Wonderous White Mountains of New Hampshire

We have spent the last week in New Hampshire and the stunning and beautiful, White Mountains. This range is still part of the Appalachian Mountains, and runs through parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and into SW Maine. Not to be confused with the Adirondacks, which are actually still growing, the White Mountains hold the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Mt. Washington is 6288′ at the top. (Sorry, no pictures of it as it was raining whenever we seemed to pass by it). We are told on a clear day, you can actually see the Atlantic coast from the top. Yes, we know this isn’t that high compared to the Rockies. In fact, we camped in Colorado at higher elevation, but it’s still pretty tall and when you consider we are only a few hours from New York and the Atlantic, it’s quite amazing at what this whole area offers.

A fun fact for those of you that are hikers, New Hampshire’s White Mountains have 48 – 4,000 footers. We had no idea what that meant or that it even existed. We learned there are 48 mountains in New Hampshire that are over 4,000′ tall and they have created a club for those that want to hike them all. As we were traveling through one of the many “notches” of the state and stopped to take pictures, Dave was chatting with a park ranger, and he said the hiking club was doing a 4 – 4,000-footer day. That means the hikers were going to go up and down 4 separate 4,000-foot mountains in just one day. My god, I got out of breath just typing that sentence!

As we have been traveling the area and the many “Notches” of New Hampshire, (Notches, Valley’s, Gaps, Passes – all the same thing depending on where in the US you are), Dave has commented numerous times that this is probably the prettiest country he has seen to date. We have found beauty in all the many states we have traveled to date, but for him, this one ticks all the boxes as his favorite so far. After having spent the last month in the Appalachian Mountain range, from south to north, we still find the amount of greenery stunning. Lush! Even my husband uses the word ‘lush’ to describe this amazing section of the US.

I personally, love water more than mountains. So, while Dave has always wanted to be in the Appalachian Mountains, I am all about getting to our Maine coastline this year and back to the water. What neither of us realized, is how much water – moving water I should say – this state has to offer. The number of rivers, creeks, waterfalls and just moving water, has astounded both of us. Granted, this has been an extraordinarily wet year in the NE, however for us visiting in the summer, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to see what it must be like in the spring of the year as the snow melts from the mountains. In fact, I have so many videos of running water, I finally just had to put them all together and create one smaller video.

Mt. Washington and the Cog Railway

I like to hike. Ok, let’s be honest. My version of hiking is really more about strolling down a slight incline to see a rushing river, snap some beautiful photos, and then stroll back up a slight incline to get back in our truck. Since this means I am not a “traditional” hiker and have no intention of going up and down a 4,000 footer, or walking to the top of Mt. Washington, when we learned we could visit Mt. Washington via rail, I was all on board! (Pun intended!)

The Cog Railway was created for hikers just like me. Built in 1869 – yes, 1869, it goes through 3 separate climate zones with an average grade of 25% to the summit. It uses a cog and rack system for the rails and while it used to be pushed by coal powered trains, they have now switched over to primarily bio-diesel engines.

The information pamphlet tells you at the top of Mt. Washington, on a clear day, you can see 5 states, the Atlantic Ocean and Southern Quebec. Or, you might experience why the mountain has earned the reputation for having the world’s worst weather. Guess which day we chose!

There is a road you can drive up to Mt. Washington, however there are no guard rails and it can get narrow. No thank you on that one. I’m good and done with the windy, up and down mountain roads at this point of our adventure. I liked the train and while we were soaking wet by the time we got done, it was worth the trip to say we did it. Check it out:

NH State Parks – Mt. Washington State Park

Camping vs. Full-time living

(my aha! moment)

Our time in New Hampshire gave us the opportunity to wake up to one of the best views we have ever had, each morning. Even when it rained, those twin mountains just to our south, were a sight to behold. In order to have that view, while we still had full hook-ups, we spent the week on 30-amp service. Sounds like a small thing, right? Well, Homer is a big boy. He likes his 50-amp and I like that when we get soaking wet on Mt. Washington, I can come home and run my dryer, take a hot shower and get a cup of coffee. On hot days, I can run both my a/c units at the same time and still use the microwave. Going down to 30-amp service, I realized I have to now pick and choose which of those items I can do at any one time. Laundry and A/C don’t mix. God help you if you want a cup of coffee and to start the microwave when the A/C is running. Not going to happen. And coin laundry machines are EXPENSIVE!

Where I’m going with all this, is that I have learned as a full-timer, there is a big difference between this lifestyle and camping. As campers, we would pull into a new location, run around everyday trying to fit in all we could before moving to our next location, or going back home to our sticks and bricks. Now, after spending a day exploring, when I return in the evening, I’m already back home. Homer is definitely our home. He may have wheels and may travel for miles in any given year, but he is our home.

For me, living this lifestyle has helped me to develop a different attitude and different pace when we arrive at a new location. I just feel more laid-back. Seems odd doesn’t it? Camping for a week was always our “vacation”. Again, how much can I fit into my small amount of time. Full-timing for a week is an opportunity to experience a new place and discover if I want to come back and learn even more at some date in the future. It’s no longer a one and done kind of place, or pace. It’s funny how something so insignificant as not having all the power you want for your home and going back to a camping kind of lifestyle can bring that Aha! kind of moment. And nope, wouldn’t trade this experience and adventure for anything else! I truly love this full-time life.

See ya on the road,

Dave and Theresa

2 thoughts on “Wonderous White Mountains of New Hampshire”

  1. Love your stories. Keep enjoying time on the road. Stay safe away from the high water out east. Congrats again Grandma and Grandps
    Sarff

Thanks for reading about our latest adventure. What did you think?