——– On a Wonderful Day
On Monday July 3rd, 2006 we climbed Mount Washington in the New Hampshire’s White Mountains as an expression and celebration of Freedom (it was the day preceeding the 4th of July – Independence Day).
We started the hike at the base of the Mount Washington Cog Railway ($5 parking fee) and climbed the Amoonoosuc Trail which crisscrosses the ravine with the same name. Along the 2.1 mile way up to the Lake of the Clouds we get to enjoy the beautiful falls of this ravine, worth the trip on their own. The trail is excellently maintained, and the carefully relocated rocks make for great steps for a good portion of the way. It was a lot easier than we expected, yet not for beginners.
At the Hut we had a hearty lunch consisting of split pea soup ($2), bottomless lemonade ($1), all you can eat baked goods ($1), and decaffeinated coffee/tea ($1). A great deal at 5,000 feet for $5 – considering we didn’t had to carry it up. We enjoyed the hut for about two hours before continuing our ascent of Mt. Washington via the Crawford Path. The Lake of The Clouds itself is a pretty sight, although we didn’t shared the joy of the Scandinavian people who where bathing on it.
The Crawford Path gets you to Mount Washington in about an hour through a very good and defined trail that has been softened for more than a century of adventurers and adventurers-wanna-be like us.
The summit of Mount Washington has the usual pile of rocks with the sign – great for taking the picture. Try to ignore the road, the weather station, the antennae, and the visitor’s center with two gift shops, one museum and two eateries. You may use the post office to send yourself a note from there. We quickly entered it and exited it before climbing down through the same Crawford’s Path to the Hut and deciding that it was such a nice day that it would be a pity not to do another high peak.
From the Hut we climbed up the nearby Mount Monroe to add another New Hampshire Peak tour list, since the hike only added about half an hour (roundtrip) to our adventure. We descended via the same trail we climbed it, through the Hut, and down the same Amoonoosuc Trail trail that we used for our ascent.
By the time we descended it was already getting dark, and on our way back we noticed the locals setting themselves up with their pickups on the sides of the road to enjoy the Mount Washington Hotel firework celebration. We ate in a local eatery that almost rushed us out of it to go and see the fireworks before heading back to the hotel for a solid night of sleep.
Photos are in the usual place. (send e-mail if you need to get the link)