New Hampshire

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Burt Trip to New Hampshire July 17-21, 2007

My afternoon hike was up Mt. Willard, when I got to the top these two I spotted as they came out of the trees, but not from the trail. They are both married, but not to each other. I thought it best to limit my questions.

The view from Mt. Willard looking south on to Route 302 and the Wiley House. I went on an unguided hike up Mt. Willard which the AMC considers challenging. Actual time up was 50 min, time down was 47 minutes. The AMC suggests 3 hours round trip. I was going to rest on the way up but it started to rain and I wanted to get to the top before visibility was bad. The watch Coral gave me accurately predicted the top. The shoes Coral gave me allowed me to cross streams without getting wet. The top had great views that varied between 30 miles and 30 feet as
the clouds came and went.

What a difference 2 minutes can make when the clouds are coming and going.

I met Meagan, Sarah and Nick on top of Mt. Willard. It started to rain and once you are soaked it does not matter how much more it rains. One of the above is a new college professor of Philosophy at SUNY, can you guess which one? Meagan is married to Nick.

Sarah is from Chicago. Nick loves the Red Sox, he will be so sad when the Yankees prevail.

Another guided hike, this one to Elephant Head. The A.M.C. center is shown in the background. I was the only one on the hike, it was short and finally some sun. The guide is a mountain rock climber. He has hiked as high as 20,000 feet without oxygen. He suggested my next hike be Sugar Loaf as it was only 900 foot elevation gain. Also he thought I would not find Mt. Crawford and if I did the RV would not fit in the parking lot.

The parking lot at Mt. Crawford with Mt. Crawford in the background. This hike was the toughest in the A.M.C. guide book with a 2100 foot elevation gain. It uses Davis Path to the summit.

I did not come all this way only to see this sign. I had already been rained on, what is a little water?

This path does not look too steep, well the picture is looking down and you get no sense of the rise. Sweat was pouring off.

I met this 65 year old man half way up (the watch Coral gave me helped me with altitude). Here I joined him 80% of the way up. He was not just going to THIS summit, he was going to Mt. Washington after reaching Mt. Crawford's summit.

This woman passed me about a third of the way up. She is 55 years old and from Germany. She easily translated my shirt. She knew where Baden, Austria and Wiener Neut Stadt was. Why am I so weak to be passed by an old man and a woman? Well look at it this way 95% of my peers do not climb, so maybe I am at the bottom of the top 5%?

At the top of Mt. Crawford, 2.5 hours to get there, 1.5 to get down. Recommended time is 5 hours round trip. Mt. Washington's summit is in the clouds, right where the arrow points. I received a report that on Mt. Washington there is an outhouse with the sign, "This is the outhouse so please don't linger. If no paper, use your finger."
When I got home I biked 14 miles, played softball and cut wood for 3 hours. All of that was FAR easier than climbing Mt. Crawford.

View from Mt. Crawford, RV is at the arrows. I had a little problem getting down as it took me 10 minutes to re-locate the trail. An extensive panorama of mountains and forested valleys makes this rocky summit one of the finest viewpoints in the White Mountains.