Mount Washington 3.22.05

I don't usually spend much time south of I-90, but I was looking for something close and something I hadn't climbed. I had a bit of trouble finding my jump of point and wasted a bit of time that would have been most useful later. The Trail/Road was in good shape and I merely followed some fresh tracks from those who had gone before me. I have been feeling quite ill again lately, so I was downing coughdrops like they were going out of style. I was quite sure that I would have plenty of daylight even with a late 2:30 start. I was thankful to have someone in front of me showing the way. I left the road and climbed one of the sister peaks of Mt Washington. I had hoped that it was the actual summit, I mean how much further could it be? My thought with it only being 3400ft of climb it would only take around 2 hours. I didn't count on the very LONG traverse that barely climbs any elevation at all. I had already passed my turn around time, but I have been falling a bit short lately, I wasn't about to turn around now. I managed to make the summit just at 5:15. I knew even if I hustled I had a good hour of hiking in the dark. I managed to bumble and stumble my way in the dark, only rolling my ankle 3 times. It would have been helpful to check my battery level in my headlamp prior to leaving. I guess I could have just changed them with the fresh ones in my pack, what challenge would that be.... to actually see were you are going!