Day 50- Pinkham Notch to Madison Spring hut. 7.8 miles

Bomber joined me in Gorham last night to hike with me through the Whites! We stayed at the White Mountains Hostel and i was so sad to say goodbye to the owners and their dog this morning! They were such beautiful people and would do anything to make hikers as comfortable as possible. I hugged Jeri, one of the owners, goodbye this morning and was taken to Pinkham Notch by Greg, her husband, to start back on the trail. I also had to say goodbye to Mosey for a little bit, which makes me very sad because I love him to death, but I hope to be able to find him a little further down on the trail. His mother sent bubbles to me in Gorham (so sweet!) and I'll be blowing bubbles on top of the Whites :)
Bomber and I hiked up Mt. Madison today, which has an elevation of 5,366 ft. I was blessed with the most perfect weather imaginable to summit this mountain- there was barely any wind, it wasn't too chilly, and the skies were completely clear. At the summit, I could see for at least a hundred miles in every direction. The ascent was a long one and took me quite a few hours to do, but the good conversation and gorgeous views took my mind off of the climb. Before I knew it, we were sitting at the top and I was completely awe-struck. Bomber told me that such perfect weather only happens about 25 days out of the year and I am so thankful that I got to experience this on one of those rare days! We descended a little over 500 ft to the Madison Spring Hut and we were lucky enough to get a work-for-stay. We helped to set the tables for dinner as part of the work for stay. In return, we were given a spot on the dining room floor to sleep and a scrumptious dinner. Work-for-stays have to wait for the guests to finish dinner and for the kitchen to be cleaned before we can eat out dinner, which around 8 p.m. when all is said and done. I must say, it was such a torture to smell the food and see people eating and have to wait. I had to go outside just so my mouth would stop salivating. Bomber and I had a bit of whiskey and enjoyed the view with the other work-for-stays-
I even got to watch the sun set :) The wait was completely worth it and I was so happy to get pork, mashed potatoes, peas, homemade bread, red bean chili, pumpkin pie, and hot chocolate into my belly. I am very happy to be inside and out of the cold for the night and can't wait to crawl into my sleeping bag.