“On a Mish” #301 GUEST POST – Mount Washington / Appalachian Trail. New Hampshire. USA. 28.5.2014. Welcome to a guest post by Jeremy Wilson. We join Jeremy and Julie on their adventure in New Hampshire in the United States of America…
In 2014, Julie and I visited the USA, travelling around seven different states before heading up to Canada. Driving from Boston to Montreal, we had some time to enjoy driving around New Hampshire, a lovely forested state. Years ago I read “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson. It is a story about when he and his mate decided to walk the Appalachian Trail. The trail usually takes 5 – 7 months to walk. (spoiler alert… they didn’t finish).Knowing that the trail runs through New Hampshire, we headed to Mount Washington to see if we could do our own “Walk in the woods”. Mount Washington (1916m) is regarded by locals as the windiest place in the world. Uncle Google tells me that’s actually in the Antarctic, but let’s not split hairs. We drove to the summit of Mt Washington and heard at the cafe that it has a terrible reputation for hikers setting out with light clothing, the weather changing and folk dying of exposure! Every year hikers die on the mountain.
After taking in the view and having a coffee, we drove to a roadside park and started our walk. The trail is well defined with amenities like tidy, clean toilets and excellent trail markers. We decided to not have bear spray or carry a gun (you can carry on the trail) and enjoyed a leisurely ½ day walk. The well groomed trail was great and we left wanting to further explore this part of the world. The oldest person to complete the 2190 miles was 82! Maybe I still have time. Kia Ora kapai! Thank you Jeremy for your awesome story.
