Climb MT. Washington!!
Written: Oct 08 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Breathtaking Views, Wonderful exercise!
Cons: Long climb!
|
|
|
| nurserebecca's Full Review: Mount Washington State Park |
Review Topic: Sights & Attractions
I had never climbed a mole hill, let along a full fledged mountain. My friend Britta and I were in the Mt. Washington area one weekend during the summer and decided that we would climb the mountain.
We each had a back pack, with some candy bars, juice boxes, pickled eggs (Britta thought it was a hard boiled egg!), and other non essentials such as a book. We started at the base of the mountain at about noon time. Britta's father Dan said that it only takes him a couple hours to run up the mountain, so we figured it would be no problem. We started out strong, it was a wooded trail and did not offer much of a challenge. Then we got to a more rocky part of the trail. We were now pretty much rock climbing with out ropes, and helping each other climb over huge boulders.
But we continued onward.
We of course had frequent rest stops, in order to lay around and laugh about our first climbing experience. And a few snack breaks, this is when Britta realized that she had pickled eggs not hard boiled eggs; thus she threw them into the woods, a peace offering for the local wildlife. We climbed on for hours, stopping often to complain and wonder why it was that we were in fact climbing this mountain. After about 4hrs of climbing we reached a hostel that is about 3/4 of the way to the top of the mountain. It was a great place, full of climbers, and hikers that were staying on the mountain overnight. They had really cheap rates, $2 for the night or something reasonable like that. They also had hands down the best soup I have ever had. It was probably due to the fact that I was hungry enough to eat a dead moose, but who knows. So, we holed up there for an hour or so and relaxed.
Britta and I then set out to reach the peak before it got dark. We had a little company going the rest of the way, there were other families with their dogs climbing up as well. When we finally reached the peak of the mountain there is an observation center.
When we had started out climbing earlier in the day it had been in the high 70's temperature wise. Now that we were at the top it was barely 50 degrees, and we were both freezing. I had to buy a souvenier sweatshirt at the top to keep warm! We enjoyed some more food, and then took in the view. It was amazing. There is a small lake in a valley just below the peak. It is so breathtaking.
Now, it was approaching dark, and we were completely unprepared to undertake the decent. So, we had to rely on Britta's dad, we called him and asked for his credit card number so that we could buy tickets on the train that goes up and down the mountain. So we purchased a ride down and relaxed the whole way, well the train was noisy, but it beat walking down! I highly recommend climbing this mountain if you are ever in the area.
But my advice is: BE PREPARED! Bring supplies, and warm clothes. The weather on the mountain is famously unpredictable, they have had snow at the peak in July!
Climbing Mount Washington is a memory that I will never forget, and one that Britta & I talk about often.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
nurserebecca
|
|
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 2 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.