After Stephan proposed, everyone congratulated us and we received some special attention from the croo. They made up separate sleeping quarters for us above the kitchen where it would be warm (well, warmer than the drafty dining hall) and comfortable. The following morning we were allowed to sleep in and then eat breakfast with the guests. Nice! It was frigid cold though and the water pipes froze during the night.
After the guests ate, the croo made breakfast for the rest of the hikers, and in my opinion, the hiker breakfast was better - giant pancakes with chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, dried apples, whatever you wanted on them. Then the work began. I mentioned in the last email that the night we arrived was the last night Madison Hut was open. We bonded with this croo and agreed to help them with the closing chores all day in exchange for food, bunks and a party that evening. I think 8 hikers stayed and 3 were given the task to hike 4 miles to a croo members car then go to town for the liquor run and hike it all back up the mountain. Just to put things in perspective, the weather on Mt. Washington was 30 degrees or 6 degrees with wind chill and 30-40 mph winds. It took them most of the day. We did everything from wash dishes to bleaching mattresses to bagging up pillows to inventorying food and items for sale. It was cold in the hut all day and only brisk taskwork helped me stay warm. A thermometer read 45 degrees in the hut at one point in the afternoon. Very busy day and maybe a little more work than we bargained for. But finally the big payoff - a dinner feast and then some adult beverages. Perhaps it was the altitude or maybe the smorgasbord of beverages on the table, but most everyone was tipsy to drunk. We had a dance party in the kitchen complete with flashing lights (thanks to "flash" mode on headlamps) until the boombox batteries gave out. Then it was bedtime.
The following day was sunny but cold and the wind gusted pretty hard. It made our walk along the ridgeline a little precarious; I often stutter-stepped during high gusts. Inch and a half long ice crystals were still frozen to the north sides of cairns and shrubs and they grew in interesting swirling patterns.
Once we got out of treeline the winds no longer chilled us or knocked us around. Instead, the sun had its chance to fry us once again. All the layers of clothing that kept me warm on the way down were now too hot to wear; only one shirt and my shorts were necessary. The trail continued in a steep descent that bothered everyone's knees and caused each in our group to slip and fall - some repeatedly. The walk was beautiful but longer than we thought.
We finally arrived at Pinkham Notch and found a ride into Gorham. We all felt ill-affects from last nights party and wanted some TLC that only a hotel stay can provide... pay-per-view movies!
Steph
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