A new guest, an experienced hiker, came to us from New Jersey hoping to summit our tallest mountain: Mt Washington . The forecast was making us think that a summit might not be possible as high winds could stymie their attempt. The idea of a Plan B mountain was even considered. But our guest wanted to go for it, even if something like Lion Head ended up being the summit of the day. As it turned out, with Redline Guide Debra McCown at the helm, they did summit Mt Washington as she wanted, the team able to beat the weather.
If you told me yesterday that my guest from New Jersey would summit Mt Washington in a steady gale on wet rocks while getting stung by sleet, I wouldn’t have been so sure. But she must’ve brought some grit with her from home, because we left the parking lot at 7am and we were dashing to the summit by 10:30 for a quick photo and then a quick descent ahead of the incoming weather.
Amazingly, the clouds broke for a few minutes on the way down, giving us broad scenic views that had been obscured by fog on the way up. Then, as we reached treeline on Lion Head, it began to snow in earnest — a chilly, wet above-treeline reality that would surprisingly give way to a beautiful, sunny leaf-peeping day as we neared the return to our starting point at Pinkham Notch.
And then, amazingly, there were two moose across the road, a cow and her calf.
So, on her very first trip to New Hampshire, she got to experience Mt Washington (despite an ominous forecast), peak leaf season, AND a moose viewing opportunity. What are the odds?
She made the most of a chilly fall day on the mountain — and even got down in time to check out the nearby attractions in North Conway. What a way to cram it all in! —Debra
