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After
going back outside, we walked over the actual summit, climbed up the rocks
to the summit sign, and someone offered to take our picture for us. From the top,
we could see Boot Spur, Lion’s Head, all of the Northern and Southern
Presidentials, the top of the Tuckerman Ravine headwall (although we
couldn’t see down into the ravine), the Franconia Range, and all the way
to Canada. We were lucky to have such good weather.
We
then went over to the Tip-Top House where a friendly park service guide
showed us the bunkroom and told us a bit of history, even though we were
short on cash and didn’t pay the $2 each admission. While we were
standing there, we saw an airplane towing a glider, and then release it.
The plane then dived down low to the summit, which the guide said was
illegal. As we were getting ready to head back down, a cog railway train
arrived, and Erin wanted to stop to watch it.
Finally,
we headed back down the Crawford Path the same way we ascended, stepping extra
carefully so as not to trip on the steep boulder-strewn trail. At the Lakes of the Clouds
Hut once again, we rested for awhile and ate some free cold pancakes that
were left over from breakfast. After that, we left on the Crawford Path
for Mt Monroe. Erin decided not climb Mt Monroe and took the Crawford Path
around its base, while I went up the Monroe Loop to the summit. Mt Monroe
was very rocky, and in many places the trail was nothing more than cairns
on the scree, which made for some difficult climbing, especially now that
I was getting tired. It was an interesting
mountain though, and the views back to Mt Washington and down into
Oake’s Gulf were great.
There
were some pretty alpine flowers along the Monroe Loop, including Mountain
Avens. I figured
out later that I had missed seeing the rarest flowers that only grew beneath
the Mt Monroe summit along the Crawford Path.
After
going down into the small col between Mt Monroe and Little Monroe, then up
and over Little Monroe, I met Erin, who was resting at the Crawford Path
junction. We continued along the path, passing over Mt Franklin, which was
barely noticeable, then climbing down toward the Mt Eisenhower base. We
met two people on the way up toward the hut; they were the only people we had seen
on the trail since the hut.
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Erin
and me on the actual summit of Mt Washington. Someone offered to take our
picture. |
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