger than Monroe, though it's not. The top was every bit as wonderful as promised by the croo guy. I spent a half hour up there, admiring the view, eating a power bar, and gummy bears and jelly beans. I was pretty psyched because it was only 1:30 ish, and I was about half way - once I got down the mountain I only had 2 miles to the next hut, Mizpah.
Once I got down Eisenhower, it was 1.2 miles again to the next mountain, Pierce. It started feeling like I was getting lower in terms of elevation at this point. There were a few scrub pines and the brush was a little thicker. I stopped at the sweetest mossy glen to refill my water. It was really nice there! Soon I started going up again, and I could tell that I was on Pierce. It was actually the easiest of the climbs, so I was glad that I didn't have the option to go around it - I probably would have, but for no reason. It wasn't that hard to get up, and there was a nice view of where I had come from. The top of the mountain didn't really have any view, so I just touched the marker and kept going. I was eager to get to the next hut and stop hiking - I could tell I had a blister on one of my toes.
The .9 mile down Pierce to Mizpah hut was pretty steep, compounded with being pretty wet. It was slow going for me. There were a few places that had ladders, it was so steep! My feet started hurting at this point, as they always do on the downhill. Mizpah is below tree line, and after two + days above it was nice to go down a little. There were a lot of really pretty mossy glens and pine trees, tons of mushrooms. It seemed to take forever to get to the hut - but then suddenly there was a clearing in the woods and there it was!
I think Mizpah was my favorite hut. Bunks were roomy and the weather was so nice, I could sit outside with my book. My Kalamazoo friends had arrived a couple hours before me (they went around Monroe and Eisenhower), and I chatted with them for a while. I also had a delicious slice of bread and soaked my feet in the stream from the spring. Dinner was pork tacos, bread, bean soup and a cake with cream cheese frosting.
Before dinner two of the Croo Kids came out and chatted with a bunch of us. They were showing us the pack boards that they use to carry all the perishable foods and supplies up to the hut - they have regular drops by helicopter apparently, but some stuff they bring in. They regularly carry 60-80 pounds up the trails, and some people have carried 100 pounds (a century). Everyone carries the same, gals and guys. The boards are wood and they last for like 20 years - the woman said that you get attached to your board during the season, since it's so hard to pack. The packs don't have waist straps in case they trip, they can eject. If you are on the croo you need to pack food up hills, cook for a group of about 60-100, check people in, stir compost, hopefully clean pillowcases, clean bathrooms, understand how the solar power works - it's a diverse skill set. It sounds like they hire based on personality type - they want outgoing, high energy people.
After dinner I read in bed for a little bit and then fell asleep around 9. The guy across from me snored like crazy, but still I slept really well!
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