New Hampshire, New Year's Weekend 2006 |
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I've walked across this trestle dozens of times but never photographed it until now. Trains DO run across this structure (Conway Scenic Railroad), but only in warmer seasons and then only to the station at the top of the Notch.
That's the summit of Mt. Washington just visible in the center background. |
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Being alone I was only a spectator on this foray. The climbs pictured here are Dropline (NEI5) on the left and Dracula (NEI4+) to the right. |
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Sunday, January 1st was a day I planned to just "go for a stroll." I hadn't been up Boot Spur on Mt. Washington since an eye-opening trip nine years earlier with My brother John, so I wanted to revisit it.
Being a New Year I hatched the idea to get an early start and hopefully catch the sunrise. Overcast skies were forecast, but I wasn't totally disappointed. |
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| Using my GPS as a guide I found the exact spot of our 1996 campsite; the GPS said I was 60 feet away but memory tells me this was it. |  |
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The next point I wanted to see was the spot where we made a fortunate wrong turn -- the junction of Boot Spur Trail with Davis Path. | |
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From there, I planned to turn right and cut over to the Lions Head Trail for the descent. I took a comfortable lunch break (remember, comfort is a relative term) and watched the clouds move over the summit. | |
| The way across descends a little and is overly marked with cairns about every 30 feet. Of course when clouds move in, one wishes for more cairns. |  |
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OK, yea, I know.
I hadn't planned on going to the summit, nor did I think it a wise idea since I was alone. My excuse goes like this: since the visibility was reduced to maybe 100 feet, I followed the cairns closely. The cut-off trail I was taking intersected the Lions Head Trail only a couple of hundred feet below the top -- I just couldn't turn back! Hey! I just noticed that's the same jacket and gaiters I had on nine years before! Check it out! |
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I've been in the mountains enough to KNOW that it's not over until one is safely down.
This rather happy self-portrait is back at the base of the Lions Head Trail, just a short 2-mile walk down the fire road to civilization. |
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