Sisters on the Mountain

Eliza and I were finally able to cross paths at her hut in the White Mountains of New Hampshire this mid-August.  I (and two friends from Seeds) met Eli (and two of her old friends from home) at the trailhead on a rare, clear day to hike up Mt. Washington. I immediately gained loads of respect for what Eliza has accomplished this summer. About a quarter of the way up during a water break I asked Eli how many times she has done this hike. I believe the answer was a breezy "50 or something". 

The hut is an amazing scene. Crew members in brightly colored duds cooking delicious food and dealing with the masses of hikers that trickled in from all directions for the rest of the afternoon. The place smelled amazing when we walked in and has a great lived-in quality. You can tell immediately that so much love and intention has gone into ever inch of it. 

We watched Eli give a green technology tour to interested hikers. The hut (along with the seven other huts in the Whites) has a zero carbon footprint and runs entirely off natural resources. The AMC is really setting an example to all of us about how important it is to value the environment in a low impact way. The huts lead by example, not only in their respect and conservation of the environment, but by providing an opportunity for visitors to take a new perspective home, cognizant of the importance of applying these examples to our every day lives. Eli delivered her talk with professional expertise and aplomb considering all of us were standing right in front of her, beaming, giving her double thumbs up and filming the bits about what happens to human waste. 

The hut was at capacity with almost a hundred people and after watching the five-course dinner go out like a well choreographed dance, we crawled up to the roof to watch the sunset. I will and fail to explain the quality of the light up there. The sun lit up the sky as it dipped under the horizon and we were surrounded by what can only be described as an ethereal pink light. The mountain ranges in front of us undulated like waves. I am not kidding, it was overwhelming. We lucked out, I later found out, as roof nights are rare. What an amazing opportunity to live in such a remote and wild place while still being surrounded by a constant flow of interesting and dynamic people, both visitors and co-workers. I can't think of a more important or appropriate thing for Eli to have been doing this summer and I am so excited that I got to experience it for one night.