A couple of weeks ago I hiked up Mount Washington, NH, by the Great Gulf trail. This is definitely the "scenic route" up the mountain. Beats the common routes by an immense margin, but yes, it takes more work. Try it, you'll like it!
I knew Mount Washington was going to be a challenge for me; not so much for its height as it is for its peculiar weather factors. I knew I would have to be prepared for whatever the mountain had to offer. Hiking Mount Washington was part of a larger vacation in the Mt. Washington Valley region, which included visits to Crawford and Franconia Notches, cruising Lake Winnipesaukee, riding the Conway Scenic Railroad, and visiting the Castle in the Clouds mansion in Moultonborough.
October 1 dawned warm and idyllic in its autumnal splendor. Although the weather in the lower elevations would be more summer-like than autumnal there was a crisp freshness to the air that summer weather lacks. I was staying in Jackson, south of Pinkham Notch and Mt. Washington. When I woke up I called the Mount Washington observatory to get the weather report. The weather would be perfect at the lower elevations. The summit would have occasional clouds and 40-60 M.P.H. winds for most of the day. After a quick breakfast, I suited up and was on the road by 8:00AM. Traffic was light as my silver Ford Escort SE climbed through the Valley towards Pinkham Notch. The radio was playing the Beatles Hey Jude, which provided an anthemic blood to brain rush that energized this highpointer's soul.
As the miles passed Hey Jude gave way to the Mississippi Delta moan of Bobby Gentry singing about Billie Joe MacAllister jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge. (I hadn't heard that song in decades!)
Pinkham Notch loomed large in my vision to the left and I pulled in. The parking lot was relatively full. I had to park a slight ways from the buildings. Since my last hike I had bought new hiking equipment from L.L. Bean. To augment my hiking boots, I bought wool socks and sock liners (both of which kept my feet warm during the entire journey). I also bought a dark blue hiking jacket with a special liner to retain body heat. (I would need it when I reached the higher elevations where the winds would pick up).
Despite the heat I was wearing a flannel shirt and I had a T-shirt in my backpack. Just in case things proved to be too warm for me in the lower elevations.
Pinkham Notch AMC is a first-rate facility that offers hikers plenty of what they need to keep them going. The place hummed with activity. Hikers filtered in and out of the buildings. After making a quick pit stop, I was on the trail by 8:45AM.
I was taking the Tuckerman Ravine trail. Tuckerman is a wide, obvious trail, without blazes in the portion I hiked. At first it meandered but after I rounded a bend and crossed over a brook, it got steep very quickly. Afterwards, for the next 3.5 hours it was a long slog to the top. The trail is rock strewn with channels cut into it (for drainage?) every 15-20 feet or so.
After a half-hour, I took off my flannel shirt and changed into a T-shirt since it was warm on the lower elevations. I would change back when I got higher up. I maintained a good, steady pace. Surprisingly I met only two hikers on the trail: two middle-aged gentlemen whom I encountered between the turn-offs for the Huntington Ravine and Lion Head trails. After I had passed them I never encountered anyone else until I neared the summit.
I kept going onward and upward. The Tuckerman Ravine trail is a channel cut through a forest filled with dense stands of pine trees. Sunlight, save in rare openings, seldom, if ever filtered through the trees down to me. Views were rare. Two or three times I crossed over brooks trickling down the mountainside. Most of the time I was working my tail off going up the mountain.
I took three rest breaks during my hike. My first came at 9:45AM. While resting I was treated to the silent grace of the White Mountain National Forest. I was sitting alone, listening to birds singing, hearing a gentle breeze rustle the pine trees. Where I was sitting, the roots of the pine trees were thickly carpeted with moss. All in all, silence reigned as the thick vegetation absorbed the sounds of life around me.
Resuming my journey, I reached the turn-off for the Lion Head Trail at 10:00AM. I felt pretty good. I thought I was making good time. Little did I know that the Lion Head would be a tough road for me and that I still had a long way to go.
The Lion Head trail is smaller, narrower, and trickier to navigate than Tuckerman. My progress was much slower on the Lion Head. I started up and then quickly began to traverse on an exposed ledge.
You encounter the alpine zone when you enter the Lion Head. The change is rather abrupt. One moment you're hiking in the woods and then, suddenly, you're beyond the trees and entering exposed ground with stunted trees and tundra grass.
It was in the alpine zone that I encountered the winds of Mount Washington. Fortunately for me it was not an obstacle though when I did take my second rest break I did change back into my flannel shirt and put on my hiking jacket. (Surprisingly I didn't need to wear my wool cap or gloves. I was warm enough to continue without them).
While I was resting up during my break, I was afforded some lovely views of the Mount Washington Valley. I could see Route 16 from my perch. I felt a little giddy that I had been able to get so high since I had started from the highway. I had been hiking for two hours but I still had a ways to go.
Throughout my hike, on occasions, when the wind was right, I could hear the whistle of the locomotives from the Cog Railroad as they were ascending or descending the mountain. The fact the whistles grew louder as I ascended gave me heart.
When I resumed my hike, I reached a level spot in the journey where I was walking atop the Tuckerman Ravine. In this section of the trail there are no blazes. The trail is marked with stone cairns, which is just as well. Since the mountain is socked in with clouds on a regular basis, hikers need something more visible to guide them on their journey. The cairns are more easily discernable.
Tuckerman Ravine was a jaw-dropper to my eyes. I couldn't imagine scaling the headwall of the ravine though some people do. Way off in the distance I could see solitary hikers making their way slowly upward from the ravine.
As I got higher, I began to get more tired. Lactic acid was building up in my legs and my pace was slowing down.
As the trail got steep again after the level part, I was wondering if I could make it all the way to the top. For a moment I had a notion of quitting but banished it from my mind. The late Vince Lombardi once said, "the harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." I had come too far and had made too much progress to throw my chance for the summit away. Besides the weather had remained good. Although the summit was obscured by cloud I did not see any rain or thunder. Although I wasn't sure if I could hike back down after reaching the summit, I knew had other options for getting back down the mountain-which I could pursue once I reached the summit.
My legs were aching in revolt but I gritted my teeth and pressed on. Between my second and third rest breaks, I ran into a momentary flutter on the trail. I had reached a rock cairn when I was faced with a rock formation that blocked my view of the next cairn.
I was unsure as to which direction I should go. First I went right but saw no footholds or handholds. I tried the center but was again stymied. I was concerned. Surely there had to be a way. I looked to my left but couldn't really see a logical path through the formation. I waited, catching my breath while trying to think it out. Finally, I went back to the cairn and began to traverse the rock formation, going to my left. I thought I had spied a small opening to the left. As I made my way, I was able to find footholds to keep going. At last, I did find an opening and, there, I saw the next cairn.
That may have been my worst moment during the hike.
I took my last rest break at 11:45AM. I was walking stubbornly, mechanically. Again the train whistles were acting like a siren song, beckoning me upward. I was now enveloped in cloud with no views of the Valley below. I moved from cairn to cairn, all the while wondering which one would be the last one and when would I reach the auto road.
For thirty minutes I crept closer and closer. At times I could hear car engines and a weird hissing noise (which I later found out was the locomotives blowing off their steam). The sounds perked my blood up and I kept moving.
Suddenly, I saw a woman's head and called out. She kept moving. I moved forward and my feet touched pavement. There it was: modern civilization! Paved roads, people, cars! I had reached the summit region.
I asked the lady I called out to where the summit was, she motioned to a stairway barely visible in the fog.
I let out a whoop and began to climb the stairs. I was in the lower parking lot. The stairs led me to the Stage house and, from there, the Sherman Adams summit building and the true summit proper.
I went inside the Sherman Adams building to take stock. The winds on the summit were blowing colder and harder than it was on the slopes going up the mountain. Frankly, the summit was inhospitable. Almost everyone was seeking refuge in the building. The Sherman Adams building bustles with activity. One can find food, pay phones, souvenirs, post cards, a post office, and food.
I went to a pay phone and, on a lark, tried to call my mother. She wasn't home so I left a humorous message on her voicemail.
I asked one of the attendants where I could find the true summit. He directed me out of the building. I put on my wool hat and gloves and, braving the winds, trudged out and to my right. Beside the Sherman Adams buildings lies the true summit. There is a small wooden cross with a sign stating that it is the summit and Mt. Washington's altitude on it.
Although the distance is less than ten yards, it was rough going. Violent gusts of wind knocked me off balance. Two couples were already on the rise trying to get their pictures taken of themselves. The winds were knocking me iggy sideways. The fog was impenetrable.
When it was my turn to mount the true summit, I was so distracted by the weird conditions that I forgot to say my trinity of prayers of thanksgiving. It wasn't because I didn't feel thankful. (I was and remain very much so). It was the oddness of the situation. I did get someone to take my picture of me holding the U.S. and New Hampshire State flags. I also snapped a picture of the survey marker, which is right beside the summit sign.
The wind was so loud I couldn't hear what people were saying. It was nonsense to remain outside in this so I returned again to the Sherman Adams building.
I spent several hours inside the building recuperating and composing my notes for this report.
I encountered many interesting, friendly people inside. There were Keith and Graham from Nottingham, England. They had hiked in from the Ammonoosuc trail on the western side of Mt. Washington. I had a lovely chat with them about hiking in Great Britain. Next came Bruce and Evan from Middleboro, Massachusetts who had ascended via the Tuckerman headwall and were curious about descending via the Lion Head trail. I told them all I could about my experiences on the trail.
There was also a nice woman from Ontario, California who chatted with me shortly before I left the summit.
The weather was starting to clear. Again I went outside to take more snapshots and shoot some video footage of the summit area. I saw the cog railroad operating. I walked the observation deck. Periodically clouds would roll in and obscure any views, but there were moments of clarity where one could see the other mountains in the Presidential Range and Route 16 below. The winds never stopped gusting though.
All during my stay atop the summit, I was figuring how to get back down. Hiking down the way I came was strictly out. My legs felt like spaghetti. I wasn't about to risk having a fall in the fog. I had two choices: either I could catch a shuttle bus ride back to Pinkham Notch offered by the Mt. Washington mountain staff or else I could hitch a ride with someone who was going past Pinkham Notch. I was optimistic about my chances and felt no compunction about doing this.
It was 3:00PM when I asked an attendant about catching a shuttle bus. For the record the Mt. Washington staff do offer shuttle bus rides for hikers back to Pinkham Notch AMC. The service is based on weather conditions and there is a fee of $22.00. (The best $22.00 I ever spent!)
I was told that there was a shuttle bus heading down at 4:00PM and I could purchase my ticket at the Stage building, which I promptly did.
I waited another hour before heading over to the Stage building. My chauffeur was a cute blond young woman named Jeni. She took a British couple and me back down the mountain. It was 3:54PM when we left.
The drive down is a vivid, sometimes edgy experience. The roadway is rather narrow in places with no shoulders to speak of. When one encounters a car coming up, the road tends to get very narrow and makes for some interesting emotions. Jeni was an experienced driver and kept us moving. As we descended Jeni gave us a running commentary about the flora and fauna of Mount Washington and its other activities.
I was struck by the exposed terrain of Mt. Washington's upper regions. One has to get down to the lower elevations before any semblance of cover begins to appear. The further down we went the more robust were the trees and vegetation.
After Jeni dropped off the British couple at their car, she drove me back to Pinkham Notch. Back on the road it was fine summer weather. You would never suspect that the opposite was true on Mt. Washington's summit. I laughed at the contrasts. It was 4:19PM when Jeni pulled into Pinkham Notch AMC and dropped me off at my car. I thanked her profusely.
After packing my car, I drove off leaving Mt. Washington behind. And so I have bagged my 16th highpoint.
Having neglected to say my trinity of prayers when I reached the summit, I would like to give thanks to God in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen. I want to thank all of the nice people I encountered on the summit that day. I want to thank Hertz for my silver Ford Escort SE, which took me everywhere I needed to go and got me safely back again.
Most of all I want to thank Jeni for driving me safely down the mountain and thus saved me from an onerous hike down the mountain. I want to thank Mt. Washington Weather Observatory for their weather reports that helped me decide when to climb the mountain.
My next highpointing adventure won't be until September 2003 when I go visit Arizona. It is there where I will make my first attempt at a high point above 10,000 feet. It will be my first shot at the big casino. God willing, I hope to make it.
I would call this a slightly-assisted-semi-backpacking-winterish-climb trip report.
Our plan for 10/5-10/7 was to head up the Great Gulf Trail on Sunday, camp at a site at about 3300 ft., leave camp where it was on Monday, daypack up the north headwall of Washington, go north along the ridge line and visit as many peaks as possible before picking a trail back to camp, and then hike out on Tuesday. What actually happened was...
Due to a combination of illness and hours of catching up on conversation while going through gear, Melanie and i didn't actually get to the Great Gulf trailhead (1200-something ft.) until 2:30 p.m. The weather was partly partly and in the 50s. The Great Gulf trail was BEAUTIFUL. I love trails that follow alongside rivers, and this trail is always within earshot of the Peabody River as it gradually ascends the gulf, starting from a wide and easy path, over 2 suspension bridges and a few easy brook crossings, with clear trail junction signs with the Appalachian Trail and other trails. There was a point where the clouds and trees parted enough to afford a good view of Washington, and we saw a couple of trucks heading up the road near the top. Unfortunately we had to hurry the hike a little, worrying about finding camp before dark. After intersecting the A.T., the trail gets rockier, narrow, and much steeper as it ascends in earnest. The campsite at Clam Rock is a small and very sheltered one, and it was tempting to stop there, but we wanted to get closer to the mountain for Monday, so we pressed on, not realizing how much colder it had gotten until we noticed...it was SNOWING.
At about 5:30 we crossed paths with a couple that was in a hurry, and they assured us that the campsites we were aiming for were closeby. Near the Wamusutta/Six Husbands trail intersection, there were 2 campsites that i saw marked from the trail. We took the south/east one: a very large site (one could pitch 6 or 7 tents there) with a brook running by it. It snowed lightly off and on as we set camp, did water, hung a food line, etc. Cooking and eating ended up being in the dark. Sunset was officially at 6:25, but with Mt. Jefferson to the west and clouds above, it was pitch black by 7.
Overnight temps were low enough for a little snow to settle on the tent, but not so cold that the water bottle i left outside could freeze. So i guess it must have been right around 32 degrees.
The next morning we left our camp out, packed just about all the clothing we brought, and headed out at the late hour of 8-something. Weather was cloudy and very humid. As we ascended the trail, the river became narrower and more dramatic, and the crossings more frequent and confusing. At a couple of crossings, i could see below the water surface flat rocks placed at convenient stepping intervals, and to step a couple inches INTO the water in order to have a flat surface was way better than stepping on wet rocks above the surface. There were at least 2 crossings where it took some debating as to where the trail continued on the other side. I'm assuming this is an easier trail to hike in August, but in October the water was high from the past week's wet snow melting. All the same, we made it to Spaulding Lake before 10, and we assumed we were doing ok on time. However, we still couldn't see the mountain at all...fog was above us and the trees were beginning to leave us behind.
The next 5 hours were an adventure. Shortly after Spaulding Lake, the trail makes a turn. It doesn't turn right or left. It turns UP. It was a problematic climb, not so much for the cardiovascular difficulty, but for other reasons. The route starts by ascending a gully. The gully was running, and all the rocks were coated with ice. Leaving the gully didn't seem like a good option, since the brush was thick, snow was starting to accumulate, and at this point i still had a silly notion that we were supposed to follow a "trail." (The trail from this point on consisted of one paint blaze and 2 cairns...and i really think we followed it as closely as possible.) So we ended up again choosing to walk IN the water when possible, instead of slipping on icy rocks. It was slow-going. And as we went higher, the snow got deeper. Soon we could hear the water running underneath, but couldn't see it. The footing was awful. I was cursing myself for not bringing crampons. Our stepping choices were between crawling up icy boulders (did i mention Melanie is only 5-feet tall?), postholing thigh-deep into snow (tiring, but at least i had gaiters), or carefully picking around for mini-ice-bridges between rocks (Aron who?). We did some of all 3. And then there was the fog. By noon, visibility was 25 feet at best. I am sure from topo and compass we were going the right way (really the only option was UP), but it's frustrating picking your way up a headwall like that when you have no idea how far you've gone and how far you have left to go. I wish i had an altimeter. Weather was cold if we stopped to rest, but fine as long as we kept moving. If we had gotten stuck somehow, we had good supplies on our backs, but it still would have been a nightmare. The ice tendrils forming on our hats looked very climber-chic.
1:30 rolled around, and still we were on the headwall, without being able to see the top. I floated the idea that we might need to just turn back, but Melanie just about killed me when i mentioned it. And really at that point, for safety, it was better to just continue up, no matter how far, and get to the summit house. Without that summit house up there though, we would have turned back at 1, me getting murdered for it or not. Soon thereafter we heard the steam train whistle out of the fog, the incline leveled out mostly, but we were still in a navigational puzzle, not being able to see any signs of a trail what with the snow being a couple feet deep, and with visibility limited to 10-20 feet. At about 2 p.m., we passed what seemed to be an unnaturally level stretch running east/west, which i assume was the Gulfside Trail, then saw the emergency hut, then finally we came to the train tracks. Being sick of navigating, i opted for walking on the tracks from there. This was probably stupid, with the tracks at some points being 10 feet off the ground, and with snow and ice on the slats. I got a queasy feeling at one point when i realized if a train came out of the fog, we wouldn't have much warning before we'd have to just jump off the tracks onto the snow and boulders below.
But we made it. At 2:30, we were extremely happy to see the summit house. Mel headed straight inside, i had to tag the summit first. Temps on top were around 20 degrees. There were 2 other climbers there, and at one point about 10 tourists from the train.
I've heard complain about there being a snack bar at the top of the mountain. They must never have climbed the headwall in October. The hot cocoa was to die for.
I talked with the ranger and she wasn't pushing for one choice or another, but it just sounded to me like any of the descending trail options we had were asking for a disaster. We didn't want to be wandering down anything steep with ice in the dark, even with headlamps. The idea of spending a lost night on a mountain isn't what i'd call a good time. So instead we walked down the road. The road was closed to cars from about 3500 ft. up to the top, and was covered with snow and ice, but at least it was a gradual descent, and it was something we could follow blindfolded if need be. A nice couple from San Francisco gave us a lift down from about 3000 feet, the last 3 miles of the road, and from there to our car at the trailhead. We stayed in a hotel in Gorham, and our room was called "Mt. Adams." So i can now say i've traversed from Mt. Washington to Mt. Adams in one day in winter weather. The restaurant in Gorham we ate at was VERY good. It's called J's Corner, on the south side of Rt. 2, and it looks unassumingly like just the kind of ho-hum surf and turf place i usually hate. But the steak, squash ravioli, buffalo wings, and salads were all good, and they had a couple of worthwhile beers on tap.
Oh yeah, one other thing. There was this little issue of our camp. The camp we were supposed to be at that night. It was, well, still out there. So Tuesday became a long reconnaissance day. But a fun one.
We decided it would be a bore to walk all the way in AND out on the Great Gulf Trail again, so instead we walked 2 miles up the auto road and then crossed about 3 miles along the Madison Gulf Trail, which at this point is the Appalachian Trail. The weather had warmed up, it was sunny, and it's obvious that the A.T. gets major traffic. Each boulder or hill or brook crossing, there might as well be a sign saying "STEP HERE." The rocks are all smoothed flat from the thousands of people who use this trail. It was a nice change. It got me thinking about someday trying a longer stretch of the A.T. The A.T. intersects again with the G.G. trail, and from there we hoofed back up that hard stretch to our camp, which was still standing. I'd like to think some ghost hikers had a nice place to sleep that night. We had what was supposed to be Monday's dinner as Tuesday's lunch instead, and enjoyed the sunny view of Jefferson's Knee that was obscured by the clouds before, then packed up and headed out the G.G., and walked the last mile of our long day on Rt. 16 back to our car at the auto road parking lot.
It really was a great trip, no complaints. But it would have been easier with crampons. It would have been WAY easier one day later with the clearer weather. And it would have been way way WAY easier a month earlier before the snow and ice came. I look forward to going back sometime soon and hiking to the other Presidential summits which time and conditions kept us from getting to this time. Maybe on a nice, clear JULY day.
Jerimoth Hill was a rainy day. But it was a quick drive from Boston. Between the private land and the weather, i didn't have any desire left to seek out a trail, so i parked at the N/S Trail intersection with the highway, right at the state line. My topo program has this spot as being about 677 feet, and i have figured the prominence cannot be greater than 212 feet, so my 135-ft. elevation gain along the road was more than enough to get 50%. The guys manning the entrance said there were about 70 people that day to visit the HP. The walk and the boulder were forgettable. I slipped and almost fell off the boulder, which would have been an ironic way to hurt myself after this whole trip. It must be true what they say about the descent of a mountain being the most dangerous part...
The Summer 2004 A2Z has a note on Konvention 2005 which states that there are plans afoot to do a full traverse of the Presidential Range (about 21 miles and 7,500 feet in A2Z, closer to 8,500 feet by my calculations). Those interested might want to read the Presidential Traverse FAQ on my peakbagging site.
Kevin Baker and I had a most excellent time traversing the Presidential Range on 09/04/2005 at the 2005 Highpointers Konvention. 16 hours, 20 miles, 9500 vertical gain.
For photos and Kevin's very well-written Trip Report, click on the following link:
In To the Top, Reachin for America's 50 State Summits, Joe Glickman writes, "Like all self-respecting highpointers, [the photographer] and I had planned to hike to the summit", and then he goes into the reasons why he didn't. I had planned on hiking up myself, and here is my reason for not: everyone I was going with cancelled on me, and I didn't want to hike alone.
Here were the plans: me and a few friends were going to hike to the summit via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Meanwhile, my wife and son were going to drive around to the other side of the mountain and take the Mt. Washington Cog Railway up. We were to meet at the top, and then take one of several options down. But when each & every individual who had planned to come on the hike had cancelled, I had a choice - either hike alone, or don't go at all. Hiking alone would have been dumb, so I almost cancelled the trip when I remembered that Joey would hate to miss the cog railway. So I decided to go after all, allowing joey to do the cog railway, and my I would ride up with them.
Allowing for breakfast, it was just over a three-hour one way drive from our friend's place in Ludlow, VT to The Base of the Cog railway. We had been driving from about 8 to 11, and our reservation was for a 12pm train. In the Last few miles of drive, however, I noticed a large amount of smoke coming off the side of the mountain. It took me a few minutes to realize that this wasn't a brush fire that could potentially ruin our plans for a state highpoint and blow a 3-hour drive, but the smoke coming out of the coal-powered boiler. It was a preview of things to come.
The Mt. Washington Cog Railway is an interesting thing. Opened in 1868, it is the oldest cog railway in the world. Because conventional railway tracks don't provide enough friction to allow a train to ascend steep hills, a special toothed rack rail is added so that tains fitted with special cog wheels will climb it. The average pitch of the track at Mt. Washington is 25%, maximizing at about 37%. The steam locomotive must be modified to work in this environment - the boiler, which requires water to cover to boiler tubes and firebox sheets at all times, must be kept fairly level at all times. Failure to do so could melt the boiler wall. As a result, the boiler is tilted forward relative to the wheels so that they are more or less level on the steep railway. The disadvantage of this is that the entire line, including maintenance shops, must be laid on a gradient. As a result, almost every cog railway in the world is now electrified, with Mt. Washington being the most notable exception.
Because of its rich history and uniqueness, the Mt. Washington Cog Railway is something that many people want to do at some point in their lives. I was that way. Now that I've done it, I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it twice in their lives. The ride is loud, bumpy, and painfully slow. If the windows are open, particals of coal, some as large as pebbles, fall into your hair and clothes. If you're not careful where you put your hands, you can end up with coal-blackened fingers. And, at $57 a ticket for adults, you're going to want to bring some KY for when they bend you over at the ticket booth. You spend a mere 20 minutes at the top to negotiate the large crowds before you have to go down. Really, the only value the railway had is that my kid loves trains. Too bad that he was the only young child on the thing. My wife commented (with a straight face) that it was like riding a jackhammer for an hour. For my part, I felt like I was being teased - some of the most beautifulhikingtrails I've ever seen, especially near the greatgulf, were less than 100 feet away, and I was sitting in a loud bumpy train.
The railway is very steep. There is a feature called Jacob's Ladder, which has a 37.41% pitch. A pitch this steep would be a black or double-black diamond trail at a ski area. WHen you're skiing it, you realize just how steep it is. But in the train, it doesn't feel as steep as it really is, and because of the disorientation, it took about 10 attempts to get a picture that was level with the ground, even with a view of the horizon. The front of the coach was 15 feet above the back of the coach, but you wouldn't know it by sitting inside.
The summit was a frenzy. It was crowded and we only had 20 minutes. It was beautiful up there in the clouds, and I spent most of it waiting in line to get a picture at the summit sign. It didn't help that joey wouldn't cooperate on a solo shot. I had planned on hiking up the other side of the mountain from the cog railroad on the Tuckerman Ravine trail, so I walked over in that direction to get a picture or two. The Clouds obstucted my view on this side, though, so it was hard to even identify where the ravine was. By now, the train was signaling that we had to get back down, so I had to scurry off. I wasn't too happy. I took a picture of the Vans that give rides down to hikers for $12, and got back on the train.
The 3-mile ride down takes less time (40 minutes) than the ride up (well over an hour), and we spent a few minutes at the museum at the bottom. They have a couple of cool exhibits, including a replica boiler that the kids can play on. Of particular interest is the original locomotive out in the yard. Called Peppersass, because its vertical boiler resembles a pepper-sauce bottle, it was used to build the railway. After being lost for many years as it moved about the country and placed on display at exibitions, the ownders of the railway at the time decided to resotre it and make a commemorative trip for the railway's 60th anniversary. From wikipedia:
"During the ascent, the locomotive's front axle broke and the locomotive began descending the mountain at high speed. All but one of its crew jumped to safety (though some suffered broken bones) but one man did not escape and died. Although the locomotive broke into pieces, the boiler did not rupture, and the pieces were later reassembled to reconstruct the locomotive for static display."
We got in the car and drove back to Ludlow, had dinner, and were asleep by 10pm.
High point stop # 2 on our cruise took us to Portland Maine, where we got on a motorcoach for the very long ride to Mt. Washington. A lunch was given to us before boarding the cog, and slowly we crept to the top. Of course it was very wet and cold, but the train was fun. The building at the top was very warm and welcoming.
It was around 45 degrees at the top (early August) with a much lower wind chill. there were two very grizzled through hikers at the top with us taking photos.
It was probably the best $300 I ever spent! ($150 each for my son and I)
Thank you to Royal carib Cruise line for providing the tour.
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