FOG BOUND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
JULY 25 TO AUGUST 3, 1986
Hikers and Climbers: Kay, Betsy, Sharon & Lois
AUTHOR: Lois Olive Gray
No Photos By Kay
This Was Before Digital Cameras
INTRODUCTION
We were four intrepid gals who had been hiking together all over the Smokies and even in some out west parks. I think we had hiked every trail in Smoky Mountain National Park and were getting hungry for some new challenges. Since, as a teenager, Lois had spent a summer in a camp in New Hampshire, she suggested we check out the highest mountain on the US East Coast: Mount Washington. It stands 6,288 Ft. in the White Mountains of the Presidential Range.
So, we flew from Jacksonville, FL to Boston where we picked up our rental car. We had planned to spend the first night in Salem, Mass, but could not find any motel with a room for 4 people. Back in the car, we drove on to Manchester, New Hampshire, and found a Koala Inn (does this brand even exist now?) for what I recorded as "big bucks” @ $65.00 per night. Imagine finding a motel room that cheap nowadays.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After spending a comfortable night, we drove on through Goffstown for breakfast and on to North Sutton, New Hampshire, the erstwhile home of Camp Penacook where Lois spent the summer of 1952 and her sister Kathy spent the summers of 1952 and l953. According to current information, the camp was established in the 1800s and lasted until the l950s.
So, the Gray Girls were among the last kids to stay at the Camp. This visit in 1986 was some 35 years later.
There was one building left that looked familiar, but the name Penacook was present in the town naming sports supply shops and other businesses. The camp was built beside Lake Kezar over which loomed Mt. Kearsarge which Kathy had climbed back in the day. The climb is considered relatively easy though it can take up to two hours to complete. Lois (4
years older) climbed Mt. Sunapee back then. About the same height and considered fairly easy too. A little bit of remembering earlier days can be fun, even when you see all the changes that have occurred.
A site that has not changed much since I first saw it is the Flume Gorge in nearby Lincoln, New Hampshire. Actually, I would have to admit I saw no changes other than the longer gravel path with some boardwalks leading from the parking area to the 800-ft long chasm carved over centuries by the ice age glaciers and then by the Flume River itself. The natural granite walls rise from 70 to 90 feet tall and are from 12 to 20 feet apart. The walk is breathtakingly beautiful with waterfalls, rushing river waters, abundant greenery and finally the look into the chasm where the water swirls rapidly in circles like a washing machine gone mad. Signage around the beginning of the walk informed me that change is still going on in the gorge what with erosion and the river continuing to carve its way through the granite.
After that stop, it was time to move on towards Lake Winnipesaukee where we had booked a morning lake cruise which included a breakfast buffet. We had a cloudy rainy day, but we enjoyed the tour around the lake anyway. The breakfast was tasty too. Many large and fancy houses, but the funny thing was that the boathouses were probably even more impressive and probably just as expensive. Beside the fact that this lake is one of the largest in New England, the most interesting thing about the lake itself is its geologic history. It is a glacial lake 21 miles long and up to 9 miles wide and 180 feet deep. The glacier which created the lake during the ice age and also changed the course of its water outlets to the sea twice. Once, the water flowed southeast and finally made its way to the Atlantic Ocean by a circuitous route joining several rivers. Glacial debris changed that outlet by forcing the water to flow west and now it has an even more tangled exit before it reaches the Merrimack River and finds its way to the Atlantic.
Next, we went to Holderness to visit the New Hampshire Science Center. It presented interesting displays of local flora and fauna displayed in clever scenes, some with live animals on display, like owls and bobcats. The exhibits were educational as well as
entertaining. I googled it before writing this and discovered that the center is now called Squam Lakes National Science Center and it has at least doubled in size. Interestingly, the two Lakes (Called the Big and Little) were the settings for the movie ‘On Golden Pond” back in 1981 starring Henry and Jane Fonda and Katherine Hepburn.
The next day we were off to get on the famous Kancamagus Highway which would eventually get us to Mt. Washington. However, there were some spots along the way that called us. The first one was the famous “Old Man of Mountain” on Cannon Mountain. Other nicknames applied to the formation composed of 5 granite cliff ledges are “The Great Stone Face” and “The Profile.” Nathaniel Hawthorne is the person who first dubbed it “the great stoneface.” Anyway, when viewed from the North, the formation really does look like a huge profile of an older man. Unfortunately, the formation collapsed on May 3, 2023. Geologists have not yet been able to explain its downfall. Since we were there in l986, we saw it while still intact. Impressive for sure.
We also stopped by Loon Mountain to take the tramway up and down for the views of the surrounding countryside. It was an impressive 22 minutes of sightseeing. Checking now, I see that this gondola ride is still running and offers chances to walk around the top of the mountain without having to hike up and back down. I don’t remember what we paid for the ride, so I haven’t bothered to check on the cost now. But I do know that we did not get off the gondola for even a short walk.
Our last stop on the way to Pinkham Notch was at Sabbaday Falls. To view the slender falls, we took a short walk (about 15 minutes) on a gravel trail. Trees and plants were green and dense, so the walk up was pleasant. The falls are not full enough to compare with other falls we had seen, such as those in North Carolina, but they looked like silvery ribbons flashing in the sunlight.
Then we made for the Pinkham Notch Joe Dodge Camp and Lodge where we had a room for the four of us. We arrived in time for a nice supper of fresh raison bread with ham, delicious. This famous lodge at the foot of Mt. Washington has been operational for 100 years and continues today (2023). Small rooms but comfortable and certainly convenient
for hopeful climbers. The evening’s entertainment was a documentary on spelunking, but it was not persuasive enough to convert any of us into wanting to try that sport. As a matter of fact, it cemented us in our dislike of the idea of cave explorations.
The day dawned cloudy, rainy (persistently all morning) and chilly. After a failed try at seeing Glen Ellis Falls where we were stopped in our tracks by raging waters, we used the day for laundry and some shopping for things we thought we might need, like warmer jackets or shirts. Afternoon brought clearer skies and we decided to make another run at Glen Ellis Falls and Lost Pond in the vicinity. Glen Ellis Falls is 64 feet high in a serene setting. The hike was short and easy since the trail was now free of running water. Lost Lake also requires only a short hike on an easy trail, and it is a worthwhile goal. The views of Mt. Washington from Lost Lake are breathtaking. Seeing the splendor whetted our appetites for our upcoming hike up the fabled mountain the next day. We celebrated Kay’s birthday after a good beef stew supper at the lodge. Each of us went to bed that night with our own anxieties and apprehension as well as our eagerness to make the climb to the top of Mt. Washington.
Mt. Washington is known for its wild and erratic weather, no matter the time of year. It held the record for the highest wind speed (231 mph) ever recorded and still does when defined as wind speed without tornado or tropical storms. The mountain has also endured some of the coldest weather anywhere at –47 degrees Celsius or –108 Degrees Fahrenheit on February 4, 2023. Though our attempt was in high summertime, that did not guarantee mild weather. Rain and fog are the most troublesome weather events during July. We were unlucky enough to endure both plagues.
Naïve as we were, we chose to climb Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the top. This trail begins behind Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. The average hiking time is reputed to be from 6 to 8 hours, depending on weather conditions and hiker ability. The trail ends on the top, but not the summit, of the mountain. Many consider this trail to be one of the most difficult routes on the mountain, but we did not know that. As we gathered ourselves together to begin the hike, Sharon read some notices posted around the Visitor Center. When we
rejoined her, all we could see was how big her eyes had become. She was clearly spooked because she had read about the many deaths that occur on this trail, chiefly caused by avalanches and adverse weather conditions.
CLIMB MT. WASHINGTON
We were up at 6:30 a.m. and ate a big breakfast at the lodge. It was still raining and overcast. After breakfast, we walked to the beginning of the Tuckerman Ravine Trailhead and started up. The hike was arduous and frightening, especially with the rocks and everything else wet and slippery. The route was straight up the side of a waterfall which continuously poured water over us. This in addition to the constant rainfall. To make the situation even more fraught, as we ascended, we were lost in patches of fog which came and went as the hike progressed upwards. In the section of the hike before we reached the infamous wall, much of the climbing entailed hand over hand clutching at slippery rocks to balance and to get another step higher. Very difficult in such steep terrain. Even had we been brave enough to look around for vistas, there were none to be seen because of the rain and fog.
It took us two hours to reach Hermit Lakes Shelter where we rested and ate the lunches we had with us. This stop was at the base of the horrifying Wall. From here we climbing up the waterfall itself. It was a scramble of clutching boulders and slipping scarily. We were all totally unnerved by the fact that the angle of ascent seemed steeper than before. But at last, we made it over the wall and rested in relief.
At that point we decided not to go for the summit since we still had to find our way through the fog to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. It was impossible to see the trail because of the fog except at brief intervals when the fog lifted. We were stumbling over talus rocks and uneven terrain blindly searching for the trail and desperately trying to see the outline of the hut itself. I know we were all bone-tired and anxious. I cannot remember how we found the right way to get to the Hut but finally at about 4 p.m. we staggered up to it. The place looked like the “Promised Land” to us after all our struggles!
To be clear, Talus is described as an outward steep sloping heap or mass of rock fragments of any shape or size, usually coarse and angular. Talus is the product of gravitational pull on rocks causing them to tumble down the slope. I can testify that this type of terrain is not easy to walk on. The fragments slip and slide under your boots and make it difficult to keep your balance.
The Lakes of the Clouds Hut has been serving hikers since 1915 when it was built. The Appalachian Mountain Club now owns and runs the Hut for up to 90 hikers per night. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinners are included in the price of a space. The accommodations are bunkrooms with double-decker beds.
The Hut sits at 5012 feet of elevation and is 1.3 miles from the actual summit of Mt. Washington. The Hut is named for two high alpine lakes nearby which supply the water for the Hut. As I recall, the meals were substantial and tasty. However, I must admit that we were all so grateful to be in one piece and not climbing that anything would have been like heaven to us. Again, I have no recollection of how much the night there cost but we would have gladly paid double or triple whatever we were charged. Our supper at the Hut was good and we went to bed full, tired, and grateful that we survived the Tuckerman Ravine Trail.
In our bunkroom that night, we shared the space with a father and young son. At some point in the dark of night, a mouse ran across the lower bunks and startled the boy and Sharon too. Both made some noise and flounced around under their covers trying to chase the critter away. Neither victim sustained anything other than a scare. No bites.
GETTING DOWN
Another good meal at breakfast the next morning. We were not as apprehensive about today’s return to Pinkham Notch. We walked the path to the Summit of Mt. Washington and shopped for souvenirs (T-shirts) and read some of the posters about the summit building and weather station. My notes are not really clear about how we got back down off the mountain, but it seems that we went to the Crawford Path that would lead to Mizpah Springs Hut. It was a long and boring hike, chiefly because we were on a narrow ridge in a fog tunnel. The rains kept pouring and there were essentially no views of the mountains on the horizon because the fog would only thin for a couple of seconds.
The last 200 yards down to the hut was another terrorizing experience. It was an avalanche chute with slippery mud, steep descents and nothing to hold onto. So, we slipped and slid our way down and ended up looking totally soaked and muddy with our hair plastered to our heads with rain and sweat. But we survived the mountain. We had a long wait for the hiker shuttle which took us back to Pinkham Notch. We had a brief thought about spending the afternoon climbing Mt. Willard nearby but the continuing rain and fog were big dissuaders against that plan. It had been described as a short and easy hike to an elevation of just over 2,000 feet (about twice the height of the Empire State Building), but we were tired of being wet and stressed. Maybe you can call us wimps, but we decided to return to our hotel room, take showers, wash some clothes and go out for a nice supper later. Before supper, we drove up the auto road to the top of the Mt. Washington and got the best views of the entire trip and climb. Then we had to ask ourselves why did we ever decide to make that awful death-defying climb.
Marcello’s Italian Restaurant filled the bill and served us delicious spaghetti and salad. Perfect end to our mountain climbing experience. The next day we returned to Boston to fly home. Our last day in New Hampshire was bright and sunny. Why oh why had it not been that perfect during our climbs and descents?
