Mt Washington Hike - On the Summit
When we reached the summit, we took a
short rest to catch our breath. It was perfect
conditions, single digits, bright sunshine, very little wind, views
in all directions. The trail hits the Auto Road just before the
summit and drops you off at the
Yankee building, home of the TV and radio
transmitters. As we approached, one of the TV station workers was
headed out for a walk. Even the people who lived up there were taking
advantage of the weather. Right in front of the bench is the
wooden staircase that is closed in the winter.
After a few minutes we headed over to the true
summit.
On the way, we passed the end of the cog
railroad, right next to the stage building. The ice feathers
weren't as long as I'd seen in pictures, but certainly enought to be
very pretty. The old summit house was looking
a bit chilly, but spectacular as well. I posed Bill and Kathy under
the entrance to the Visitors Center for a
classic shot, then Bill took a shot of me in front of the
old Tip-Top House. Then we did the obligatory
summit photo, took
one for Bill, and headed onto the observation
deck of the Sherman Adams Visitors Center.
From the deck the was a marvelous view of the
northern Presidentials, Jefferson, Adams, and
Madison. To the northeast you can see the
Auto Road, the Cog Railroad, and Nelson Crag. We met one of the
Obs volunteers who was enjoying the good
weather just like us. The other two hikers were there and we all
talked for a bit about the trip up. Looking
southwest we could see the Franconia Range,
Moosilauke, and the peaks of Vermont.
We settled in for lunch on the deck and then
wandered around a bit to keep warm. The
volunteer from the Obs came back out with fresh baked chocolate chip
cookies so we made a cookie toast to the Rock Pile. After he went
back inside, I heard a noise and peaked over the
edge to see a snow-cat headed up. It drove
to the summit and backed under the Visitors
Center archway. Apparently, it was hauling up film equipment for
a movie. We were getting chilled and it was close to 1:00PM so we
decided it was time to head down.
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