If you missed Part One of our hut trip series, focused on Greenleaf Hut, here you go! 

It’s tough to find better than Greenleaf and the Franconia Ridge, but the trips undertaken by our Seniors to Lakes of the Clouds and Madison Spring Huts might just accomplish that impressive feat. These two huts stand abreast either side of the Presidential Ridge – Lakes of the Clouds on the southern end nestled just below Mount Washington, and Madison Spring to the north sitting in a col between Mounts Madison and Adams. The hikes up to each hut are two of the most demanding days in the Pemi trip program. The ascent to Madison, in particular, takes boys along some of the most physically challenging trails we go on, allowing Seniors to push themselves in a new way. As the group approaches treeline and the hut, they’ll pass a sign that warns, “the area ahead has the worst weather in America…even in the summer.” While our groups tend to luck out and enjoy the typically clear summer weather up there, the sign provides a great moment of contemplation and realization: this will truly be a trip unlike any other.

Undeterred, the Pemi boys arrive at Madison and Lakes to enjoy the same amenities as the Greenleaf groups. Greeted once again by the enthusiastic Croo, they begin to familiarize themselves with their surroundings. The AMC hut Croo members – typically college students or other similarly-aged folks – live at the huts and take care of the cooking and hut maintenance throughout the season, while also leading naturalist outings to help guests learn about their surroundings. The Croo hikes food, supplies, and trash in and out of the hut each week. Pemi groups have a long tradition of offering to help the Croo clean up after meals, and as such we have a wonderful relationship with, and reputation among, the AMC hut community.

Mornings at Lakes of the Clouds offers a true character building experience: polar bear in an alpine lake. With temperatures often dropping into the 40s, this is a different polar bear than a morning dip in Lower Baker. For the boys hearty enough to take the plunge, however, it serves as an unforgettable way to start an unforgettable day. Whether leaving from Lakes or Madison, the day has a similar rhythm – in fact, we often send groups out on the same day so that they meet in the middle! The boys set off from their hut that morning to hike the full Presidential Ridge and descend on the other side.

This ridge hike takes the boys across a landscape vastly different from anything they’re likely to have walked before. Following the Gulfside Trail, the group navigates not by traditional trail blazes, but instead almost exclusively by rock cairns. These distinctive rock piles mark the way due to the entire trail being above tree line and the fact that when fog and clouds roll in, they’re large enough to spot in low visibility. The whole time boys are treated to expansive sight lines extending off into the distance, and when hiking south from Madison, they have Mount Washington looming in front of them for much of the day. 

For a two-day hike, it’s hard to imagine packing much more in. These trips give Pemi’s Uppers and Seniors a fun, challenging, and immeasurably rewarding experience that they’ll remember for a lifetime. Aside from Tecumseh Day, in fact, the hut trips are the event most frequently mentioned in conversations with Pemi alumni. Generations of Pemi boys vividly remember these excursions, and we can’t wait for the next round to make their own memories on the peaks and ridges of New Hampshire in 2024!

– Pat Clare