Well - MEB was not kidding! Between talks of filling our tummies with whoopie pies on the summit, and two babes promising to moon the cog, the plan was modified for 5 of us along the way to include a full traverse of the Davis Path, with Lions Head as the route down to our car at Pinkham. Two of the group of 7 stuck to the game plan of Boot Spur, beating us back by an hour. Total time for the @ 20.6 mile trip (including spur trails and breaks) was 11 hours 45 minutes. Total elevation gain was @ 7000 feet.
The views from Crawford peak were breath taking and the blueberries in full bloom. Stairs now has an official tent sight 50 feet from the rocky ledge which also has great views. Just as we left the summit MEB "twirled" he ankle which worried us, but she worked through the pain (one touch girl!) and in a few minutes we were on the way again.
Along the way to Davis we found two more official campsites right next to the trail. This was a very nice section of trail to hike. The views from Davis were once again as good as anything in the Whites. Here we had lunch while some of us worked on our tans :> We easily could have spent several hours here. After leaving Davis we ran into the first hikers of the day - 2 gentlemen doing our trip in reverse.
Next up was Isolation, which had about a dozen people on it. Here Brian, Andy, and Tom celebrated another 4000 footer - congrats!
With the promise of goodies on the summit of Washington we kept moving. About halfway to the Boot Spur cutoff we stopped for another snack, enjoying the views and brisk breeze. At the cutoff, 2 of the group descended to Pinkham via Boot Spur, while the reaming 5 made set a fast pace hoping to reach the summit in time for some hot food. Unfortunately we arrived to find the hot food all gone, and no whoppie pies :< But all was not lost yet - one of our group (and you know it was not a male) asked if they had any left, and was rewarded by a large container being brought out!
While at the summit, we realized that yes there always is somebody faster and better. Thinking we had bragging rights we soon realized that yesterday was the
Sea to Summit race. The race, which started in New Castle, NH consisted of a 12 mile ocean kayak followed by a 90 mile bike ride, finishing with a 8 1/2 mile run, the last 4.1 miles up the Tuckerman Ravine trail to the summit. Sherpa John - maybe you should try this next year!!!
After leaving the summit, some of the group decided that we had to complete the days trip in under 12 hours, so set a fast pace down Lions Head, which turned into a jog once we reached the Tuckerman Ravine trail . WE even managed to give some folks along the trail some entertainment as MEB's pole got stuck in a rock, and I ran right into it - OUCH!
We reached the AMC center right at 7 PM - after a few quick phone calls (good news from work!) and wash up we were off to gather cars and food. After hearing from Hiker Bob that he had completed his hike (Congrats!) 8 of us met at the Mooseland Grill, where we found 3 more members of VFTT.
We last saw Brian this morning as he headed up for day number 2 of his 40 mile weekend. Looking forward to hearing if today was a good as yesterday!!
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