Today was a big day! I woke up not knowing if I’d be able to make it over Mount Washington or not due to a chance of thunderstorms. With the thunderstorm last night, I had a lot of spray back in my tent to deal with. The Zpacks tent is just the absolute worst in rain. It’s the way the doors are angled and the mesh in the corners that just don’t stop water from splashing up and in. I simply wrapped myself and my quilt in my rain clothes and pack cover and went to bed to deal with the wet in the morning. It put me in a real crappy mood when I woke up and I started me off in a real bad funk. I decided just to pack it all up and head out towards Lake of the Clouds Hut then stop there to reassess the weather and see if it would be safe enough to cross Mount Washington. It looked like any chance of heavy rain and lightning would be after noon and it was only around 10:30am when I was at the hut. The climb to the top of Mount Washington would be 1.4 miles so I decided to go for it. It all worked out. It was windy but warm and muggy and every 5 minutes I’d be blanketed in clouds not seeing much and then it would clear again. When I got to the top of Mount Washington, I got my pic with the summit sign and then headed to the visitors center where there’s a pack room I could leave my pack, start charging my battery bank and go to the food court to eat. I devoured a hot dog, slice of pizza and a chef salad then washed it down with a root beer. I also grabbed two coffee cakes for breakfast tomorrow. Then at the last minute, I went back for two more slices of pizza that I put in a ziplock baggie to pack out for dinner. (I should have grabbed 4 slices!) Today was just incredible! It did pour rain with some hail and thunder while I was in the visitor center but luckily it stopped soon after and we only had some drizzle on and off after I got to hiking again. The clouds blowing over constantly changed my views and it was magical. I really loved today. It will be something I remember forever. I don’t even mind all the rock hopping I had to do. At least it wasn’t the nasty hand over hand rock climbing of the last couple days. (I hear I have more days ahead of climbs like that though. I have a serious climb over Mount Madison tomorrow but will then head to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center where I’ll need to find a ride to The Barn Hostel where I have a bed waiting for me. Time to get cleaned up and do a 2 day resupply. The climb out of Pinkham Notch is listed as being the most difficult climb of the whole AT so I’m glad I’ll only be carrying food for 2 days. The goal is to get to Route 2 on Monday where I’ll go back into Gorham, NH again. Sparkle and I are going to share a hotel room again and due to the insane hiking we’ve done in the Whites and every muscle screaming in pain, we decided we will zero again. I need the rest. I want this hike over but we are starting to feel the pain and fatigue with these technical climbs. Rest and “all you can eat” Chinese buffet should help. LOL!