Volunteer experiences

2009-09-15 16:13:41.000 – John Neilsen,  Summit Volunteer

This was my first week volunteering on the summit and cooking for the crew has been a great experience. The first half of the week the weather was sunny and clear with low winds. I went out on the observation deck late at night and the Milky Way looked like someone painted it across the sky. I was also able to get a few hikes in during the day, one in each direction (north and south) for a total of about four miles. One hike down to Lakes of the Clouds then over to the Boot spur and back by way of Tuckerman Ravine Trail. The weather that day started off windy and sunny. You could also see patches of clouds heading toward you, going by like silent trains, then it would clear completely. The wind is such a cool force of nature. Clouds dropped in and it started to rain a bit on the way up the summit cone on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. The second half of the day the weather got a little nasty, but that was one of the reasons for coming up here in the first place. I got to see some very unique clouds one day, with everyone running for the deck and snapping pictures. Brian wrote about it in his comments one day. Everyone was very nice it was an experience of a lifetime!

John Neilsen,  Summit Volunteer