Lakes of the Clouds - Hiking Through New Hampshire's Fall Foliage

I had an option of pushing through further into the trail or backtracking down the mountain but there was also the possibility of sleeping in the hut. Now when I say “in the hut” I mean slightly adjacent to the hut and when I say “sleeping” I mean crawling into a cubby sized area in the hut’s basement and squeezing into a wooden bunk in a mouse filled cement room and setting up my sleeping bag.

Lakes of the Clouds

After a very successful hike through the beautiful Franconia Notch Loop, I was extremely eager to explore more of the unpredictable White Mountains in New Hampshire.

After a short one day hike in Franconia in mid-September, and countless hours deep diving into AllTrails trying to find the perfect trail, I made my way back into the White Mountain wilderness in New Hampshire.

FRESH FUN FACTS FROM FRANCONIA’S FALL FOLIAGE

After an unforeseen and ridiculous amount of highway traffic I finally made it to the Marshfield station where I would be leaving the car for the next two days. I had spent an extra three hours on the road and arrived very late according to my plan so I only stayed long enough to admire the foliage at the base of the mountains and fill up my water bottle before beginning my hike.

Okay, I am almost positive I was not in Franconia anymore but rather in the White Mountain National Forest but how could I pass up a catchy title like that?

As soon as I departed the Marshfield Station, the blue skies you can see above quickly disappeared and turned into grey rain clouds, soaking me and the trail ahead.

THE ASCENT

I planned on passing right by the Lakes of the Clouds Hut as well as Mount Monroe and Mount Washington on the first day but since I got stuck in traffic for most of the morning I had to revise my plan. I had a copy of the trail map downloaded on my phone so I could still see where I was and I decided to just go with the flow and see how far I got before the sun set.

The weather changed at least six more times, and after I walked through a few waterfalls, clouds, forests and boulder fields, I made it to the Lakes of the Clouds. After speaking with a few people on the trail, I found out that the hut was completely closed for the season as well.

THE HUT

I had plotted my own course using the trails and had planned to summit six mountains in 18 miles over the course of 2 days passing by Mount Washington and some of the Presidentials but since I lost about 75% of the first day I would have to re-plot my course. I knew once I reached the hut I would be able to sit down and rest enough to determine what my next course of action would be.

The treeline disappeared as I climbed my way up the mountain. I had officially reached the alpine zone and all that was left were short grasses and shrubs that were slowly dying as the season changed to autumn.

At this point I was completely bewildered by the weather. So far it had been sunny with clear skies, misty, pouring buckets of rain and another hiker coming down from the peaks had mentioned that it had been snowing about an hour prior to me arriving at the peak. I finally sat down to rest for a bit and watched intensely as the clouds rushed over the peaks and through the plants below.

There were also a few small furry friends running around the huts. The little chipmunks were probably looking for crumbs or dropped food from the passing hikers.

LATE AFTERNOON

As the clouds hurried passed me like they were running late for work, pockets would open up that led to the skies above allowing for brief moments of sunshine to embrace the mountain sides with a warm yellow light.

Down in the valleys at the base of the mountains, the fall foliage is in full bloom. The oranges and yellows of autumn stood out among the blue hues and dark greens of the mountain haze and pine trees.

THE SUNSET IN THE SKY

As I sat eating my dinner (an instant bag of vegan chili), the sun started inching towards the horizon casting long and defined shadows along the peaks and into the clouds themselves. Everything was quickly becoming painted with a warm glow of sunshine as the light was able to shine below the clouds. I started running around like a madman photographing everything that I could in this new and fresh light.

Golden hour only lasts so long and the combination of the quickly setting sun and the heavy clouds blowing over and out of the mountain range, the light was changing repeatedly and very quickly. The warm yellows and oranges turned to cool blues and purples as the sun fell below the horizon and shadows consumed the once bright valleys.

This is one of the few times I have had the opportunity to photograph during blue hour. I am usually filming or photographing during sunrise, midday or sunset and I was super excited to shoot a bit in the cool colored light of the twilight.

I still wasn’t sure about where I was going to be sleeping for the night. I had an option of pushing through further into the trail or backtracking down the mountain but there was also the possibility of sleeping in the hut. Now when I say “in the hut” I mean slightly adjacent to the hut and when I say “sleeping” I mean crawling into a cubby sized area in the hut’s basement and squeezing into a wooden bunk in a mouse filled cement room and setting up my sleeping bag.

This lovely 5-star hotel was suggested by a the people who informed me earlier in the day that the hut itself was closed for the season. What was this place called?

It was appropriately named “The Dungeon”.

THE DUNGEON AND THE SUNRISE

The Dungeon is an emergency shelter built into the basement and side of the Lakes of the Clouds Hut on Mount Monroe. Typically used by through-hikers on the Appalachian Trail as a quick bunk for a night or as an actual emergency shelter in the case of harsh weather.

iPhone shots from the morning after.

The previous night while I was running around photographing blue hour, there were plenty of hikers coming and going and I asked a few what they thought I should do about my sleeping situation. A group of three guys were coincidentally looking for the hut as well and I after I had mentioned the Dungeon they seemed keen to find it. I didn’t have any luck earlier as I had seen the door and tried to pull it open but clearly didn’t use enough effort and I left because I thought it was locked.

They yanked it open with ease and we eagerly took shelter from the cold wind inside and collectively set up our sleeping arrangements.

Everyone ate their dinners exchanging stories and hiking plans and we talked for a bit and after about an hour and a half decided to call it a night. Brandon and Kevin would be leaving at 4am to continue on their way while Justin would be sleeping in and having a later start to the morning. I decided to wake up around 4 as well and head up to Mount Washington to watch the sunrise.

Sleeping wasn’t as bad as it seemed since I use a sleeping pad underneath my sleeping bag but the hard wood would not be something I would enjoy staying on for more than a few hours. Eventually I fell asleep to the sounds of rustling sleeping bags, windbreakers and the lone mouse running around trying to find our food.

I woke up abruptly with the alarms on our phones and quickly stepped into my boots and stepped outside to stretch. Any bit of sleepiness immediately left my body with a shock as I realized how frigid it was outside. The stories of the snowfall the day before flooded my memory and I realized that I was grossly underprepared as far as clothing goes. I needed to wait until the sun started warming the mountains before I went anywhere. I gave some instant coffee to Kevin and Brandon before they disappeared into the night and with only my windbreaker, a sweater and a pair of thin running shorts, I bid adieu to my new friends and I promptly crawled back into my sleeping bag!

The plan to see the sunrise went right out the window and I actually ended up sleeping for another 5 hours and woke up at 9:30am. Clearly I needed the rest!

With the best night’s sleep that I could have on a wooden bunk, I re-woke up and started to gather my belongings and heat up some water for my morning coffee. As I reached into my backpack I pulled out an apple and a note that Kevin and Brandon had left before they left.

“10/04/20

Jack,

Thank you for the coffee & the company! It’s always nice to make friends of complete strangers in the wilderness. There is strength in numbers :). Please accept these supplies as aid on your excursion today!

Stay safe - Kevin

Good luck & Godspeed - Brandon MacPherson”

The note and apple were a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

I slowly made my way out of the Dungeon and decided to take my time. I realized how much time I actually spent on the first leg of this hike and determined that Mount Washington would be the final peak. Also I was cold… really, really cold.

I made my breakfast of champions… instant coffee, an apple, and more vegan chili… and spoke with Justin for a while about his cycling journey across the country, his future hiking plans, and an abundance of blueberry pancakes from a quaint spot in Maine.

While I ate breakfast I watched some small clouds fly by in the valley below and after I explored the area around the Lakes of the Clouds and started a quick summit trip to the peak of Mount Monroe.

THE LAKES OF THE CLOUDS AND MOUNT MONROE

This destination was a major factor in the trail choice for this particular hike. I had seen some beautiful photos of the lakes in the area and was keen to see and photograph them for myself.

The views did not disappoint on my way up towards the summit of Mount Monroe. The green bushes and rust colored grasses made both the trail and the sky stand out heavily against the mountain backdrop.

After climbing around the peak of Mount Monroe for a while I noticed some hikers below on the Appalachian Trail as well as the Cog Railway on Mount Washington across the valley below. Monroe was so close to the hut that I wanted to summit it but since it was the opposite direction from my destination, I called it and I made my way back down in the warm morning sunshine.

LAKES OF THE CLOUDS: PART II - TOWARDS MOUNT WASHINGTON

I really started to accept the fact that the weather here was unlike anywhere else that I have been before. I had seen every kind of weather you can imagine other than natural disasters at this point. As I started my journey from Monroe to Washington I was hit with even more.

It was SNOW… It was SNOWING. I was freezing and it was snowing.

Whatever potential plans that remained about the possibility of completing my original hiking route completely left my head. I was basking in the beauty of it all but I still had about an hour left to the summit and I was left shivering in my short shorts and windbreaker.

THE SUMMIT AND THE SNOWSTORM

I reached the summit of Washington in clear skies after snow and icy winds pushed me up the trail. My face was red, my lips were chapped and I must have looked pretty beat. My night in the Dungeon certainly wasn’t helping me and I was exhausted. As I walked up to the observatory to find a restroom and maybe buy a coffee, I found out that I needed reservations to get in or otherwise have to wait until a spot became available.

I reached the doors as a few of the railway trams let off their passengers and a group of people walked up behind me. I assume my exhaustion was showing because one of them, named Dwayne (I hope that’s how he spells it) looked at me and said:

“Did you climb up here?!”

“Yes.”

“Are you climbing back down?”

“Yes!”

“Ooohhhh boyyy… you know it’s snowing right?!”

I definitely knew it was snowing. I was shivering at the moment and I appreciated the concern. We chatted a bit about the hike, his past hikes and the possibility of using the Railway to make my way down the mountain.

Still chatting, we walked up to the observatory doors together and he was kind enough to get me in with his group and offered to watch my backpack and camera gear while I got a coffee and something to eat.

Dwayne and his group were leaving on their tram so we said our goodbyes and I thanked him for his advice about dealing with the snow and hike down the mountain. I spoke briefly with the ticket salesman for the railway and he informed me that there is a trail that follows the railway right down the ridge of Washington that only takes people around 2 hours to complete. I sat for a bit drinking my coffee and eating a snack drifting into a daydream as I relaxed before my hike down as Dwayne came rushing back in to hand me a pair of gloves.

Dwayne said that his brother in law, a member of the group he was with, had an extra pair and that I should take them for my hike down. I was taken aback for sure but extremely thankful for the extra warmth.

Everybody that I met on this trip was an absolute joy.

THE RUN DOWN THE RAILWAY

After leaving the summit I started making my way towards the Gulfside trail. I knew that the railway was nearby and could cross over into the trail next to the trains.

Seeing the trains up close was interesting. They all smelled like soot which wasn’t too wonderful but the sight of them was truly something to behold. They passed me by and I waved to the passengers with another pair if hikers next to me and I carried on my way towards the ridge line on the edge of Mount Washington. The view of the Presidentials from here was absolutely breathtaking and the light that was shining through the clouds was a sight to behold.

The trail on the railway held several of these wooden buildings. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what they are. Some looked like work buildings where workers would stay to direct the trains and others looked like they were lean-to’s for camping!

Since this trail was so steep I was making great time because I was practically running down the mountain. It seemed to be saving me from falling as well since I would sink into the loose ground just enough for me to get a grip before I took another step.

Some of the evenings last trains passed me by and as I was running by, one of the workers yelled out “Only a mile and half to go!”

I was becoming increasingly excited. The cold had faded away and the cloudy weather had turned into sunshine brushing the autumn leaves in a golden yellow light.

THE GOLDEN SUNSET

I made it down the slopes of Mount Washington just in time to watch the sun set over the White Mountains. The Autumn foliage, the golden light, and the pink and indigo clouds made for one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

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