New Hampshire

En route to Montreal, we spent two nights in mid- New Hampshire, at a KOA near Woodstock.  It was almost deja vu all over again.  Soon after we set up, there was a knock at the door.  Young man asked me to go over to the office - there was a mix-up in site assignments.  We were in site 2; manager thought she assigned me to site 1 and had subsequently sent somebody else to 2.  However, she realized her mistake and re-assigned the second party.  The next night, though, might be a problem.  Site 2 had been reserved to someone who had requested that site and we had been assigned it for two nights.  But, she thought she could take care of the problem without moving us.  And, she did.  However, we spent the whole next day traveling this part of the state and were not available, just in case.

First, here's the Pemigewasset River as it flows past our campground.

We drove east from the nearby ski resort town of Lincoln, through the White Mountains.  Main destination was Mount Washington, home to what is proudly claimed as the worst weather in the world. Here are a couple of mountain scenes along the way.

There was a legend posted here about a young woman who had been swept down these falls and disappeared.  Her companions tried desperately to find her and couldn't.  They worked for hours to divert the river so they could better continue their search.  One of the searchers plunged into a pool, felt a hand, and pulled.  There was an answering squeeze on his hand.  Somehow the woman survived, perhaps because the frigid water preserved her cryogenically.  As this is written I can't find my notes on this story, but if I find them, I will update you.

 

 

Mount Washington is known for having the world's worst weather, strong wind in particular.  Back in the 80s for several summers I came to a conference in NH.  I did some exploring in the lake region south of here, but there wasn't time available to make a trip to Mount Washington.  It's been on my bucket list, so now was the opportunity.

 

There are three motorized choices to get to the top: drive yourself, ride up in a van with a guide, or cog railroad.  I opted for the guided trip.  This would give me more opportunity to see the sights and not have to worry about the narrow road with severe drop-offs and no guard rails.  Because Susie doesn't do well with heights and drop-offs, no matter who is driving, she elected to stay below.

 

Here is a picture on the way up. 

 

 

 

On this day clouds moved on and off the peak. 

 

The cog rail train arrives - an engine and one car.   

 

This building is the office and gift shop of the van line.  Note the chains that anchor the building to the mountain to keep it, the building, from blowing away.

 

Still the record high wind speed observed by man. The gage broke before the storm was over, so who knows if even a higher wind speed was observed? 

 

 

 

There were some hilarious videos playing in the visitor's center that showed people and things being blown around.  One guy was trying to pour a glass of milk, but the milk streamed off horizontally.

 

Our guide, Eric, told us that there is a waiting list of meteorologists for government job openings on top.  Also, a waiting list to be the Weather Channel’s reporter on Mt. Washington.  The weather station is staffed year round (provisioned by snow-cats in the winter)

Successful summiteers.

 

 

 

 

 

Had to take my own picture.

 

Mt. Washington is one of three presidential peaks in this range.  The other two being Jefferson and Madison (check?).  MW was named for George, however, before he was elected.

 The road project was started in 1853 and the road opened to carriage travel in 1861. The first automobile to the top was in 1899.

 

They have races to the top: running, biking, driving.  The road has an overall grade of 12.5% - one mile of elevation gain for eight miles of road.  The record for a car is just over six minutes– unbelievable.  I asked about accidents or fatalities.  None on the road (well, maybe some scrapes), but no incidents of a car going off the road and plunging down the mountainside.  There have been injuries and fatalities of hikers on the mountain.

 

On Eric's recommendation we stopped at a nearby waterfall.

 

 

Our White Mountains loop (they were named this because the mica schist rock on the mountain has a white sheen) continued north, then west, then south to dinner in North Woodstock, then camp (and no request to move).  A nice day in the mountains.

Susie and Rob