Mt. Washington

Wednesday, July 5

There's a working phone inside!

Off to New Hampshire. On the road early, and I spent most of the trip at the dinette, pushing to catch up this blog. Missed all the scenery (lovely, but – honestly – just lots more trees and streams), and when I finish this entry, the only day not written up is tomorrow. Yea!! 

We’re camped in the tiny town of Shelburne, not far from Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the northeast. Not terribly high at 6288’, but famous for all sorts of reasons. The most interesting to me is that the strongest wind ever recorded anywhere in the world – 231mph – was at this peak back in 1934. A record still not broken after 83 years. The road opened in 1861, the first auto drove to the summit in 1899 (Greg says the speed may have been about equal to my walking pace, but it made it to the top – 7.6 miles), and the fastest climb (by a race car on a closed course) is just over 6 minutes. We all know it’s impossible to capture the grandeur of expansive views in a photo, but here are a few attempts.

Innocent beginning...

First view...

First edge...

Cog Railway
(3 of these came up to the summit)

(Perfect weather,
which is rare.)

The hills are alive (but there was no music).

(Ski runs to the left.)

We skipped the line for a photo at the summit sign, so I'm
including this one - oldest hiking trail in the country!