Packed — Away I Go

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Espresso is looking bummed as I am all packed and ready to go. I think he has figured out that he isn't coming. This fall I had him fooled (he looked much happier).

I should be hitting the road around 5:30 a.m.

This will be my last daily post until Friday. I should be hiking up tomorrow to open the hut and then hiking down Thursday at the end of our shift. Weather permitting, we will have an airlift of supplies sometime during the week.

While I am gone the best place for updates will be my Twitter feed. You don't need an account, just go to www.twitter.com/meonmadison. For those who have never seen Twitter it can be a little confusing, but give it a shot, just look for the blurbs that are said by me (MeOnMadison). It's the easiest way for me to update as I can do it via text messages. They'll be short and sweet i.e. "Hiking up, clear weather." or "Airlifting today, woo hoo."

For the most accurate forecast you can check the Mount Washington Observatory website. The conditions and forecast are for the Summit of Washington, slightly more harsh but only a stone's throw away. It is the same forecast we get via radio at the hut. To get an idea of the temperature difference you can scroll down and look at the Auto Road vertical temperature profile for Mt. Washington.The hut is at 4800' on Mt. Madison, so our temps will be somewhere between the 5300' and 4300' readings.

To get visual idea of our conditions you can check the North view webcam from Mt. Washington. Often you'll only see clouds, but on a clear day you can see a deep dip in the in ridge, Madison Col. That is where I am at. The large peak on the right is Adams. Typically you can see Mt. Madison on the cam as well, but the camera has been spun to the left (west) slightly by wind and they have yet to turn it back.

Away I go again, same place, different journey. Onward.

Booked

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An essential piece of the packing process, stocking up on books to keep me occupied up at the hut. Last season it was Peter Matthiessen (The Snow Leopard and Killing Mister Watson) and Edward Abby (Desert Solitaire and the Monkey Wrench Gang). It was Abby who grabbed my interest as I read sitting at the kitchen after dinner, by the stove with my sheet up, or in my sleeping bag by headlamp. 

I shop for books by Author, I get hooked on a particular one, read a group of his books, stall and then move on.  First it was Rick Ridgeway, then Hunter S. Thompson, then Abby, whom my interest in has recently hit a wall. This spring at the hut its going to be Jack Kerouac (The Road, Big Sur and The Dharma Bums) and Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five). 

I am just as excited to get back and enjoy quiet reading time as I am to be in the mountains, go for after-dinner hikes and build a historic hut.

Packing Process Progress In Piles

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There is a "Here we go again," feeling that comes with repacking for Madison, but overall it feels much different this time. The nervous anticipation of the unknown has been replaced with excitement to see old friends. Instead of calling for necessary new-job details as I was 6-months ago, I am calling the office to track down Matt to see what he has in mind for hikes and to let him know I'll be crashing on his floor if I head to Pinkham Sunday night. 

Packing is similar to going on a hike as its a lot of the same stuff (backpack, sleeping bag, long johns) etc., but there are camping things I don't need (a stove, a water filter) and there are hut things I do need (a hammer, tape measure, cribbage board)

When I hike I make one big pile, sort through it, add a few things take away a few things and then jam it all, a precisely organized mess, into my pack. Done. Madison is different. I need to plan what I am packing up on my back, the essential clothing, bedding and other lightweight gear, what I need for the hike (crampons, snow shoes, gaiters) and what I am having flown up, the non-essential and heavy items, like  extra clothes, rain gear, insulated work clothing, tools, beer and skis. 

There is a margin for error since I'll be hiking up and down every week. Still, it's nice to use the helicopter while I have the chance and semi important to remember the essentials the first week. 

Today I began the process, but it was more throwing everything out of my storage bins, putting it in a big pile and calling it progress. 

Hey, its progress. 

Work is Done — Time to Pack

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As promised, Alex and I finished the back of the barn yesterday. All involved are pleased with the results, most importantly Pete who owns it, so that is good. Under budget and ahead of schedule. 

Now its time to really start packing for Madison. Little things. Making sure I have enough work gloves, and all the tools I am going to want. My skis. 

I spoke with Charles, the head of the AMC Construction Crew yesterday. Monday's weather is looking "Okay" for flying but Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday look "very promising." Tom hiked up last week to check things out and reports no major ice inside the hut but extreme snowdrifts outside. I can't wait to see. If we aren't flying on Monday, I'll probably hike up.

Phantom Ladder — Blog Update

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Which way is up?

Working in the snow apparently, Alex and I will finish residing the back of Pete's barn today. I'll have before-and-after pictures once (if) the sun comes back out. 

Tomorrow I'll start packing for Madison, again. I'll be down every weekend, so if I forget a thing or two, it isn't a big deal, but Id rather have it brought up on the helicopter than on my back hiking in snowshoes. I have two new batteries, a new bag and an 8GB memory card ordered for my camera, so I should be set  to continue taking pictures up on the mountain. 

So how am I going to do a daily photo blog while on top of a mountain? Magic. 

Actually, here's the plan: I am going to delay things a week. I can schedule posts, writing them on the weekend and setting them to pop up on here at set times. Next week I will not have any photos of the day. I will have some posts up, maybe some "Best of" bits linking to my favorite photos and writings from the first three months. Or perhaps a few of my favorite pictures that weren't photos of the day. The following week I will start posting the photos from the week prior. So a week from Monday will be my post from the Monday before, and so on throughout the week. Make sense? 

I'll also reorganize the blog a bit, putting more posts on the front page, so if you miss a a day you just need to scroll down. I'll also use Twitter (yes, Twitttttttter) more frequently because I can post updates quick and easy via text on my cell phone, i.e. "Clear weather today, airlifting... photos next week." Super interesting stuff like that. I'll give more instructions on that before I head up.

Hopefully I'll be bringing back some worthy photos and stories. This week has been pretty boring for me to blog. Living and working in the same place puts a limit on things. 

Antarctica interview today!