Before I begin, I wanted to put in the Wal-Mart picture I mentioned the other day. It sure looks different than any I’ve ever seen before! Nice, huh? Inside, it looked more like a Sam’s Club than any Wal-Mart I’ve ever been in.
Gorham, New Hampshire
I don’t even know what to say about today. It was a phenomenal day! The weather forecast for Mt. Washington was favorable, so we packed half our clothes, lunch and phones and off we went.
With the designation of “Home of the World’s Worst Weather”, we knew it would be cold up there and we were right. Temperatures in the mid to upper thirties, in the clouds and wind gusts of up to 52 mph, made it necessary for us to bundle up. However, that being said, we couldn’t believe how many people showed up unprepared – people dressed for 80-90 degree weather like what they left at the bottom of the mountain – were obviously quite cold at the Summit!
A lot of hikers – both day hikers and those walking the Appalachian Trail were there, along with tons of people who came via tour vans and the Cog Railroad and those who drove themselves up like we did. It seemed that all day long there was a steady stream of cars and trains coming in. The Summit is a State Park, but the road up is privately owned. You have to pay to drive up. At probably an average of $50/car, that’s a LOT just in private cars! When we went down about 3pm, there was a line of cars about ½ mile long waiting to get in!
Here are some facts:
This is why Mt. Washington has the title of ‘…Worst Weather…’
Sign in the museum at the Summit
On April 12, 1934, the highest natural wind ever recorded by man was clocked at 231mph! There were 4 men stationed at the weather station at the top at the time and they kept meticulous records.
The summit is 6,288’ – the highest peak in the Northeastern United States
The lowest temperature was -47 (that’s 47 degrees below 0 not accounting for the wind!)
The highest was 72
Average temperature is 27.3
Average wind speed is 35mph
Average snowfall is 281.2” (that’s over 23 FEET!)
The sustained wind speed exceeds hurricane force (74mph) about 104 days per year
The summit is in the clouds about 60% of the time
The Mount Washington Auto Road is 8 miles long and is a 4,725 foot ascent
Construction of the road to the top began in 1854. It opened to the public August 8, 1861
Since its opening, over 4,000,000 people have visited the summit
In the early 1860’s, one hundred stage passengers was considered a busy day. Today, it isn’t unusual for a thousand cars plus thirty loaded stages (vans/trains) to make the trip in a single day.
Originally built entirely with hand tools, horses and oxen and old-fashioned blasting powder, the road (though widened and improved over the years) hasn’t changed since it was first laid out over 150 years ago, and still utilizes most of the original stonework, which was laid down by laborers before Abraham Lincoln became president.
~ list of facts provided by “The Mount Washington Auto Road” (on the back of our certificate)
We took soooooo many pictures! It was REALLY hard to whittle them down for the blog! I’ve included a few videos this time as well, although we haven’t figured out how you can watch them directly from the site. You’ll have to download, then open. Sorry! Just keep in mind that we’re still pretty new to all this technical stuff.
These signs are all over the place here, including on our way to the Auto Road.
We have yet to see a moose . . . . .
Paying our toll. The CD was well done and very interesting, but hard to pay attention to!
We also received a bumper sticker and a certificate.
Our first look at the Auto Road. Piece of cake, right? And yes, it’s all a two-lane road.
One mile of the road was unpaved. We have no idea why.
This was taken from my passenger window. Those rocks? They are at the edge of the road!
Taken from one of the pull-outs along the road
We parked in the designated lot and headed up the steps – which you cant see.
Not the actual summit yet, just a sign at the entrance
Standing on the observation deck
That is what it looks like to stand in clouds and wind. This was a fairly protected area and the wind is blowing his hoodie out from his head. Taken just before his ball cap blew right off his head from under the hoodie! Gone forever . . . Wonder how many things they find on the mountain sides?
While we were up there (and we went twice!), this was the most clear we saw it – and it lasted LITERALLY about 10 seconds! Blaine and I each snapped a quick picture!
Thats the actual summit. People wait in line to take selfies
After wandering around up top for a while, we decided to head back down to the sunshine. It was a spectacular day about 1,000′ down (or more) from the Summit!
Another pull-out
Heading down. Not quite as scary since we are now hugging the mountain
We stopped at a pull out at around 4,500′ and followed cairns (pronounced kerns) down a ways with our lunch.
Here’s a few pics from our lunch view today!
Lunch View
Lunch View
Lunch View
Proof of the Lunch View
More proof. See Blaine? That pile of rocks just behind him you can see a cairn
As we sat, we noticed more cairns leading down further. Of course we went! All the way to the edge of the cliff in front of us! It was pretty steep, but not too difficult. Adventure ALWAYS wins out over difficult anyway!
Taken on the way back up. Yes, thats a trail.
Climb every mountain . . . .
It was pretty gusty down there!
Blaine trying to stay upright!
After our grand adventure, we headed back up to the Summit hoping for a break in the clouds. We didn’t get one, but it’s still really ‘cool’ up there!
We waited in line for about 10-15 minutes for this picture! You had to hold on to the sign, or you could get blown off pretty easily!
Blaine decided to attempt a selfie. Hard when the wind is blowing steady at 45-50mph!
You wouldnt think our glasses would be so dark in a cloud.
Cooling our brakes on the way down
Passing traffic on our way down. Many of the drivers looked terrified and insisted on driving in the middle of the road!
We had to stop and wait for quite a few.
Here are the video links. I couldn’t download the best one because it was too long. It was from our drive back down the second time. (Sigh . . .)
First up – at a pull out on our way up:
Next – Another taken on our way up
Last but not least – on the Summit
Yet another wonderful day, packed full of God’s blessings!