Change of Plans

We watched the weather forecast for Canada and determined that it was far too miserable to proceed.
I even read a news article today about the police in Newfoundland arresting the weatherman because they are upset with all the nasty weather he has been forecasting.  They have not had any summer weather at all this season.  It was cold enough for us in Maine.  We decided not to go for a case of pneumonia and find a new area to explore.

I remembered as a preschool kid going to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  It was the first road trip I remember taking with my parents.  I have an old photo taken on that trip near the Thousand Islands of New York.  I look to be about four years old.  My sister would have still been in diapers.  The standout memory is of the Old Man of the Mountain, a huge chunk of rock that jutted out over the valley that looked like a man's head.  In my mind's eye I can still clearly see it.  I am happy to have that memory because the Old Man fell to his doom on May 3, 2003.

Thank you epodunk.com

We packed up on a very foggy cold morning in Lubec, ME and made a beeline to New Hampshire.
We found a very nice campground near Gorham, N.H..  They parked us on a site right between two million dollar motorhomes.  We feel like the Clampets in Beverly Hills.  There are sounds coming out of one of them I have never heard in a motorhome.  I know it has a washer, dryer and dishwasher but this sound doesn't sound like one of those.  It is probably the hot tub or the bidet.

The area is very beautiful.  The weather is mild and partly cloudy.  This is what we had in mind when we decided to escape the Florida heat for a short time.  We took a short ride around the area just to scope things out.  We stopped at the Wildcat Ski facility.  Only a few people were on the grounds but this place must be a mob scene in snow season.  We located a short hiking trail and decided to take a walk in the woods.  It was an easy trail that Darlie could handle.  She snapped photos of every nut, berry and moldy leaf she could find.

Photo of your typical in shape hiker

We came upon a covered bridge near Jackson.  This one was built in 1876.

On our way back to the campground we came upon a very bad traffic accident involving a motorhome and three cars.  Traffic was blocked for an hour and a half.  Everyone was out of their cars visiting and stretching their legs.  A few even dashed into the woods to relieve themselves.  We had a nice visit with a local man.  He told us some of the local lore and bemoaned the very hard winter they had just had.

Thursday morning, the 23rd, we headed out to drive the auto road up Mt. Washington.  It is a privately owned and maintained road to the top.  It is very narrow and winding with many blind curves.  Signs at the entrance warned those who fear heights should not attempt to drive the road.  I am petrified of heights but that wouldn't stop me from having a thrill of a lifetime.  The fee to drive this road was $28 plus $8 per passenger.  With the fee you received a CD describing the construction of the road, driving instructions and a bumper sticker to document a successful ascent and descent of the mountain.

View from the road

The first five miles of the road weren't too bad.  It was very narrow so passing a car coming down made us nervous.  You have to get real close to the edge to give them room to pass.  At about mile six, the road turned to dirt and got narrower.  We prayed we wouldn't meet anyone on this section.  We did.  We lived.  So did they.

We were thankful for pullouts along the way

At about the place where the dirt turned back to pavement again we drove into the clouds.  Visibility was only a few feet.  You couldn't see blind curves until you were in them.  Descending cars had their lights on but you only got a few seconds warning of their approach.  The wind really picked up at this point.  The sign at the bottom of the mountain said the wind was 60 plus mph at the summit and the temperature was 40 degrees.  Our truck was really rocking around in the wind.  Many people ride their motorcycles up the mountain.  You could see the wind pushing them around dangerously.

Reaching the clouds

Suddenly, a sign popped out of the gloom and fog.  It said parking with an arrow that pointed off into the mist.  The thought went through my mind, "If I turn here, is there some land to park on?"  You couldn't see it or how much of it there was.  I sat there for a moment wondering what to do but the thought of someone rear ending me forced me into action.  I made the turn and there was indeed a parking lot much to my relief.

Do you see the stairs?

It was so foggy, visibility at this point was only a few feet.  The icy wind was blasting us.  A woman popped out of the fog.  She was looking for the stairs that take you up to the observation building.  We fumbled around, walking car by car back to the road.  There we located a stairway.  Once at the top we could see absolutely nothing but fog.  We were afraid to venture too far not knowing what lie ahead.  Momentarily, the fog thinned.  We could make out the dark shape of a building.  Once inside we signed the register.  The ranger there told us the peak is like this sixty percent of the time.  We would have liked to have a clear day.  You can see for many miles from this highest peak west of the Rockies.

Mt. Washington has the worst weather on earth.  It even rivals Antarctica.  Winds in winter are often far above hurricane force while temperatures drop to 40 below.  An unusual type of ice forms up here called rime ice.  It is formed by the mist driven by high wind and subzero temperatures.

We were dreading the descent.  Starting out in the fog was a bit frightening.  Visibility was only a few feet for the first mile or so.  Then we broke out of the clouds.  Going down was much easier than going up.  Darlie was crying when we left the top but she was soon snapping photos again.

Wildcat Ske Slopes