September 20, 2012 Mount Washington, NH

We went to the next valley east from where we are camped in the White Mountains and went up Mount Washington, the highest peak in New England.  6128 feet high. We took a van tour up instead of inflicting that steep drive on the Subaru. It is 7 miles and 4000 feet up. Took about 1/2 an hour up and we had a 1/2 an hour to check out the top, then a 1/2 down. It is very steep with a very long drop off the side of the road.  Our guide told us that it is not that unusual to find a car stopped in the middle of the road and the driver out having a panic attack, refusing to drive up or down and they have to send up a driver for them. He has had passengers make him turn around and go back down the road scares them so much, and passengers who ride up with their coat over their head. After Colorado it did not phase us.

The van with our tour guide Ron at the top.  These vans are special ordered to have lower gears so they don’t wear out the brakes. A set of brakes lasts three years. I did not ask how long the transmission lasts. In the winter they put track tires on the vans and still drive  up to tree line.

On the way up we stopped at Tuckerman’s Ravine. It is a famous ski place. I thought it was a ski area, but no, it is a cirque on the side of Mt Washington that you have to hike to. The picture on the left is it  just to the left of the high peak, Mt Washington. The Appalachian trail runs along the ridge of the White Mountains shown above. The trail starts in the upper left hand corner and follows the ridge all the way across to the right side and then comes down the ridge and ends up at the bottom of Tuckerman’s ravine. You can see Wild Cat ski area across the valley from Mt Washington. The right photo Tuckerman’s is to the left of the peak.

Here is an old poster of spring skiing in Tuckerman. Rather racy pants on the young man in the poster. The right photo says”Tuckerman Ravine, perched on the south east shoulder of Mt. Washington in the White Mountain National Forest is famous for its spectacular scenery, deep snow and challenging hiking and skiing terrain. This large, glacial cirque, with its bowl-like form, collects snow blowing off of the Presidential Range. Snow averages about 55 inches in the deepest spot, Providing a unique late spring skiing opportunity when many parts of the eastern United  states are without snow. The photo on the top right shows the top of Tuckerman from the summit . It is the second cirque over.

A photo from down below. The peak to the right is Washington with the ravine to the left of the dark line.  The trail sign from the bottom and the top. 4.1 miles. The Appalachian Mountain club has a lodge and base area At the bottom on Tuckerman Ravine. They also have 8 Spartan backcountry huts,  for hikers and six  offer food and another lodge near Crawford Notch. The huts accommodate  18-80 people and require reservations  well in advance. They maintain the Appalachian trail and a huge network of trails through the White Mountains. New Hampshire is 85 % wooded.  The White Mountains have 48 peaks above 4000 feet, 1, 167 miles of hiking trails and 800 campsites. The Audubon Society field guide to New England says the  White Mountains are jagged and glorious peaks whose year round splendor is legendary.

Fall colors on the way up. The road is  the squiggle in the middle of the second photo from above.  This was not the scary part. Part of the road is a 37 percent grade.

Wild Cat ski area from the summit. It is fairly good sized, but does not have much vertical drop.  Mt Washington has the worst weather in the world. It sits right at the point where 3 different weather patterns converge. The average wind speed is 35 miles per hour on top, but they have 100 days a year of greater than 75 mph winds, which are hurricane force. The highest wind recorded was 231 mph, and it might have been higher, the anometer broke at 231. The building where they measured it is chained down to the ground. It is also usually cloudy. We were very lucky to get a clear, 40 degree day, with very little wind.

John and Sue at the highest point. Since you have to climb about 20 feet to get to the sign the guide said we can technically say we climbed the highest peak.  The Tip Top house, pictured above, was built in 1853 as a hotel. It is now restored to what it was like then. Here is the building, the kitchen and the bunks. 4 rows of 3 bunks all in one room.

A panorama shot of part of the presidential range. Looks pretty much like the top of a high peak, could be Colorado. Tree line is 4,000 feet here, so it is in the alpine climate zone.

The Presidential range is part of the White Mountains, which are part of the Appalachian mountains.

The Crawford trail America's oldest hiking trail. Notice that Mt Katahdin is 332.4 miles away, that is the end of the Appalachian trail. And the Appalachian trail insignia between the signs. They used stage coaches like these to bring people up the road in the late 1800s. It took 4 hours to go up and 2 to come down. They rode the brake the whole way down and they had to replace the brake pads after every trip. The horses that brought the coach up spent the night at a stable on top since it was such a strenuous climb and another team from the top brought the stage back down. It was an expensive ride, so only the rich could take it. It was considered a special occasion so the men work top hats and tuxedos and the women wore their fancy dresses and brought parasols.

Gulf ravine from the road, it was never logged, so it is a virgin forest. Kind of looks the same as the rest of the area from above. The Penguins ski club. I wonder if they would let us park our Penguin bus in their parking lot for a few days.

The mountain at Crawford Notch. A notch is a pass in this part of the country.  The Mount Washington Hotel, completed in 1902. In its time is was the largest, most modern grand hotel in the White Mountains. It was served by up to 57 trains a day and  was known as the most luxurious summer resort in the United States.

The fire place in the main lobby and the bar.

The front porch. The Bretton Woods ski area, New Hampshire's largest is across the street from the Hotel. In this photo from the summit you can see the hotel in the foreground and the ski area across the street. This ski area does not have much vertical drop either.

Of course we could not pass up stopping at the Moat Mountain brewery on the way back. It is named after a nearby mountain. The Swine (wine) list, best head and Fear no Beer .