Copy/Repost Hike

Mount Washington Sunrise Hike 2022

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.” Rene Daumal

Meeting at 12:30am at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, we began our journey via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Head lamps were needed as the moon was barely seen over the Carter Moriah Range. Maintaining a steady pace, we made excellent time as the we reached Hermit Lake in about an hour. There in silence we refilled water, snacked, star gazed and prepared for the headwall of the ravine.

Climbing the head wall was amazing as the sky began to lighten enough to make out the head wall, Wildcat Mountain, The Lion’s Head and The Boott Spur. The waterfall on the headwall was deafening, and the presence of the wind became noticeable. With our head lamps we could see many flowers that, had gone by in southern regions, were now just blooming. It almost felt like we were stepping back in time. Once the steepest portion of the hike was done, we crossed over the ravine falls and crested the rim following a very wet trail (steady flow of run off). The last portion of the accent was climbing the mountain’s cone up to the auto road. Walking up the long stairs to the observation building, Cog Railroad and Auto Road staging areas and the summit itself was like walking into a ghost town. No one was around. The summit was silent! No lines of tourists, not intercoms with announcements, or train whistles. Just the wind. The sky was clear and the stars were amazing.

At the summit we changed into drier gear. Camp stoves came out and began to boil water for tea, coffee, and food. The sky quickly lightened and right on time the sun rose. Bright red and illuminating the summit, the Alpine Garden, and the Great Gulf slowly appeared. Low areas near the rivers had fog but otherwise the surrounding summits were clear.

Shortly after sunrise we began our decent back to the world below. The hike down with natural lighting was much easier. We crossed to the Lion’s Head and then down to Hermit Lake. As we entered the tree line the human traffic began. Once we returned to the Tuckerman Trail, scores of hikers were making the trek up. All shocked that we had already been up and were returning.

 

This was a great adventure. We were able to see life on the trail from a different, an enlightening, perspective. A great challenge with amazing sites. The best part of all was the awesome group of travelers.

 

See you at the next trail junction

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