Days 47 - 48

Day 47
October 2, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Finally, no rain, but the day started out cloudy and cold. It was 36 deg. When we woke up. Today, we rode the Cog Railway to the top of Mt. Washington. The road up to the Train Station was closed due to one of the rivers flooding, so we had to detour up a one lane forest road. We were fortunate to get the old steam engine. The run up to the summit (6288 ft elevation) was 3 miles, and took a little more than an hour. The steepest grade on the ride to the top is 37.41 %. As we reached the summit, we broke through the clouds. It was clear blue sky and cold. Starting several hundred feet below the summit, plants, rocks, and anything else above ground level was coated in ice. The temperature at the summit while we were there was 24 deg, with a wind chill of 5 deg. The wind varied between 40 & 60 MPH. It was so clear, we could see the Atlantic Ocean. The highest velocity wind ever recorded in the US was 231 MPH at the summit of Mt. Washington in April 1934. The annual average snowfall is 177 inches, and the average wind speed is 37 MPH. The engine is not physically connected to the passenger car. There is a roller on the front of the engine that pushes on a plate mounted on the rear of the car. On the trip down, the brakeman operates two large wheels in the passenger car that are the brakes. At times, the engine & the car separate a few inches. After leaving the Cog Railway, the regular road was now open as the flooded river had subsided. We were on our own for the rest of the day. Several of us went to the Mt. Washington Hotel. This is one of several old Hotels that were built back in the early 1900’s for the wealthy to vacation. We had originally planned on eating lunch there, but the meal prices were very high, so we went to a local restaurant. After lunch we took it easy. Several of us played Mexican Train after dinner.

Day 48
October 3, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today turned out to have great weather. It was cool, but clear and a lot of sunshine. Our first stop today was the Gondola ride up Mt. Cannon. The cars hold 80 people in standing room only. At the top were several short walking trails that several of our people took. We had a great view of the area from there. After we came down of the mountain, we were on our own for lunch. Most of us drove down to the little town of North Woodstock and ate in one of the local restaurants. After lunch, we all met at the Flume Gorge. This in an area that is hard to describe, but basically, the river has worn a high, narrow gorge in the granite. It is quite picturesque. We spent most of the afternoon at the gorge. Several of us went out to eat at a small Seafood Restaurant in Littleton, NH for dinner.