Sunday, October 25, 2009

Above the clouds

On Friday, I climbed Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the Northeast United States. It stands a lofty 6288' above sea level, and is the keystone of the Presidentials, and the White Mountains. Its closest competitors lie in the Blue Ridge Mountains, down in North Carolina. It's the 8th tallest peak this side of the Mississippi.

Friday was a clear day among foul ones, with Thursday being completely overcast (I drove past the Presidentials, and couldn't even see the start of their slopes, only 100 ft away) and Saturday being rainy and stormy.
I started early and took my time, and soon enough I was at the top. I'm getting the hang of this climbing mountains business. No need to say that the trail was vertical in some places, there was a lot of scrambling over rocks, etc. I guess that all goes with the territory. Certainly with the White Mountains.

Above treeline is not some arctic tundra, as I had pictured. It's pretty reliably cluttered with talus. No easy way up, and no easy way down.









I went up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail (then ducked onto the Lion Head Trail), which was extremely well kept. It was a swath 12' wide, and more or less paved. Unfortunately, it was paved with more rocks (although there were random). It wasn't easy going. But I guess it's a durable surface, to withstand the hundreds of people who travel it.






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