Mount Washington NH - 7 October 2016

In 1995, me, Katie and the kids did a camping trip through New England for a couple of weeks.  We hit all the normal places, like Boston, Plymouth, Salem, Block Island, Newport, Bar Harbor -- the regular tour.  Once we moved into NH, it was time for the trek up Mount Washington.  For those unfamiliar, Mount Washington, called Agiocochook by some Native American tribes, is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft and the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River.  All though no longer possible because of the haze created by man's habitation of the area, the first settlers at Plymouth could see Mt. Washington. The road to the peak is privately owned and maintained.  After that first ascent, I vowed to never drive that road again.  I am scared of nothing except that road.

We were coming through Gorham (8 miles north of the mountain) and Katie asked, "Shall we take a drive up?"  To which I replied, "NO."  It was a beautiful, sunny day without a cloud in the sky and, by the time we got there, she had convinced me that it wasn't as bad as I remembered.  She was wrong.

 I'll say never again, again.  I'm sure someone will talk me into it when I'm 80.

It does make for good photos.

Agiocochook was considered the home of the Great Spirit by the local aboriginal tribe and they were forbidden to climb it.

We've been to the top of Mt. Washington a couple of times over the years since the first drive up using the Cog Wheel train.  That's almost as scary as that damn road.  The railroad parallels the Appalachian Trail for a bit and it's a tradition for the hikers to "moon" the train.  On the trip up with Katie's oldest sister and her husband, we got mooned and she was appalled.  Although not as appalled as that time I took them to the red light district in Amsterdam.

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