Jackson, New Hampshire & Mt Washington

Two shots of the main street of Ogunquit.

American flags are omnipresent.

Covered bridge leading to Jackson.

The Eagle Mountain House.

Shayna in her happy place... at the top of Glen Boulder Trail.

Admiring the view.

Holding up the boulder.

The top of Mt Washington.

A great place to relax and enjoy the White Mountain view.

The outdoor dinning.

The quaint old lodge.

Thursday, June 16^th.

We left early for our short 2-hour drive to New Hampshire. The weather was good but rain was promised for later in the day and we had a hike to do. We arrived in Jackson, NH by 11 and had word that our room was ready in the Eagle Mountain House, so we drove straight there. This is a beautiful old lodge built in 1879 that has 125 rooms and 100 baths. We checked in and left our stuff and drove to a market to pick up sandwiches and snacks for our hike. Then we drove to the head of the Glen Boulder Trail. This is a five mile there and back again trek straight up the mountain. We started in the typical hardwood forest and climbed above the tree line. The footing was difficult as it was all over rocks. It was hard and there was lots of huffing and puffing going on, but I just practised the ‘pole pole’ (slowly slowly) method I’d learned at Kilimanjaro. Just keep moving. It took over an hour up climbing to reach the alpine line where we had to scramble over a large rock face before climbing some more to reach the goal of the huge balancing boulder. We stayed at the top for a bit before retracing our steps back down to the car. It was difficult going down too, as our legs were tired, and you had to watch your footing all the time. It wouldn’t do to sprain an ankle here… we only saw five people the whole way. It took about three hours to complete, and my legs were like Jell-O by the end. After that we drove to the beginning of Mt Washington Roadway. This is an eight-mile road that climbs to the summit of the highest peak in eastern North America. It took many years and several false starts but after a bankruptcy problem the final Mt Washington Summit Road company formed and completed the construction in two years from 1859-61 (pre civil war!). It is billed as America’s oldest and continuing attraction and is still family owned and operated. It cost $39 US for the car and driver and $15 each for any other passenger. It is a narrow two-lane road that has been used as a way for tourists to reach the top and for every kind of race you can imagine over the years. Shayna has climbed this mountain three times in the past. It is a three hour climb and the same return. When we reached the summit, it was encased in cloud and you couldn’t see anything. I parked the car and climbed the 50 odd stairs to the summit building where I learned a bit about the history. It was so foggy I had a hard time finding the car again. Then we drove back down to the lodge. We made a dinner reservation for the porch and went to the room to get ready. We had a drink on the porch in rocking chairs while we waited for our table. Shayna had scallops and I had salmon. It was a lovely evening to sit our and enjoy the tree covered White Mountains. After dinner we went to the Jackson Hole game room and played ping pong and pool for an hour or so before retiring for the night.