Mt. Jefferson - July 26, 2008

[TrishandAlex]

Trish it is only 4.2 miles from Pinkham to the summit of Washington. With Alex doing as well as she did on caps ridge trail I see no reason she couldn't summit Washington on a good weather day. The weather is the problem.
Madison did fantastic but he had alot of people rooting him on. I had it set where if he didn't want to hike back down I had a ride waiting for him. It was nice knowing I had an out if he was to tired to climb back down. Madison blew me away. He never complained once and actually moved faster than me. We made it up in 3 1/2 hours and down in 3. As a father I couldn't have been any more proud of him for what he had accomplished. He not only summited but did it raising money for a great cause, Mount Washington Observatory. What is so great with Washington is that you can always have someone drive to the top and meet you if you hike up with the little ones. They aren't forced to make it back down if they are tired. Madison said it was the best hike he has ever done.

That's fantastic. What a great time the two of you had.

Well then, perhaps Alex will be ready for it next year. When we do Mt. Washington, we should definitely make money for the Observatory at the same time.

[Bretton Woods Brat]

Great story and pics! Glad your little hiker is ok.

[Breeze]

What is so great with Washington is that you can always have someone drive to the top and meet you if you hike up with the little ones. They aren't forced to make it back down if they are tired.

Rex, sorry to disagree, but I have to challenge this sentiment. There is no guarantee that the Auto Road is ALWAYS available as a bail-out option. Check the FAQ page at the Auto Road website!

Breeze

[bikehikeskifish]

She then told me she wants to do Mt. Field next because she thinks it's silly that a mountain is named Field.

It's named field in the same way that it might be named Alex, in this case, after Darby Field. See also Mount Field.

Tim

[TrishandAlex]

Hi Tim,

Yes, I explained to her that it was named after Darby Field, and I explained to her who that was. Still, she thinks it's funny.

It's named field in the same way that it might be named Alex, in this case, after Darby Field. See also Mount Field.

Tim

[bikehikeskifish]

My son thinks Willey is a funny name for a mountain. Maybe we can team them up for the pair

Tim

[rockin rex]

Rex, sorry to disagree, but I have to challenge this sentiment. There is no guarantee that the Auto Road is ALWAYS available as a bail-out option. Check the FAQ page at the Auto Road website!

Breeze

If the weather is nice and no storms are in the forecast the auto road can be used. I have always used the auto road as an out in good weather and never had a problem. I agree in bad weather it is not an option but why would you bring kids up unless you had a blue bird day??

[Breeze]

The short answer is that many bluebird days do not stay that way in the Presi's, weather changes quickly, and when hiking up from Tucks there is little advance warning of what is approaching from the west or southwest, or even when the cloud level will drop to Treeline.

The Auto Road has been quickly closed to traffic due to afternoon thunderstorms with torrential rains and high winds 4 days out of the last 10 days. I worked the Toll House on 2 of those days. It is no fun at all to be the bearer of bad news to parents, wives, husbands or friends that they CANNOT drive up to fetch the rest of their party.

See the article in the Union Leader

http://www.unionleader.com/article.a...e-4dcbf47ecc6b

It is the summit crew who are placed in the position of trying to help folks who "assumed" that everything would be fine and dandy and their ride would be waiting at the top.

Sorry to be stuck on this, but one should definitely approach hiking Mt Washington with every caution and full understanding that there are no guarantees of a ride down, and be prepared for that eventuality.

Breeze

[rockin rex]

Breeze I stand corrected. When I said you can get a ride down I looked at it thru my eyes. I am in error when I posted here that you can count on a ride down. I have hiked the rock pile many times, many of them being with my kids and I fully know what to expect. For seek the peak I carried up around 20 pounds most of them warm clothes and extra food for my son. I had coats ,hat, gloves etc. for him. When I posted about the road I assumed most people reading my post would be the same as me and you know what they say about assume. The bottom line is if you are bringing up kids to top of mount Washington don't count on being picked up. Make sure your kids have the power to make it up and back down. If they seem tired and the weather is turning head back down. Kids count on parents to make the right choices for them.

[Breeze]

Thanks so much Rex. It is just a change in the message that needs to get out. I'm sure you've had many a successful trip up and down by various means, but not everyone has your experience and familiarity.

Again, I'm sorry if I rained on your experiences, that wasn't my intent. Mt Washington is not a peak to trivialize. I know you know that, but I had to challenge. Thank you for being gracious and thank you for understanding the differing opinion.

Breeze