While in New Hampshire we took the time to climb a few mountains. No we didn’t strap on our hiking shoes and packs and trek up the mountains but we did make it to the top of both.
To get up Cannon Mountain we took the Gondola. On the way up we didn’t get much of a view because it was snowing! Yup we’ve already seen the first snow of the year. It was a little below freezing at just over 4k feet. We hiked the 1/2 mile trail around the top and even managed to climb the weather tower where the wind blew so bad it hurt. On the way back down the skys opened up and we had great views of Echo Lake.
Our trek up Mount Washington is less exciting. Well, the trip up is interesting but the hike at the top and the views are night and day from Cannon. To get to the top we took a Cog Train. This isn’t a trip that winds around the mountain speedily going to the top while at the edge of thousand foot cliffs. No, this train goes straight up the mountain at a 37% incline inch by excruciating inch. It’s not only painful but it’s expensive. Oh and you can’t see anything because its so cold (6 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill) that the people in the cabin steam up all the windows, not to mention the cloud cover. All in all a worthless ride, and one I would only recommend in the middle of summer. Even then I’d suggest a drive up instead. It’ll take less time and you’ll have better views. At least now we can say we’ve been to the top of the tallest mountain on the east coast.