Just a short ride down the road from where we camped was the trailhead for Mount Washington. We stopped at the Visitor Center and, after considering our options and the weather, decided to go for it! Only about five miles to the top on the route we'd be taking.
The entirety of the first two miles looked like this. It was a wide path littered with small to medium boulders. We hopped from rock to rock, all the while ascending a mildly steep grade. We passed by some people along the way, always feeling somewhat awkward as we slowly passed and overtook them. It was tiring, but I tried to keep a steady pace.
There were a few nice views along the way as we followed a stream with several small waterfalls as we crossed over bridges. There were quite a few people on the trail; old, new, children and pets.
We left the Tuckerman Trail and started up the Lion Head Trail, which was much narrower and more rugged. It became steeper as well, with rocks to climb and some muddy, slippery rock sections. This section was taken much slower, explaining a little more why the estimate to get the top was so long.
Once we emerged from the woods and came out to the open side of the mountain we encountered plenty of rock steps climbing even steeper toward the stop. We stopped for a banana break to get some energy to carry on.
The steep steps continued up for a long time to a place the seemed like the top when we were looking up but turned out to be far from it. We got a brief respite along a narrow path that led to the base of the final climb.
The last bit was slow-going and very steep. It was a huge rock scramble that reached up half a mile to the summit. We took our time, finding whatever path we could to make our way up. It took a long time and it seemed never ending as we stepped into the clouds, in which lay the mythical top of the mountain. As we entered the cloud it started to get very chilly. It felt nice after the long climb.
We finally reached the top, where there were hundreds of cars parked from the people who drive the road to the top. We went into the gift shop to warm up and look around at the silly novelties that people buy when they drive in.
We went to the highest point, where we actually had to wait in quite a long line full of people to take our photo here. There should be a photo op reserved just for the people who drive up so the hikers can get priority on the real deal. It was an odd experience.
We went into the lodge where they were serving hot soup! It was a wonderful surprise as we had gotten pretty cold after we stopped exerting ourselves. The clam chowder was great and it felt good to sit down for a while. We rested for a while and looked around the gift shop before filling up our water bottles and getting back out there for the hike down.
Alex got this lovely cape, err.. blanket to wear on the way down because of the chill. The climb down was quite a nuisance, stepping carefully from one rock to the next. It took a long time. Luckily after we passed the cloud line the weather warmed up a bit. The descent was quite hard on the knees and seemed to go on forever.
We did have a nice view along the way for most of the difficult parts. The endless trail finally led us down to the first path and that went much quicker as it was less steep and the worst was behind us. We hopped our way to the bottom, finally getting back to the car and heading for food! It was quite a good hike. I would want to take a different trail next time though!
We headed toward Vermont, finding a place to shower along the way at a shady little campground. As we neared Waterbury, we looked up places to hang out that evening and The Alchemist caught my attention. We found our way there in the rain and I was glad we stopped in.
The little bar was great. They had a great variety of beer that they brew on premises and the bartenders were really friendly. We sampled a few beers and drank a few more. The food menu looked great, but they stopped serving right before we got there. I tried a great IPA and the sour ale was really different and delicious. I want to live here.
The bartender who was closing offered to show us to a Park and Ride lot so we could sleep there if we stuck around with her as she closed. She hooked us up with a free beer and led us right to the lot after she locked up. Thanks! We parked and listened to the rain pound on the car as I tried to get comfortable in the driver's seat for the night.
Just a short ride down the road from where we camped was the trailhead for Mount Washington. We stopped at the Visitor Center and, after considering our options and the weather, decided to go for it! Only about five miles to the top on the route we'd be taking.
The entirety of the first two miles looked like this. It was a wide path littered with small to medium boulders. We hopped from rock to rock, all the while ascending a mildly steep grade. We passed by some people along the way, always feeling somewhat awkward as we slowly passed and overtook them. It was tiring, but I tried to keep a steady pace.
There were a few nice views along the way as we followed a stream with several small waterfalls as we crossed over bridges. There were quite a few people on the trail; old, new, children and pets.
We left the Tuckerman Trail and started up the Lion Head Trail, which was much narrower and more rugged. It became steeper as well, with rocks to climb and some muddy, slippery rock sections. This section was taken much slower, explaining a little more why the estimate to get the top was so long.
Once we emerged from the woods and came out to the open side of the mountain we encountered plenty of rock steps climbing even steeper toward the stop. We stopped for a banana break to get some energy to carry on.
The steep steps continued up for a long time to a place the seemed like the top when we were looking up but turned out to be far from it. We got a brief respite along a narrow path that led to the base of the final climb.
The last bit was slow-going and very steep. It was a huge rock scramble that reached up half a mile to the summit. We took our time, finding whatever path we could to make our way up. It took a long time and it seemed never ending as we stepped into the clouds, in which lay the mythical top of the mountain. As we entered the cloud it started to get very chilly. It felt nice after the long climb.
We finally reached the top, where there were hundreds of cars parked from the people who drive the road to the top. We went into the gift shop to warm up and look around at the silly novelties that people buy when they drive in.
We went to the highest point, where we actually had to wait in quite a long line full of people to take our photo here. There should be a photo op reserved just for the people who drive up so the hikers can get priority on the real deal. It was an odd experience.
We went into the lodge where they were serving hot soup! It was a wonderful surprise as we had gotten pretty cold after we stopped exerting ourselves. The clam chowder was great and it felt good to sit down for a while. We rested for a while and looked around the gift shop before filling up our water bottles and getting back out there for the hike down.
Alex got this lovely cape, err.. blanket to wear on the way down because of the chill. The climb down was quite a nuisance, stepping carefully from one rock to the next. It took a long time. Luckily after we passed the cloud line the weather warmed up a bit. The descent was quite hard on the knees and seemed to go on forever.
We did have a nice view along the way for most of the difficult parts. The endless trail finally led us down to the first path and that went much quicker as it was less steep and the worst was behind us. We hopped our way to the bottom, finally getting back to the car and heading for food! It was quite a good hike. I would want to take a different trail next time though!
We headed toward Vermont, finding a place to shower along the way at a shady little campground. As we neared Waterbury, we looked up places to hang out that evening and The Alchemist caught my attention. We found our way there in the rain and I was glad we stopped in.
The little bar was great. They had a great variety of beer that they brew on premises and the bartenders were really friendly. We sampled a few beers and drank a few more. The food menu looked great, but they stopped serving right before we got there. I tried a great IPA and the sour ale was really different and delicious. I want to live here.
The bartender who was closing offered to show us to a Park and Ride lot so we could sleep there if we stuck around with her as she closed. She hooked us up with a free beer and led us right to the lot after she locked up. Thanks! We parked and listened to the rain pound on the car as I tried to get comfortable in the driver's seat for the night.
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