Bretton Woods, New Hampshire and Beyond

It was the perfect day in every way! With the highway, a calm, black satin ribbon rolling to the rhythm of my car wheels, we breezed up to Exit 20, stopped for a cup of coffee and fries to take a quick break, and before we could blink, we were there, right in the middle of pristine wooded mountains. The trip has taken on the air of a pilgrimage to a hallowed spot, and we passed with reverence through Franconia Notch, wishing that there was time to spend a week at the Lafayette Campground. The White Mountains have long been known for natural splendor, as well as some of the most beautiful scenery in the eastern United States. The White Mountains Trail, designated a National Scenic Byway, encompasses all these aspects over the course of its 100-mile route. It can be driven in a day or can be the object of an entire vacation’s worth of relaxation, exploration, and discovery. Fifty Thousand years ago, ice ages carved out notches, hollowed out lakes and gorges, and created iconic artifacts and glaciations that have sustained unparalleled recreational pursuits, for over 350 years. Landforms continue to evolve as rain triggers landslides, frost fractures rocks and rivers erode valleys. Today the rain was threatening but never came upon us as we drove along Route 93 North. We took a right turn on to Rt 3 North and then onto 302, and headed towards Bretton Woods and the Cog Railway Base Station,which is six miles off Route 302.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway is a National Historic Engineering Landmark. Its first locomotive, Old Peppersass, reached the summit of Mount Washington on July 3, 1869, making it the world's first mountain climbing railroad using a toothed cogwheel to engage the rack between the rails.
First we made our traditional stop at the overlook in front of the majestic Mount Washington Hotel. We joined a throng of Harley Davidson riders, full throttle into the annual bike-week and took our place beside them to marvel at the scenery and snap pictures in a Mt. Washington valley as green and fresh as could be after the weeks of recent rain and cool weather.
Coasting along the winding road leading up to the Base Station, that anticipation grew as we knew that we’d find the familiar plume of black smoke, the smell of coal in the air and hopefully a few of our old friends at the Marshfield Station. Sure enough, the engineer was shoveling the coal and adding the water, while as diverse a group as you’d hope to meet anywhere waited to board the Cog for a three-hour round trip to the summit of Mt. Washington (6288’ straight up.) Folks from Bangladesh and China mingled with bikers in leather jackets and chains, old and young; they boarded a train that has been chugging up the mountain for the past 140 years. The first forty years of Cog's operation, wood-fired boilers powered the train to the 6,288-foot summit.Then around 1910, more efficient coal was introduced. Each six-mile round trip consumes a ton of coal and 1,000 gallons of water. Recently a new addition was the Wajo Nanatasis bio diesel operated locomotive, which will diminish emissions and conserve the use of fossil fuels. Wajo Nanatasis was designed and built on site, at the base of Mount Washington. The name, pronounced "Wadzo Nanna-tassis" is Abenaki for "Mountain Hummingbird".

After watching a train or two go up and down, we dragged the picnic lunch from the car and settled on a bench to enjoy the show. When we went back to put the basket away, our wish came true and our old friends the fox family came out to greet us! Last year’s kits had a family of their own and they were happy to pose for us as we admired them and took their pictures, along with a group of people fresh from the summit. Little did we know then that we would see more wildlife before the day was out! On our way back through Franconia Notch Sate Park, we spotted cars pulled over to the side of the road, and a young black bear was foraging on a rocky outcrop in the notch. He was a bit shyer than our foxy friends, but did manage to pop out from the trees long enough for a quick photo-shoot.
On our right was the serene Echo Lake which demanded a quick visit, since the bear made us stop and reverse directions on the highway to visit him. We watched as two brave souls took a dip in the cool mountain waters, and fly fisherman worked their lines in the hopes of having more than a fish-story to tell at days end.
The Basin was full due to the recent rains and the waters of “The Pemi” made mini-waterfalls with the fresh spring runoff. Butterflies and buttercups, trains and wildlife made for the perfect day. Can’t wait to go again!

Click on picture below to see all images from the trip:

Bretton Woods, NH