The Madison Springs hut woke up to bad news the next morning: Thunderstorms and rain all day. The hut croo advised that no one walk along the ridge to Lake of the Clouds but instead to descent to valley level.
While a few people did opt to go on, I decided it wasn't worth it. I'd have to skip past the summits anyway. Instead, I descended via Valley Way, which is supposed to be the most sheltered trail.
My initial plan was to take the shuttle over to the Highland Center and then climb up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, which is the most sheltered way up to the Lake of the Clouds hut. However, I didn't relish doing another mega climb for the second day in a row. So when I got to the Highland Center, I inquired about changing my reservation to stay there instead - and they could do that.
The next day the weather cleared up - at least, it wasn't raining. However, it was very cloudy, which turned to fog at higher elevations. I followed the Crawford Path up to the top of Mt. Pierce, which was still wreathed in fog.
However, within a few moments of sitting down to eat a snack, I watched the clouds blow away.
From there I hiked down to the Mizpah Springs hut for another evening's rest.
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