I have to say that re-doing this 48 list and waiting for Anne to catch up with me (at 47) has been a blast! Re-visiting these many mountains in different seasons is less of something you "have" to do and more of seeing an old friend again.
I'd done this in winter in pretty miserable conditions but had survived and been stronger for it. Today we parked at Pinkham Notch lodge and would be heading Lost Pond to Wildcat Ridge. Right off the bat I was glad we'd added this extra mile to our day as it gave my legs a chance to warm up. The pleasant Lost Pond was also our companion for quite awhile as we wound along it's banks.
At the intersection with Wildcat Ridge we began to start climbing. The book had said it was steep and rough. Back in the winter of 87 we'd done the ridge from Carter Notch, over and back....so this was new territory for me. Several sections were very steep and quickly we gained elevation with some good views down into the notch. I thought about how much fun this would be in winter with the crampons. Evidence of their scratching was evident on the rocks.
Anne was leading and setting a good pace, we had several great viewpoints along the way up the steep side of Wildcat-A. Every so often we'd pause to breathe and just exclaim that this was a wonderful route.
There was one tricky section where it looked like some steps had once been pinned into the rock. We scrambled over it easily, the rocks were nice and dry. I thought that coming down this though would not be as much fun.
We reached the ridgeline and passed through a wonderful little forest which with the hot temps and slight breeze gave off a fragrance that only those who love the woods know of. Again we both sighed and said what a nice trail this was
We still had a little climbing ahead but it really wasn't anything bad. At one point we saw our first peak of the day, the unofficial E peak. We were up and over it without really knowing it, on to "D!"
At the sag between E and D there was a picnic table which offered a nice place to sit in the sun and have some lunch. From here we could see the lodge below which looked so close. The trail to D re-entered the woods and climbed moderately to the official D peak which had a big wooden deck and spectacular views of the Presidentials. It was a little hazy but old George looked almost close enough to touch.
Off we were again, down-down-down into another col and up and over C then B through a dense forest of fir and spruce....no views here! It was hot even here in the shaded forest and a few bugs were following us. We sweated, drank water, ate some gorp and just trudged along to the marked "OFFICIAL" A peak.
We took a right where the trail seemed to be going downhill and there was a beautiful ledge with views right down into Carter Notch, the lakes and Huts. Another great view here of Carter Dome. We rested and ate and decided pretty much by then to go back across the ridge and go down the ski trails. Several VFTT'ers had recommended this including Kevin Rooney and others.
Another couple were thinking of heading down into the notch and then walking the road back to where they were parked (in Pinkham notch!) Me, I'd rather walk in the woods more than walk along busy RT-16. They agreed and we had their company for part of the walk back across the ridge. We also had the company of Deaf Balance who was an AT through hiker heading south to Georgia. He'd gotten his name because he was deaf in one ear and had great balance....ah trail names.
He stayed with us all the way to Wildcat D where he got his first close-up look at Mt Washington. Back on the deck we shared the last of our snacks and some ice cold water I'd stashed in my pack. We wished him success, he was determined and I knew he would finish the Appalachian Trail.
Now was our turn to descend, he stayed on the AT and we took the ski trail down right from the picnic table. BAD NEWS!!!! GO BACK!!! BEWARE!!! There should've been those signs but nope. Instead of the Polecat (which is nearer the D summit deck) we went down "Catapult" instead...........a double black diamond ski trail!!!
We realized this pretty quickly but oh well, what are you going to do, turn around and go back and admit the mistake........I am a guy so we went down. And down-down-down through the wettest, boggiest, buggiest steepest....let see what other adjectives can I use....spikiest (is that a word)...ugliest trail you can imagine.
Hiking here is not a word I would use, we fell, we jumped, we slipped, we fell again, we got tormented by black flies....alright, enough complaining. We finally did reach a trail junction and gladly took it the rest of the way. The reward for our "hike" was hundreds of fully ripe and sweet wild strawberries. While we ate the black flies did too.
Our road walk back to Pinkham was short and by then fairly cool, we had a great day in the woods.