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| Hiking | 9.92 Miles |
4,430 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.92 Miles | 4 Hrs 32 Mns | | 2.19 mph |
| 4,430 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Met up with my friend Jaux and I talked her into doing a trail neither one of us had ever done before up Washington. It was quite a chilly day, high expected only in the upper 60s in the Whites. Got down into the mid-40s last night (sorry Phoenicians, I know you're drooling right now!  ) The trail is only in treeline for a couple miles, and the rest of the way (5.7 mis to summit this way) gives you panoramic views of the valleys and mountains surrounding you. When we started out, it was sunny with some poofy clouds, but once we got to the exposed part of the hike, it seemed that a giant gray cloud just kept hovering around the ridgeline & top of Washington (which is typical of the summit). And BOY was it WINDY!!!!! (Insert a new smiley of someone shivering or teeth chattering from the cold!)  Wind gusts of up to 42 miles/hr.
You'd think as many times as I've done Humphrey's and know to bring my down jacket, gloves, hat, etc. up there that I'd have thought to bring all that to the summit of the world's worst weather! I had only my long sleeve shirt and my windbreaker. My gloves were safely in the trunk of the car in the parking lot and my down jacket napping in the closet at home. ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") Anyway, luckily I wasn't too bad, just my hands were getting very numb after a while.
Once we got on the ridgeline, it was all moon rock from there. We only saw a couple people on the Glen Boulder Trail on the way up, but once we hit the intersections of the busy AT area, and the touristy summit area, it was people galore, even for a weekday.
The wind was almost knocking us over at some points, but we managed to high tail it up there by trying to keep up with Tugger, who was about 50 ft in front of me at all times! I guess he thought if he hurried up, he'd get warmer faster......  Little did he know the wind only got worse! Temp 38 at the top with wind-chill factor of 25. Brrrrrrrr! Needless to say, we didn't stay on the summit long at all. With the wind and fog/clouds engulfing us, and the dogs aren't allowed in the observatory, and tourists crowding us, we were happy to start moving & head down to get out of the wind.
We took the Tuckerman's Ravine trail down, and boy, that's another of my favorites. A lot of the trail is a mini-waterfall, and one big stretch of the trail there are waterfalls surrounding you, and pretty wildflowers. It is really a site to see. I could spend all day on that trail just soaking up the views! The bowl (Tuck's ravine) below is just amazingly green & beautiful! I can't believe people ski & snowboard down that!!!  My friend said she just did it this past winter and what a rush it was - I can imagine!
Luckily the wind had died down once we were into the ravine, so it was really nice hiking weather again. All in all, it was a really great day despite the wind & chills. A beer or 2 and amazing food at the Moat Mountain Brewery with another hiker we met on trail was definitely a perfect ending to a great hike!  |
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