Hanover

Another college, although one much more about my reminiscing than about D's future. Dartmouth was miserably hot and muggy, reinforcing any negative stereotypes we had of New England summers. I enjoyed by summer in Hanover in 1978, but I also remember it being unpleasantly hot. At least the Reserve Room at Baker was air conditioned, but ultimately, we kept the visit very short and headed off for West Lebanon for dinner.

Mount Washington

I'd never driven up Mount Washington until two years ago - and now I've done it twice. The Subaru made it with little problem. We were warned at the base that the top was in the clouds, but I wanted to do it anyway and although it was socked in when we got to the summit, it cleared while we were there.

It may be the first time I've ever been on the summit when their wasn't ice on the railings and rocks, but it was still much more pleasant than at sea level. The wind was blowing - though closer to 30-35 than to 231 mph. The summit and the drive up are impressive by New England standards, but were put in perspective by the 12,000' Bear Tooth Highway less than two weeks later.

Hancock

A&S milked the goats, fed the chickens, and made espresso. And then we took a pleasant fall walk around the property and into town, which made for a perfect start to a day that would eventually include several donuts, lots more coffee, a fast drive to Providence, a faster train to Boston, and a long flight to Seattle.

Tuckerman's

The weather was nice enough, and my knee limber enough, so I stuck snacks and a water bottle and some extra clothes in my pack and headed down Crawford Path toward Lake of the Clouds. I didn't have time to go quite that far, so I swung east over towards Tuckerman's Ravine. I contemplated going to the headwall and peering down, but decided against it and headed back up to the top of the mountain. The long lines of cairns seem like overkill in this kind of weather, but I remember coming up Tuckerman's one late spring during college to find heavy cold fog and having to cautiously creep from one cairn to another all the way to the summit (or the Lake of the Clouds hut - I don't remember).

Mount Washington

Okay, so I spent my childhood thumbing my nose at folks who had taken on Mount Washington by car. But the weather was perfect and my time limited, and my little Hertz Blue Cobalt was ready to go, so I spent the $20, stuck the self-guided tour CD in the player, and headed up. Good decision - and not as commercial as I had expected. Above timberline (about 4000'), the alpine terrain could almost be mistaken for the Beartooth Highway or Trail Ridge Road. The cog railway is still running, belching smoke and tourists at the top.

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the northeast, and third in the Appalachians only to Mount Mitchell (NC) and Clingman's Dome (TN). It was in the mid 20's with a gentle breeze (at least for this place).

New Hampshire

I left Brunswick Sunday morning and drove north through Auburn, Oxford Plains, and Bethel, before hitting the Dunkin Donuts in Gorham, NH. The White Mountains were spectacular, though the leaves were just a little past prime, and I managed to visit Mt. Washington and North Conway (I had time for Friendly's Ice Cream, but not Eastern Mountain Sports). Then it was the Kancamagus Highway and I-93 south to Manchester and then over to Hancock.