Day 66: the epic day that almost wasn't

We headed north today, aiming to drive to the top of Mt. Washington. At 6,288 feet, it's the tallest mountain in the northeast. When we reached the turn-off for the auto-road, around 11:30 this morning, there was a line of cars that stretched for nearly a mile. (We later learned that today was exceptionally busy because the road had been closed the past two days due to bad weather.) Nearly 90 minutes later, we reached the toll house, only to learn that our truck was eight inches too long; we were told to turn around. Gently pushing the issue, and explaining that Stan drives Pikes Peak all the time for his job, the ranger told us to head across the road and speak to the manager. But he warned us that the best we could hope for was a discounted ride on the guided van tour. NOT what we'd been looking forward to for so long!

Stan headed into the office and spoke at length with the road's manager, Howie, who was a gracious as he could be. He really wanted to help us, but just couldn't let us up the road due to regulations. Then, at Stan's request, Howie checked with his employees to see if anyone would rent us their car for the trip! (He drives a Smart Car, which is not allowed on the road.) His office manager was willing to loan us her Ford Ranger truck. We paid her the $40 we would have spent on the toll, and then Howie personally escorted us to the toll house, got us the road packet (including the CD audio tour) and waved us on our way. The girls were installed and seat-belted in the tiny area behind the front seats...they thought their jump seats and cramped space was great fun and made just for them.

Within the first 1/4 mile, we realized the road is restricted for a very good reason: tight curves on a very narrow roadbed with an AVERAGE grade of 12%...intimidating for nearly any driver. We thoroughly enjoyed the eight-mile drive to the summit. The first half was through hardwood forest, all of which was regrowth after the massive clear-cutting in the days of the road's opening in 1861. Near the fifth mile, the vegetation changed to stunted and obviously wind-blown pine trees; the audio tour informed us that some of them are nearing 100 years old.  The last two miles are treeless but not without their own beauty; the rocks and thick layer of short vegetation are home to many small animals and lots of flowers.

Today's weather was spectacular and sunny, a balmy 53 degrees on the summit, with hardly a cloud anywhere. We could see (though couldn't identify!) Quebec, the Atlantic Ocean, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and a few more spots that I can't remember. Today was a far cry from winter on the summit, which holds an average of 15 feet of snow on a given day. And the wind up there is horrendous; the strongest gust ever recorded was 231 mph on Mt. Washington's summit in 1934! We enjoyed a hilarious short film in the summit visitor center called "Breakfast of Champions." There's a mediocre remake of it on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIUYrj0wa-k, as well as many other clips showcasing some of the terrible conditions. Visiting the summit in winter is definitely not on our bucket list.

The summit has at least four different buildings, one of them dating back to 1863. Called the Tip-Top House, it's a museum highlighting its former service as a hotel, complete with a bunk room, dining room and living room. None of them looks particularly cozy or inviting, but to visitors back in the day who had endured a grueling four-hour journey in a carriage (often loaded with rocks to keep from blowing off the mountain!), I'm sure it seemed like a bit of heaven.

The drive down was a little less smooth, only because a man had accidentally driven his Ford Explorer off the side into a shallow ditch and was being pulled out by towtrucks, blocking both lanes. When traffic finally began to move following the extrication, many drivers were going too fast and riding brakes out of impatience at being stopped for so long. We could smell a lot of other vehicles' hot brakes and blown transmissions, but Stan got the truck down the mountain just fine. We were concerned that the woman who loaned it would have heard that a black Ford had gone off the road and think it was us! She looked pretty relieved when we tromped into the building safe and sound and handed over her keys.

We were so blessed by the kindness of strangers today. That's the real title of our day.

The Mt. Washington cog train on its way down

A portion of the extensive weather equipment on the summit

The bunkroom (and dining room beyond) in the Tip-Top House. Each of these sleeping compartments (including the third bunk on top) had moss mattresses and thin canvas curtains.

Tip-top house

Possible poster for "Don't Text While Driving"