Summit Date

June 13, 2013; around 11:00 am

Party

Ryan, Debi, and Toren Cragun

Trip Report

This is another mountain that I probably would have hiked if it were not for the fact that I was traveling with my wife and son.  Because I was, I opted for the easy route up the mountain – driving.  There are a variety of options for this.  There is the train, which is expensive but seems like it would be cool.  There is the toll road, which you can drive up yourself (most days), or the same company will take you up in a tour van (for about $30.00 per person).  We originally planned to go up to the summit on June 12th, but the weather was nasty and the toll road company wasn’t letting anyone drive to the top.  And since the train only runs a couple of times a day in June and we’d missed those times, we couldn’t get to the summit on the 12th. Instead, we spent the night in Gorham, NH, and hoped for a nice day on the 13th.  Turns out, it was amazingly nice – one of the nicest the guide had ever seen (the summit has some of the nastiest weather in the US).  However, it was also motorcycles only that day, so we couldn’t drive our car to the top and, instead, had to pay to be driven to the top in a tour van.  That was okay, though, we still made it.

There is actually quite a bit to see on the summit.  There are a couple of museums and a restaurant, as well as the highpoint and great views.  We spent about 1 1/2 hours on the top and visited the museums, then got back in the van and headed down.

Panorama

Directions from Gorham, NH