On a dreary, rainy morning we woke up at 5:00 am to get on the road early. Roman and I decided to go to Mount Washington since the day before was supposed to be cloudy for most of the day. This was our one opportunity to go to the top without any horrible weather that Mount Washington is notoriously known for. So by 6 the car was all packed with food and camera gear and we drove north on I-93.
So first things, we were essentially driving in and out of clouds and some terrible fog. Luckily the fog never got so bad where it was like a white out but if a deer had jumped out I may have been in trouble. When we left Manchester it was raining with dense fog and it became even worse when we entered Concord. I did see the sun rising off in the east and as it slowly rose, more of the fog lifted. At one point it was like going through intermittent clouds. When we drove down we would enter fog and then we went back up we would escape it.
Made a pitstop just north of Concord in Sanbornton to get some more gas. It seems the country always has the same type of people who inhabit it. The women that took my card while paying, started gossiping about a cop that was apparently not a very nice guy. In a way it reminded me of Texas and all the rural gas stations I’ve met. It’s the feeling of being out-of-place from the way I dress, look and talk. Like I’m in an area where everybody knows everyone and I’m the obvious outsider.
If you’re planning to make the drive up to Mount Washington it’s recommended that you look at the weather before you go and go early. Mount Washington is known to have some of the worst weather in the United States and can get especially windy. From Manchester, Mount Washington is a 2 and a half hour drive. There are several routes to take but we decided to take I-93 to NH-3 to NH-115 to NH-2 and then to NH-16. Bring a phone with a GPS or at the very least a paper map.
We opted to drive up Mount Washington using the famous autoroad. It is possible to take a cograil up the mountain but it is way more expensive, slower and you only get an hour at the top. However if you’re scared of driving on narrow roads then perhaps the cograil is the best route for you.
The drive starts easy but for the entire way up the mountain you’re required to be in first gear. At the entrance they hand you a cd about the park and the mountain as well as directions on how to properly drive up. There are also restrooms and a convenience store incase you need anything for the 25 minute ride up. Make sure your car is in first gear and while going up you’re suppose to give the right away to oncoming traffic.
In the beginning the ride is steep but is pleasant and hilly. The lower section of the mountain is still covered in trees and in the fall they slowly change colors, becoming brighter. You will notice several pit stops but my recommendation is to stop at those on the way down, giving your brakes a much-needed break. Also you can play the cd they give you which does give interesting information about how they constructed the autoroad. It’s actually older than you suspect and it use to take 4 hours by carriage and horses to get up!
Suddenly we noticed that it became much steeper and the car was working hard. Early in the morning there is nobody coming down so that is a benefit, allowing you to take up most of the road going up. We also began to notice that the trees were shorter, scraggly and wind-blown to a certain direction. At these heights, trees struggle to survive and are stunted.
And then there is a point were the trees are no more, meaning we were above the tree line. At this height also bare rock and some grasses exist meaning that we were in the tundra region of the mountain. From here the road is very steep, the cliffs look very dangerous and the views are spectacular. The day we went it was very sunny and we could see for at least 100 miles in all directions. It was certainly worth it to check the weather before going to the mountain.
On the final stretch you can see the peak and observatory and at the bottom of the peak there is a convenient two tier parking. From there all we had to do was climb some stairs and we were at the peak of Mount Washington on an unlikely warm and sunny day. Mount Washington is known to have some of the windiest weather in the US with a record high of 231 miles per hour. That record was the fastest in the world until 2010.
We immediately went to the peak because if you get there early enough you can get a picture at the peak. It’s just some pile of rocks in the center of the complex that marks the highest point. Nearby there is a platform for panoramic viewing and the observatory. There is a tiny museum inside the observatory and honestly it wasn’t that interesting. There is also a huge café and restaurant that serves coffee and other food. It’s a good area to rest and get warm. Even if it is warm and sunny there is still winds that can cause you to feel much colder than it is. There is a small gift shop that wasn’t open while we were there but the building is chained down so it doesn’t blow away! Apparently it’s one of the original buildings originally constructed on Mount Washington.
We spent most of our time exploring all sides of the peak and taking selfies with my gopro as well as panoramic pictures with my digital camera. The pictures came out really well but it probably helped that the day was so sunny and not windy. My favorite pictures include:
Later I will be posting YouTube videos of the trip up and down as well as on top and coming back down the mountain! The process of editing does take a while so bare with me. I’m still working on Europe!
Coming down the mountain is actually way less scary and so much easier. By the time we started heading down the mountain it was around 10:45 am and much more people were heading up the mountain. The only thing that everybody is required to do is press your breaks which will become very hot as you travel down the mountain. That’s why it’s recommended that you take breaks coming down instead while going up, which we did. We first made a stop just above the tree line, one down near the middle of the mountain to take pictures of the changing leaves and then down near the bottom to give our car a break and to take more pictures of the leaves! Autumn truly was the most evident in northern New Hampshire and we took some amazing pictures.
From Mount Washington we now traveled to Vermont using small rural roads. This ended up being some of the most beautiful scenery we saw the entire trip and some of the most stressful as I almost hit a deer. That’s all in my next post! Feel free to leave comments or pictures about your time on Mount Washington.
images by: shawnvoyage
