We found the peak! Yesterday we hiked Mt Washington as a part of Morgan’s Seek the Peak fundraiser. We also found Torrential rain, extremely limited visibility, and 50mph winds gusting above 60! Here’s a quick snapshot of the conditions on the summit:
We reached the summit in 3 1/2 hours and climbed just over 4,000 feet of elevation in only 4 miles. No summit views this time but we definitely had some type 2 fun! The hike up to Hermit Lake was relatively uneventful save for a chipmunk who befriended us and followed alongside the trail for a ways presumably hoping for some trail mix handouts. The climb up Tuckerman’s Ravine rewarded us with dramatic views of clouds spilling into the ravine from above. As soon as we crested the headwall visibility was so poor we could barely make out the shadow of the next cairn, hidden by the clouds which engulfed the entirety of the alpine garden and summit cone. Armed with our compass and making sure we stuck close together, we scrambled up the slick boulder field and found our way up the summit cone. Just below the peak the cloud let loose and dumped buckets of rain down on us. Our rain jackets and waterproof boots were no match for the huge rain droplets which stung our faces in the 65 mph wind gusts. We hit the summit as quickly as we could and were lucky enough to have a fellow hiker volunteer to snap a few quick shots of us with the sign! The next day we enjoyed the Seek the Peak expo located at the beginning of the auto road and made out with a bunch of spiffy swag! We met lots of great people working in the outdoor industry. Nerding out about gear and sharing tales of adventures with reps from Nemo, Petzl, Smartwool, Oboz and others felt like the good old times of our EMS days… Already looking forward to next year’s Seek the Peak!
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