Rollin’ Rivards: Tamworth Camping Area-Tamworth New Hampshire

Tamworth Camping Area-Tamworth, New Hampshire

To not be outdone, Mark was starting to feel under the weather. We went to a clinic to have him tested for Covid. Since we knew Lisa was positive, we were not surprised by his positive result. Luckily, he was diagnosed early enough to get the drug to get it under control. This was both of our first battles with Covid-we have been very lucky to have not gotten it before now. A quick trip to Walmart supplied us with meds and a bag full of home Covid tests. There may or may not also be a few bags of snacks and ice cream treats from our outing to Walmart....

With both of us under the weather, we could not get out to hike in the mountains or do anything strenuous. We looked over the area to see what we could view from the car and not interact with others. We were at finally off the couch for at least short periods of time. We drove up through Crawford Notch. The colors are amazing and well worth the trip. The pictures do not truly capture the colors and their splendor.

Silver Cascade is a tall mix of plunges and cascades that hop and skip from left to right down the side of Mount Jackson, one of New Hampshire’s 48 4,000-foot Mountains. The falls eventually converge with the Saco River below the highway.

A view showing the other side of the Notch and the fall foliage. There are so many thousands of acres of wilderness in the north that I was not expecting. We are loving being out in nature, away from the noise and crowds, and just enjoying being far from the rat race of corporate America.

The cog train tracks heading to the top of Mount Washington. One of the Cog Train Engines from the 1800's that was used to carry passenger train cars to the top of Mount Washington is now a tourist attraction.

"The Second Greatest Show on Earth!” That’s what showman P.T. Barnum proclaimed in 1869 as he stepped down off the train and marveled at the view from Mount Washington’s rocky summit.

Today, more than 150 years later, the Mount Washington Cog Railway continues to thrill passengers from all over the world with its dramatic ascent to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast.

The Cog is the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world. With an average grade of 25% (some sections approach nearly 38%), it’s also the second steepest! The train's power is primarily provided by a fleet of seven powerful biodiesel locomotives, each custom designed, built and maintained on site. And with a nod to its steam heritage, the railway also continues to operate a pair of coal-fired steam engines in the warmer months, both are well over a century old.

We had decided to not take the Cog train, partly because of our Covid symptoms (we were both testing negative by now- so we were no longer contagious, but neither of us were feeling very well yet) and we also had Karma with us. We also wanted to drive to the top of Mount Washington so we could spend time there as we desired. They give you a bumper sticker if you successfully drive up the mountain- it is a challenging mountain to navigate. They actually have people who will drive your car back down the mountain if you need help. Lisa was still a bit puny and the altitude did not help her shortness of breath. We took our time and really did enjoy the fresh air and the splendor of the area. It felt good to get outside again.

We stopped to enjoy this mountainside view of the trees overlooking a pond on the side of the road. There are many pine trees in the area which keep some green in the fall foliage.

This was not supposed to be the picture we planned to take. It is always funny to capture the little unexpected things like her sticking her tongue out. Not sure what she was pondering, but something had her attention.

This was another pond we had driven past multiple times. We finally stopped to go out on the wooden bridge and take in the views of the area. The number of places to stop and view the scenery are everywhere and the colors are breathtaking. We are truly learning to live in the moment and enjoy the abundant beauty around us. This is our way to "stop to smell the roses", or the fall mountain air in this case.

We were up above the clouds earlier.

The road going up to the summit of Mount Washington is simply called the Auto Road. Work on the road began in 1854.

Building the road was an enormous task. The nearest source of supplies was eight miles away, and all transportation was by horse, oxen or on the backs of men. Dynamite was unknown. Black powder was the explosive, and blasting holes were all drilled by hand. There was no machinery to handle the countless tons of rock and gravel that had to be moved. Even in Mount Washington’s bad weather, laborers worked 10-12 hours a day and lived in primitive shanties or tents.

Work progressed until the fall of 1856, when the halfway point was reached. Then the money ran out, and the effort was halted. But, a new company, the present Mount Washington Summit Road Company, was formed in 1859. The next year, work resumed, and the first tolls were collected for passage to the Halfway House.

The gala opening of the Road to the summit took place on August 8, 1861, with many local dignitaries arriving at the summit in a Concord Coach.

The very first motorized ascent was by Freelan O. Stanley, of Stanley Steamer fame, in 1899. There were more steam-powered ascents during the next three years, and then in 1902, the first two gasoline-powered cars reached the summit.

Clearly, the automobile age had begun on the Road, despite sometimes-strident criticism. In 1912, the first motorized stage appeared, a second-hand Thomas Flyer.

Since 1861 when the Road opened, it has witnessed the evolution of transportation. Probably the single most significant change was when mechanical horsepower replaced real horse power and yet that change took many years as the public was unsure of this new form of transportation. When the Mt. Washington Carriage Road formally made the change from horses to motors in 1912, not all the stage drivers were willing or able to make that change. It was many more years before the last privately owned horse drawn wagon made the ascent and the Carriage Road slowly became known as the Auto Road.

Most vehicles take about 30 minutes to make the 7.6 mile ascent and from 30 to 45 minutes to come down depending on traffic, weather conditions and whether or not you need to stop to cool your brakes. The Auto Road is a steep, narrow mountain road without guardrails. The average grade is 12%. As the sign at the base of the Road states – “If you have a fear of heights, you may not appreciate this driving experience.”

Mount Washington Observatory is a private, nonprofit, member-supported institution that maintains a weather station on the summit of Mount Washington, performing weather and climate research, conducting innovative science education programs, and interpreting the heritage of the Mount Washington region. This area is known for the high winds common at the summit- the winter weather rivals the artic.

We made a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of this bridge- requiring us to disconnect Fred from Ethel and turn around. The clearance on the 146 year old bridge was 9' 2" with a 3 ton weight limit. Ethel is 13'4 tall and 25 tons, so it probably would not have worked out well if we had tried to cross the bridge. We are learning to just laugh at these little snafus and incidents. All that was lost was a small amount of time and a little bit of gas and diesel.

The most popular waterfall of the Pinkham Notch area is the 64-foot plunge known as Glen Ellis Falls. A walk up and down a series of staircases will get your blood pumping, but this waterfall is well worth the effort. The colors and the scenery are magnificent. We actually had several couples stop to chat with us. It is usually either Mark's navy (or submarine) hat/shirt or Karma that trigger people to stop and chat with us. We really have met some friendly and interesting people along our journey- plus it looks like we are just being friendly rather than trying to catch our breath from the climb. Submariners make up a teeny percent of navy veterans, so it is always interesting to meet another submarine vet. We have surprisingly met several over the last few months while out hiking.