.
August 7, 2004
Mount Washington at 6,288 is the highest point in the Northeast. I have done very little hiking in the past but decided to give this ago. Lynn came with me today. We parked at the Base Road Parking Area on the west side of the mountain. We would be taking the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to the top of Washington and take the Jewell Trail back down. There are no easy ways to climb Mount Washington but this trail is considered by many as the easiest. The trail parallels the Ammonoosuc River for at least a mile. I came across this rock in the river. I thought it was interesting how evenly the water flowed over the rock.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We made our way to the Gem Pool which was indeed a gem with a small waterfall dumping into a pool of water.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After this the trail gets very, very steep but there are lots of stone staircases and ladders to assist.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Since this hike I have climbed and descended Washington on several trails and this is my favorite. There are lots of cascades to enjoy on the way. Lynn started to think we would never reach the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, but we made it. I noticed the white blazes signifying we were on the A.T. At this point, I had no idea that the following year I would decide to hike the whole trail. Lynn snapped my picture in front of one of the lakes (which are more like ponds than lakes).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This area is often called 'Lakes of the Crowds' instead of 'Lakes of the Clouds.' Today was no exception. Despite the overcast weather, it was quite crowded. We continued on and took one last look at the hut.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We passed two men carrying supplies down to the hut. They sure had heavy loads.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The top of Washington was completely cloudy. We headed off into the clouds and of course it started to rain. We put our ponchos on and continued. Just when we thought we would never get there we passed a sign stating that it was .2 miles to the summit. At the summit, we got something to eat in the cafeteria. Fortunately the weather cleared enough to get a good view.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We enjoyed watching the cog railroad which made its way to the summit. We could hear it and see the smoke from the stack most of the way up. I had brought some extra money with me in case Lynn wanted to take the cog rail back down but she wanted to stay with me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On the way down, it rained and rained and rained. On the Jewell Trail there are few landmarks to measure your progress and we thought we would never reach the bottom. We were starting to run out of light and Lynn was getting very tired. She wanted so bad to
rest. I reminder her that if we didn't get out before dark, we might be spending the night. This was the motivation she needed to finish. When we got close to the bottom we took the side trail to the Cog Railway Station. She stayed here to rest while I walked down Base Road to get the car. It was dark and there was just one other car left in the lot. My next trip up Washington, I'll get an earlier start.
