Volunteer 11/21/-11/28/07

[KD Talbot]

It is a remarkable day here on the summit. After four and a half years, the generators have been shut down. It is quiet outside the Sherman Adams Building! Less than an hour ago we switched over to what is being called "Valley Power". The trenches that were dug beside the Cog Railroad tracks have been filled in, and there are power cables that now reach the summit. Of course there are many opinions about the damage done to the mountain to complete this project, but, it is quiet and there are no diesel fumes. To me, that is a vast improvement. Eventually, the walls that housed the diesel generators will be torn down, and the front entrance will be returned to it's original state. In a way that is too bad, those walls offered good shelter from the west winds for hikers, and for observers making the trip to the precip can.

Today was shift change day, always a hectic day on the summit. I arrived at the base of the Auto Road with little trouble, it was strange this morning to drive through North Conway, it was like a ghost town. Stranger still to see the parking lot at Pinkham Notch virtually empty. Not too many hikers today, as the weather was miserable.
We rode to the two mile post in the MWO van, then switched all our gear to the MWO Bombardier, better known as the Sno-cat, though that is a brand name and doesn't apply to this machine. At the summit was the usual line of folks passing gear and supplies, first unloading the tractor, then reloading for the group that was heading down. Inside I got right to work putting groceries away, cleaning up and getting ready to make supper. I had Red, (Chris's Irish Setter) and Tank, another very young dog, who belongs to one of the fellas working on the power switch, I didn't catch his name, for company in the kitchen for most of the afternoon. Nin was in and out, checking on the commotion and letting the dogs know who the king of the mountain was.

We had taco pie for supper and no one complained, I guess they liked it! I went outside for a few minutes, temps were in the mid-thirties and it was raining. Visibility was about fifty feet. Took a few pictures, but it was mostly a waste of time. The rain was ruining the rime ice and chunks were falling off the towers, so I went back inside.
Looks like more crummy weather for tomorrow, just as well, big day in the kitchen! Happy Thanksgiving from the top of New England!

KDT

[Brad]

Kevin,

Thanks for posting your report and pictures. How about giving us names for each of the crew in the picture above? Have a great week.

[FisherCat]

This is great, somehow I knew you'd have a posting sometime today. Keep up the good work!

[JimS]

Nice shots Kevin, your doccumentary pictures always give a wonderful and full feeling of place. I look forward to the rest of your week.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and the rock, and good luck with the Turkey!!!

[Brad]

Nice shots Kevin, your doccumentary pictures always give a wonderful and full feeling of place. I look forward to the rest of your week.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and the rock, and good luck with the Turkey!!!

I thought he said he only knew how to cook hot dogs and beans.

[spyboy]

With enough hot dogs & toothpicks you can "shape" a turkey

I thought he said he only knew how to cook hot dogs and beans.

[Mike D]

You can get turkey franks.

[Brad]

We need to be quiet now and not disturb the cook. Is the big meal at noon or the evening?

[KD Talbot]

I'm killing some time before I put the turkey in the oven. Nope, no turkey dogs, but not a whole turkey either. The whole turkey we have up here was big enough to feed an army, so we scaled down and I'm going to cook a turkey breast. Never done this before. You don't stuff it and it cooks in a foil wrapper. I hope it's a real butchered turkey and not turkey loaf. I hate turkey loaf and that would really bum me out if I had to serve that to these fine people.

Red and Nin have kept me company in the kitchen all morning. Everything's ready to go, I just have to wait because we don't have supper until seven tonight. I spent an hour or so writing, then went outside for a stroll around the summit. What is awesome is all I could hear was the wind, and it is gusting pretty nicely out there today. Strange that it is blowing from the south and the temps are in the low forties. All the ice has melted off of things and is laying in heaps on the ground. The gusts are reaching sixty MPH. Not enough to knock me down, but enough to blow me off balance. Hopping around on the wet rocks above treeline would prove very tricky today. I hope most hikers have stayed below treeline, though I saw one pair of bootprints with crampons in the melting ice near the Stage Office. I got up at 5:50 in case there was a sunrise to be seen, but no such luck, so I went back to bed. I may repeat this tomorrow from the sounds of the forecast. It's OK, I've had really good weather on my other trips here, so I was due for this. It should clear Saturday. The bad weather gives me a chance to write and do some reading, otherwise I'd be out visiting the nearby crags. There's nothing noteworthy to photograph today, hopefully something will happen before too long. Maybe I'll get a group shot at dinner, though I told them I wouldn't do that to them again. I'll do a quick update after I've cleaned up tonight.

KDT

[Breeze]

I absolutely get the goosebumps when Chris has Red with him in the AR season.

He is the spitting image of a dog I had for almost 16 years, a Golden Retriever/Irish Setter Cross. What GREAT company! Just watch the counters, Kevin, LOLOL, Hancock could clean them of anything not nailed down, absolutely silently, if I so much as turned my back.

Not that RED would do that Nin would rat him out.

Breeze

Edit to add how spooky it is that you posted Red's pic at the same time I was getting misty eyed remembering the Thanksgiving Day when Hancock thieved a goodly chunk of Saga Bleu from the appetizer tray. Thanks Kevin, that was a GIFT.