Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Imp Shelter---June 24th

The wind was constant throughout the night and when I got up and looked at the wind gauge, the needle held fairly steady at 40 mph with gusts taking it upwards of 55.  Pretty much everyone was making preparations to head lower off the mountain including me.  I'll be taking the Appalachian Trail out of the hut to a nearby junction with the Camel Trail, then link in with the Davis, which will lead me to the Boottspur and down to Pinkham notch. 
Before leaving, we had a scrumptious breakfast of oatmeal, bacon, eggs and coffee cake.  While we were sitting at the tables, one of the croo read aloud the weather report he had received from Mt. Washington.  The wind was blowing at pretty much the speed the gauges had indicated making the outside temperature with windchill factor right at zero Celsius.  I also found out that the two missing southbound thru-hikers had been found safely holed up in the emergency shelter on Mt.Washington.  Thank goodness for that. 
The two Michigan families and I headed off in a group.  What a shock to the system when we were once more out in it being buffeted about in the gale, the rain smacking our faces.  The junction for a number of trails, including the Camel, was on a small rise not far from the hut.  From there it was a treacherous walk over slippery rocks to the Boottspur, very slow going, people helping each other and checking to make sure nobody wandered off or lagged behind.  Once we all made it to the end of the alpine zone, a large part of the force of the wind was blocked by the trees and the ensuing calm was considerably welcome.  It was here that I said goodbye and sped downhill at a much faster pace until I reached Pinkham Notch.
Crossing the road after a brief stop at the visitor's center, I walked along a nice path to Hidden Pond before it changed into a steep, rocky climb up to Wildcat Ridge.  On the exposed peaks of the Wildcat Mountains I was hit by the power of the storm yet again, but only for a short time at the very tops before diving back into the cover of the trees.  The whole day was pretty miserable on trail, water funneling down the rocks,  bottom half completely drenched,  hands so cold it was difficult to use zippers, snaps and buttons because small motor function was gone.
Due to the extremely slow progress battling the elements, I began to think I'd have to spend another night in an AMC Hut.  However, when I arrived at Carter Notch at half past three and saw the trail sign indicating it was a further 7.2 miles to Imp Shelter, I made the decision to go for it.  Redoubling my efforts, I surged forward since the last thing I wanted to be caught doing was hiking out here after the sun went down.  Thankfully, the terrain accommodated me on the ridgeline with a section of trail midst the protective trees that I could make good time on, or at least better time than I'd made that morning. 
Stumbling into the shelter area at 7 p.m., I met my first AMC caretaker, Matt, who said that I didn't have to pay the fee in honor of being the first thru-hiker that had stopped there this hiking season.  Mighty kind of him because as bad as I was feeling, I certainly couldn't have offered him any work for stay.  A group of noisy scouts that were occupying two of the large tent sites had come beneath the more solid walls of the shelter to prepare their evening meal.  As I crawled into the right corner of the shelter's lower confines, I could tell the leaders were worried about one of the young men in their charge who had become mildly hypothermic.  Tell me about it!  All I had strength enough to do was grab a little bite to eat and then shiver myself to sleep.

Lake of the Clouds Weather Dials
The Wind Gauge