Thoughts of a Middle Aged Man

As Annette and I drove north heading out of the White Mountains on our way to Maine, we saw an exit for the road to Mount Washington.  It was a clear, sunny and mild day and we had plenty of time, so we decided to explore.  At the entrance gate, the guard told us that it is an 8 mile trip, it will take about 20 minutes to drive up, and stop before you go up and read all of these instructions.  Oh yeah, at the top its 30 degrees with 30 foot visibility and the wind is blowing 70mph.  Being adventurous, we paid our $26, read our instructions, inserted the informative CD (with many more warnings) and away we went.

The bottom of the road was a wonderful white birch forest, full of color.  As we moved along the road, it was steep, but with the car in low gear, as instructed, we continued. The higher we got the scenery changed.  Trees got smaller, the road steeper and narrower, and with no guard rails, sheer drop off on one side. Also the higher we got, the stronger the wind became.  About three quarters of the way up, the views were spectacular.  There were several turnouts and at one, we got out of the car to take some pictures.  With the cold wind at our backs, we were quickly moved to the edge, took some pictures and turned around to struggle back to the car.  Catching our breath, we got the car back in low gear and headed up the final narrow path.  Cars heading down stopped to let those heading up go first.  Sensing we were getting close, the clouds and wind enveloped the car, making it hard to see the road, other cars or the edge.  The only way we new we had reached the top was a small sign indicating parking was to the left.  We finally saw the other parked cars, found a space and prepared ourselves for adventuring outside.

With only hiking boots and light coats, we grabbed the cameras (we should of grabbed the video camera) and headed up a flight of wooded stairs directly into the wind to the summit. Pellets of ice were hitting our face, the steps were frozen as we leaned into the wind.  Upon reaching the top, we could barely see anything with the fog.  The gift shop was closed so I posed for the picture to prove our ascent.  The picture doesn’t due the conditions justice.  Luckily the building was shielding the northwest wind, and a little iphoto magic helped make the fog disappear.  Notice the chain hanging down next to the sign.  The building is chained to the ground so it won’t blow away.  A quick run down the stairs to our car and we made a get away after spending probably 7 minutes on the summit.

After getting into our car and heading back through the fog and down the narrow, steep road, the sun appeared again, the trees returned and Annette and I both started laughing at our rediculous and stupid the side trip was, but at the same time an advendture we would both remember and adore.