Airlift and Airlifted

91/365

3/31/11

Flying out of Madison is a reminder of the size and scope of the mountains. Immediately after lifting off you see how small an area you've been isolated in and how huge an area the White Mountains are. Madison Col, our neighborhood of sorts, is nothing but a small pocket between to huge mountains. Skimming the tree tops on our way to Camp Dodge off Rt. 16 you can't help but feel the enormity of untracked terrain within the National Forest.

Lifting off, leaving the hut. 

Madison Hut from the helicopter

And then it was over.  Back in civilization, back to early Spring and back to the real world. A 3 hour hike up undone in a 5-minute flight.

We were lucky enough to fly out because the weather had finally cleared for our airlift Thursday morning. It was overcast but the ceiling was well above the peaks and the winds clam. Matt and I received the first net load at the hut—two generators, personal gear and a few pairs of skis. Jeremiah and Ryan, two members of the weekend crew who's shift begins on Friday, flew up next, with the helicopter landing just north of the hut where the Osgood and Valley Way trails intersect.

A net load flying away from the hut. 

The rest of the morning we received net after net. Food, personal gear and building materials. Finally, when two more people, Dave, a  jack-of-all-trades  for the AMC Constructions Crew, and a newly subcontracted plumber, were set to fly up, it was Matt and I's chance to fly out. We loaded our packs into a net to be flown down later, and waited for the helicopter to land.

The kitchen stocked enough food to feed both crews, just enough time for Matt and I to leave.