They’re White! Mt. Monroe and Mt. Washington

PHOTO: Yours truly experiencing winter like conditions near the summit of Mount Washington. Nelson Craig Photo

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

The thermometer on my car read 13 degrees as I drove up the Base Road to the hiker parking area at the Cog Railway. When I arrived Becca was already booting up. We put ten bucks in the iron ranger envelope and put the ticket stub on our dashboard to show we had paid.
Winter boots on our feet and our backpacks were filled with our winter gear. My winter gear includes such items as my save-my-life jacket, extra mittens, goggles, microspikes and extra food. My pack weighs a lot more in the winter.
As we hiked up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail we soon started to hit patches of snow and ice. We carefully walked on the bare rocks where the snow had melted off the previous day. We passed by two hikers that didn’t look prepared for winter and one was having an extremely difficult time dealing with the slippery footing.
About two miles up the trail we passed beneath Gem Pool, it was flowing and there was some ice. From this point upward the Trail is very steep. A young man wearing muck boots, Levi corduroy pants and a T-shirt came past us. Oh to be young and bold.

The snow was slippery but not packed deep enough to use the micro-spikes. We saw some people wearing them but they were walking on rocks. Our microspikes rode in our pack the whole day but our hiking poles were valuable for helping keep our balance and to propel us forward.
When we reached the boarded up and closed Lakes of the Cloud hut the sun was bright and it was warming up fast but as we hiked up Mt. Monroe the wind really picked up. We put our jackets back on and Becca put on her goggles. I switched back and forth between my goggles and my sunglasses. I was happy to have them on to block not just the wind but the bright sun that was reflecting off the snow.

We had Monroe’s summit to ourselves at 10 am and we took a very short break while we enjoyed the big vista filled with mountains. The mountaintops were all white covered with snow but down in the valley the Mount Washington’s Hotel’s golf course was bright green.
Retracing our steps back to the hut we met a couple groups of people heading up Mt. Monroe. At the hut others were organizing and a few more hikers were headed up Mt. Washington.
From the hut we joined the Crawford path and we followed it for 1.5 miles to Washington’s summit. The snow had interesting swirl patterns caused by the wind and the deepest snow we encountered was 8 or 9 inches. We felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves.
The summit buildings are all closed up for the season and offer no services to the public. The observatory staff is inside and there were a couple of NH State Park pick up trucks with gnarly chains on their tires parked nearby.
We snapped a few photos at the summit sign that is famous for having a long line to wait your turn to stand next to it. There were five guys sitting in the sun at the entrance of the old Tip-Top House. We next went over with the idea of sitting out of the wind by the Stage Office building but when we got to the south side of the building a few hikers were already sitting there.
Finally we found our sunny windless spot on the steps of the Yankee Building. I did some research and from a story by Edith Tucker in the Conway Daily Sun I learned that the Yankee Building was built in 1940, The Yankee Building is the communications hub in the State Park and is slated to have major renovations in the near future.
The midday sun was warm and we lingered a long time eating our lunch on the steps. We could watch other hikers come and go to the famous summit sign.

We decided to walk around the back of the summit building and follow the Nelson Crag Trail down to the Cog Railway tracks. We quickly caught up to the five guys that were at the Tip-Top House. They said their plan was to take the Gulfside Trail to the Jewel Trail and they weren’t sure where to find the Gulfside Trail. We suggested that they follow our steps down to the tracks and to follow the tracks down until they intersected Gulfside. We took off ahead of them and we later looked back and we could see that they had found their way.
I have never walked off Mt. Washington along the Cog Railway’s right of way. It isn’t a hiking trail but about ten years ago a power line from the base to the summit was buried and it resulted in improved footing. I’d have never walked along the tracks the entire way, but I have skied it.
Straight down the ridge between the Burt and the Ammonoosuc Ravines we hiked along the tracks. This is the shortest route, about 3 miles, off the mountain but it is steep and relentless. We took our darn sweet time enjoying the view and the sunshine.
At Jacob’s Ladder we hiked up to a ledgy perch and took a good look down into the Ammonoosuc Ravine. Across the way we could see the Lakes of the Clouds hut and where we had hiked earlier in the day.
The Cog is operating one hour excursions to what they call Waumbek Station. They have shelters, a firepit and a porta-potty. When we reached Waumbek Station, elevation 3,900 feet, no one was in sight. We enjoyed our second lunch at one of the picnic tables. When we could see the train coming up the tracks we packed up and continued down. We waved to the people waving to us from inside the train. (Winter Cog tickets to Waumbek Station are $41 at their website).
Driving back down Base Road my thermometer read 38 degrees. We had a fun early taste of winter.
Think Snow!