White Mountains- day 5

Last night I was able to do a "work for stay" at an AMC operated hut, located right below Mt Washington. Until about 7pm yesterday, I was feeling slightly disappointed with my white mt experience. That all changed at around 7 when I came to a stunning realization. More on that in a second.

The whites have kicked my butt so far. I came in here thinking I was going to blaze this place up. I thought, "I'm a thru hiker knocking out 20+ mile days, usually hiking 3mph - this should be cake." Well cake is NOT what it is and humbling is.

The terrain has been steep, rugged and challenging. On more than one occasion I have looked at the terrain that lay ahead and thought there was no way to get by. Slippery, sheer faced rock descents, hand over hand rock climbing, and wet, creek-like trails have slowed our pace significantly.

The weather has also not been on our side. Our day 1 climb of Mt Moosilauke yielded some views, however since then, it's been all in the clouds. And the rain. Oh the rain. Hiking above tree line in cold, windy rain chills you to the bone. We go to sleep wet and cold. We wake up the same way. Not since early on in Tennessee have I considered staying in my sleeping bag all day instead of getting out and hiking.

So it's been hard. But I also knew it would. And I've been trying (successfully) to stay positive. Hell, as we departed a shelter the other morning, with rain dropping on our heads, I thought it best to sing to my dear friend dr pepper, to raise both our spirits. He astutely informed me I wouldn't be on broadway anytime soon.

Later in the day, the rain lifted and we got a few nice views of the surrounding area. But around 7pm is when it hit me.

High up in the whites, in the shadow of Mt Washington, I saw the most amazing sunset these eyes have ever peered upon. It was simply sensational, breathtaking, and trying to capture it's essence in either words or through photography would be fruitless. It was a once in a lifetime event, just as every sunset is.

And as I gazed west, enamored and yet without thought, it hit me like a ton of bricks. As great as this sunset was, even if I wasn't able to experience it, I should have nothing but joy and positive thoughts about my experience in the whites so far. Yeah, the views are spectacular and I would love to see them, but that isn't why I'm hiking. It's the cold and the rain and the difficulty. It's the journey and the challenge and the birds singing in the trees. It's this whole wild experience, bundled up into what has been the greatest adventure of my life. I realized at that moment that sometimes, the reasons you think you are doing something aren't necessarily such. Sometimes, you don't hike to the top of a mountain for the view. Sometimes you hike to the top of a mountain to hike. And that is good.

Location:Lake of the Clouds Hut - Mt Washington