Today was a break from the ordinary. Rockhound and I took off from Ethan Pond at 7am and met Paul and Peggy on Rte. 302 at 8:45. Paul & Peggy Fleming are long-time family friends of mine, much like the Kendricks. The weather was the same as it has been for days—alternating between rain, mist, clouds & blue sky.

We started the hike in the rain, then mist, then clouds, and finally summited Webster Cliffs in sun and showers. There was a beautiful rainbow beneath us and over the AMC’s Willey House that one of the cooler things I have seen on the hike.

The trail up Webster was real tough, but Paul was moving well. Once we got by the cliffs, we climbed & slid up & down some more walls, jumped over mud puddles for a few miles then ended up at Mizpah Spring Hut at 2pm. Rather than keep hiking and struggle to find tent space with the crowd of thru-hikers ahead of us, we arranged for a work-for-stay night at the hut. We did dishes and swept for about 1.5 hours (and I got to sharpen knives!) in exchange for eating dinner and breakfast with the crew and sleeping on the tables tonight.

It was only a 9 mile day but we’ll be fresh going over Mt. Washington tomorrow and we got some real food out of the deal. That works for me!