At 9:00, we packed up a picnic lunch & headed off to climb Mount Washington (by truck, not on foot!). At 6,288 ft it is the Northeast's highest peak. The description of the road is as follows: The scenic trip requires 30 to 45 minutes each way; frequent turnouts provide views. Low gear should be used both ways. Because of steep grades and sharp curves, driving instructions are available at the toll house and should be heeded. Sounds like a fun trip!
Along Hwy 3, there were low clouds in the mountains. There were some beautiful colours but they don't really show to their advantage in pics.
At 10:35, we arrived at the toll house nd were met with this warning. We carried on, regardless!
At this point, we were at 1,676 ft., the temperature was 15C and the average grade for the road is 12%.
At 11:23 we arrived at 6,205 ft and parked. The temperature is now 9C and it is windy. We walked up to the observation deck and the sign that proved that we made it!
It is always very windy up there, in fact, the weather here rivals that of Antarctica; the average annual temperature is below freezing. Fifteen feet of snow is the winter norm, and the summer temp rarely exceeds 72F. The highest wind velocity ever recorded - 231mph - occurred in April 1934.
After wandering around the observation deck and the Mt Washington Observatory Museum, we returned to the truck to start down.
This is the observation deck, taken thru the back window of the truck.
By 1:15, we were back to the toll house, went across the street to Glen House and enjoyed our picnic lunch. It is now 21C, much warmer than at the summit!
Next stop on the road was the Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park (which we didn't visit yesterday because it was too foggy), and walked the 2 mile path. The Gorge is a chasm extending nearly 800 ft along the flank of Mount Liberty. A mountain stream tumbles in a series of waterfalls and pools between its 60 to 90 foot high granite walls.
Along the path, we came across this 300 ton boulder that was deposited by a glacier.
Next was the picturesque covered bridge over the Pemigewasset River, built in 1886, which makes it one of the oldest in the state. It has been restored several times.
Over time, the rushing waters of the Flume Brook has exposed this large outcropping of rock. Table Rock is a section of Conway Granite that is 500 ft (150M) long and 75 ft (20M) wide.
The walls of Conway granite of the Flume rise perpendicularly to a height of 70 - 90 feet and vary in width from 12 to 20 feet.The Flume was discovered in 1808 by a 93 year old woman when she accidently came upon it while fishing. At that time a huge egg-shaped boulder 10 ft high and 12 ft long, hung suspended between the walls. A heavy rainstorm in 1883 started a landslide that swept the boulder from its place. It has never been found.
The Pool is a deep basin in the Pemigewasset River. It was formed at the end of the Ice Age 14,000 years ago by a silt-laden stream flowing from the glacier. The Pool is 40 feet deep and 150 ft diameter and is surrounded by cliffs 130 ft high.
The Struggle for Survival
This is evidence of how nature must sometimes struggle to survive. This large and very old Yellow Birch sprouted from a seed, perhaps dropped by a bird or carried by the wind and then germinated upon a rock. As the tree grew, its root system reached out to the soil below. This is a common occurrence here in Franconia Notch due to the thin soil, rocky terrain and the poor growing conditions.
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