mt washington cog railway. a nsr tr.

[steve]

In To the Top, Reachin for America's 50 State Summits, Joe Glickman writes, "Like all self-respecting highpointers, [the photographer] and I had planned to hike to the summit", and then he goes into the reasons why he didn't. I had planned on hiking up myself, and here is my reason for not: everyone I was going with cancelled on me, and I didn't want to hike alone.

Here were the plans: me and a few friends were going to hike to the summit via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Meanwhile, my wife and son were going to drive around to the other side of the mountain and take the Mt. Washington Cog Railway up. We were to meet at the top, and then take one of several options down. But when each & every individual who had planned to come on the hike had cancelled, I had a choice - either hike alone, or don't go at all. Hiking alone would have been dumb, so I almost cancelled the trip when I remembered that Joey would hate to miss the cog railway. So I decided to go after all, allowing joey to do the cog railway, and my I would ride up with them.

Allowing for breakfast, it was just over a three-hour one way drive from our friend's place in Ludlow, VT to The Base of the Cog railway. We had been driving from about 8 to 11, and our reservation was for a 12pm train. In the Last few miles of drive, however, I noticed a large amount of smoke coming off the side of the mountain. It took me a few minutes to realize that this wasn't a brush fire that could potentially ruin our plans for a state highpoint and blow a 3-hour drive, but the smoke coming out of the coal-powered boiler. It was a preview of things to come.





The Mt. Washington Cog Railway is an interesting thing. Opened in 1868, it is the oldest cog railway in the world. Because conventional railway tracks don't provide enough friction to allow a train to ascend steep hills, a special toothed rack rail is added so that tains fitted with special cog wheels will climb it. The average pitch of the track at Mt. Washington is 25%, maximizing at about 37%. The steam locomotive must be modified to work in this environment - the boiler, which requires water to cover to boiler tubes and firebox sheets at all times, must be kept fairly level at all times. Failure to do so could melt the boiler wall. As a result, the boiler is tilted forward relative to the wheels so that they are more or less level on the steep railway. The disadvantage of this is that the entire line, including maintenance shops, must be laid on a gradient. As a result, almost every cog railway in the world is now electrified, with Mt. Washington being the most notable exception.




Because of its rich history and uniqueness, the Mt. Washington Cog Railway is something that many people want to do at some point in their lives. I was that way. Now that I've done it, I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it twice. The ride is loud, bumpy, and painfully slow. If the windows are open, particals of coal, some as large as pebbles, fall into your hair and clothes. If you're not careful where you put your hands, you can end up with coal-blackened fingers. And, at $57 a ticket for adults, you're going to want to bring some KY for when they bend you over at the ticket booth. You spend a mere 20 minutes at the top to negotiate the large crowds before you have to go down. Really, the only value the railway had is that my kid loves trains. Too bad that he was the only young child on the thing. My wife commented (with a straight face) that it was like riding a jackhammer for an hour. For my part, I felt like I was being teased - some of the most beautiful hiking trails I've ever seen, especially near the great gulf, were less than 100 feet away, and I was sitting in a loud bumpy train.












The railway is very steep. There is a feature called Jacob's Ladder, which has a 37.41% pitch. A pitch this steep would be a black or double-black diamond trail at a ski area. When you're skiing it, you realize just how steep it is. But in the train, it doesn't feel as steep as it really is, and because of the disorientation, it took about 10 attempts to get a picture that was level with the ground, even with a view of the horizon. The front of the coach was 15 feet above the back of the coach, but you wouldn't know it by sitting inside.




The summit was a frenzy. It was crowded and we only had 20 minutes. It was beautiful up there in the clouds, and I spent most of it waiting in line to get a picture at the summit sign. It didn't help that joey wouldn't cooperate on a solo shot. I had planned on hiking up the other side of the mountain from the cog railroad on the Tuckerman Ravine trail, so I walked over in that direction to get a picture or two. The Clouds obstucted my view on this side, though, so it was hard to even identify where the ravine was. By now, the train was signaling that we had to get back down, so I had to scurry off. I wasn't too happy. I took a picture of the Vans that give rides down to hikers for $12, and got back on the train.









The 3-mile ride down takes less time (40 minutes) than the ride up (well over an hour), and we spent a few minutes at the museum at the bottom. They have a couple of cool exhibits, including a replica boiler that the kids can play on. Of particular interest is the original locomotive out in the yard. Called Peppersass because its vertical boiler resembles a pepper-sauce bottle, it was used to build the railway. After being lost for many years as it moved about the country and placed on display at exibitions, the ownders of the railway at the time decided to resotre it and make a commemorative trip for the railway's 60th anniversary. From wikipedia:

"During the ascent, the locomotive's front axle broke and the locomotive began descending the mountain at high speed. All but one of its crew jumped to safety (though some suffered broken bones) but one man did not escape and died. Although the locomotive broke into pieces, the boiler did not rupture, and the pieces were later reassembled to reconstruct the locomotive for static display."




We got in the car and drove back to Ludlow, had dinner, and were asleep by 10pm.

[Tuckerman]

Good times on the Smog. Be sure to come back in the winter its much better.

[steve]

oh, I forgot to add - it is my 24th state highpoint.

http://turzman.com/projects/highpoints

[Tippster]

Now you know what it looks like up there (for when you hike it so it counts... )

[Mtn Man]

Cool TR, now I'm truly convinced never to ride that thing . Hikers hate that thing, it's grandfathered into using the lowest grade coal imaginable. Therefore you are showered by soot and chunks of unburned coal when that thing goes by while hiking, not to mention the noise.

I love history and appreciate that this was used a long time ago. But being an environmental hippy-type, it's time to move on with technology and a cleaner way to educate the masses.

I've summited a few times from different directions and vowed never to take the trail next to that monster again

B)

[steve]

Now you know what it looks like up there (for when you hike it so it counts... )

KNowing what it looks like really is driving my desire to go back.

I have 3 state highpoints left in the east - Mt. Marcy NY, Mt. Rogers VA, and Mt. Kathadin ME. I will probably get those three first, then make a few trips to the whites to explore.

I'd like to do a presidential traverse, staying in the AMC huts.

[Boomer28]

I too have a love/hate relationship with the Cog...yes it is history and history is cool, but it is also a pollution spewing eyesore. But my issue at large is more with the overall mountain, the auto road and what it's become.

I remember making my first summit of Washington back in 6th grade at summer camp and being so excited since this bad-ass mountain was the biggest east of the Mississippi River, bla bla bla. We took the Hunninton ravine trail which I still remember as being one of the harder ass-kickings I've ever taken with a pack on. The whole hike was amazing up till about a mile or so from the summit when I heard a car horn...then I remembered being told there was a road up the side that was open in the wam months so the Grizwalds can drive up the mountain in the family minni-van. As we got closer I saw a building, then 2, then 3, then it looked like a small town was built on top. Once on top it was like the beach on labor day...people galore, wandeing around in flip flops with cameras and funny accents. Total buzz kill. I understand the research center up there does some cool shit but the rest is just tragic. Gift shops, snack shops, parking lots, lights, and every other thing you could possibly never want to see on top of a storied peak. On the way down to LOTC hut we saw the Cog and it's signature plume of detritus and cacophony of un-natural noises. Mt. Washington is a great place that had the unfortunate distinciton of being famous for something and now it is a joke and only gets worse ever year.

The best story I ever heard that pretty much put it in a nutshell was from my best friend's brother who worked out of AMC Base and LOTC: Jamie was out doing some work at the hut when a group of "hikers" appeared coming down the trail towards them. It turned to be a family of 4 from Kansas consisting of a 300+ lb. husband, fanny pack and all, 2 pale, dirty and miserable kids and last but not least, the wife wearing heels and short skirt. In anguish she looks up at Jamie and says "It looked so close from the top!", and Jamie looks back and says "How many nights will you be staying for?" Needles to say, being the good hippies they were they ended up walking the family back to their car in one piece. Just another day in paradise.

[powder11]

my parents took me on that thing when I was 9 or 10. all I remember was a group of hikers/hippies dropped trow and mooned the train. the train conductor hucked a large piece of coal at them and everyone laughed.

[pointedem]

looks like a great time.

It appears that you are fucked:

Where do the tracks go?

[steve]

love the story about the kansas miniskirt and I agree on all of your points. one correction though.

being so excited since this bad-ass mountain was the biggest east of the Mississippi River, bla bla bla.

north carolina and tenessee both have peaks higher than mt. washington.


fun picture:

notice the map location and elevation. washington is 6288'.
(if you were wondering, 573 miles was the distance to my house in suffern, ny.)

[Natedogg]

I agree--great TR and pics, but it also strengthens my will to never ride that thing. Hiking along the Crawford Path everytime seeing coal as far as 100' or more from the tracks makes me sick.

We took the Hunninton ravine trail which I still remember as being one of the harder ass-kickings I've ever taken with a pack on.

love the story about the kansas miniskirt and I agree on all of your points. one correction though.
north carolina and tenessee both have peaks higher than mt. washington.

One more correction--Huntington--not Hunnington. And yeah, its regarded as THE toughest trail in the Whites.

I'd like to do a presidential traverse, staying in the AMC huts.

Screw the huts--do the 10-hour deathmarch. A few of us attempted a one-day "double" Presi-Carter traverse (~40 miles). Temps were supposed to drop to near freezing with high winds overnight so we bagged the Carter traverse. But a long, cold day hike sure makes you appreciate sitting and hot soup!

[Boomer28]

Very true, very true. I think I sub-concioulsy meant to write "one of the" but being in my post-work coma did not. Bitch slap recived. Over and out.

[Mtn Man]

Screw the huts--do the 10-hour deathmarch. A few of us attempted a one-day "double" Presi-Carter traverse (~40 miles). Temps were supposed to drop to near freezing with high winds overnight so we bagged the Carter traverse. But a long, cold day hike sure makes you appreciate sitting and hot soup!

That hike is truly for the masochist. I've known a few to do that, you need to be in marathon shape to get it done. I did the hut to hut a bunch of years ago, much nicer and you actually get to enjoy it.....

Although my 16 mile death march in 95deg/100% RH conditions was a different story around Carter....ran out of H2O with 6 miles left and all streams were dry, never felt that shitty in my life....

B)

[upallnight]

My wife commented (with a straight face) that it was like riding a jackhammer for an hour.

now how would she know that?? ;-)

i thought all the dick-waving was supposed to be in that other thread....

[shmerham]

Best way to do Washington is to summit just in time to watch the sunrise. No cog, no tourists, no auto roaders. Suddenly the buildings at the top don't seem like such a big deal.

[Tuckerman]

A few of us attempted a one-day "double" Presi-Carter traverse (~40 miles). Temps were supposed to drop to near freezing with high winds overnight so we bagged the Carter traverse. But a long, cold day hike sure makes you appreciate sitting and hot soup!

Is that the Pemi loop?

[Aldo]

There's no shame in abandoning a hike to take a train ride with your son. Cool report Steve.

[Affix Snow]

Sweet for the KID....otherwise

BOO THE COG.

[Natedogg]

Is that the Pemi loop?

No, our planned route was to start from Valleyway near Gorham and go to Crawford Notch (via the ridge west of Pinkham) and then get shuttled to Pinkham to go up Wildcat over the Carters back to Gorham (ridge east of Pinkham).

Pemi Loop starts down near Loon and does the east side of Franconia Notch over to the Bonds. We have that pup on the schedule for the last weekend of September!

<edit> actually just found this in my email from the coordinator of our hike re: Pemi Loop
The loop is called the "Second toughest Dayhike in the US", according to "Backpacker Magazine"
Typically done Clockwise starting from Lincoln Woods, the trip is 31.5 miles, 9150 elevation gain, book time is 20:20 (add the side loops and it bumps up to 36 miles, 10500 feet gain). The trip reports I've read say that the unofficial record for the loop is around 7.5 hours!

Pemi Loop. This starts at Lincoln Woods, and takes the Wilderness and Osseo trails to Franconia Ridge. Then it goes along the Franconia and Garfield Ridges, up the Twinway over South Twin to Guyot, then over the Bonds and back to Lincoln Woods by the Wilderness trail (lp: 31.5 miles, 9,150 feet, 20:20).

Looks like Im in deep sh**

Sorry for the hijack.

[shmerham]

Is that the Pemi loop?

Pemi loop starts at Lincoln Woods and follows the franconia, garfield, twinway, and bond ridges back down to the Lincoln Woods. Peaks going in clockwise direction: flume, liberty, lincoln, lafayette, garfield, south twin, bond, bondcliff. 31.5 miles, 9,150 feet

That double traverse that Natedogg is talking about is way tougher.

[danhikeski]

i can't believe that you would help fund that thing by riding up it. try hiking by it some day and get peppered by the fucking coal spewing out the "smokestack". besides, if you are in shape, you can hike it in about 5 hours round trip from the pinkham notch side, prolly the same going up ammonousec (spelling?) ravine trail.

regarding the pemi loop, i went from lincoln woods up the bonds, over to zealand mtn and down in 12 hours, that was 25 miles or so. the way i worked it out, using the AMC guide, and hitting all the 4000fts on the way would be 36 miles.

shmerman, you dont' need to get up that early if you do it in the winter, but you might see the snowcat full of edu-trippers. the edu-trippers do get excited to see you sled down the auto road, thou. just don't stop for them, the driver will get pissed.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Should just sack up and walk down the cog trestle:

That's from my last spring trip up there (http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29965) when I descended on the trestle, which actually I don't recommend as it's quite dangerous. Good you got the kid up for the day at least, can't believe they only give you 20 minutes up there. kind of strange that I've hiked/skied Mt. Washington many times and never been to the true summit, even when I've used the auto road.

Oh, and I heard it snowed up there last week...

[Natedogg]

Oh, and I heard it snowed up there last week...

Did it, or are you just messin'? I didnt see anything in the observer comments...

[Dexter Rutecki]

I heard it on the radio, for real. maybe they had it wrong, but they reported flurries one night sometime in the past ten days.

edit: from the observatory website weather log:Almanac Data

Record High: 66&#176;F (1937)

Record Low: 20&#176;F (1986)

Average Daily Temperature: 45&#176;F

Average Monthly Melted Precipitation: 8.08

Average Monthly Snowfall: 0.20

Total Snowfall So Far This Month: Trace

Average Monthly Winds: 24.6

[Dr. Gaper]

I have a phobia of those cog thingies. I always fear that they are going to slip off the drive mechanism, and barrel down the hill backwards.