Framedlight

 There are three ways to get up Mount Washington, if you are not being dropped from an airplane. The first is to walk, which we didn't have time for. The second is the very expensive cog railway tourist train and the third is by car on the Mount Washington auto route which is not cheap, but not out of the question. We opted for the latter. Mount Washington stands at 1917m. It was known by the indigenous people as Kodak Wadjoor (the top is hidden) or Agiochooke (place of the great spirit). A place so sacred that it should not be climbed. The first recorded ascent was by Derby Field in 1642, who surviving the experience, went on to explain to the Abenaki Chief Passaconaway that the gods were not critical of the white man's presence and thus enabled northern expansion of the colonists. It was developed for tourism in the mid 19h century, hence the cog railway and the coach road, but it is incredibly windy. The strongest wind in the world, aside from tornados and cyclones was recor...

 A notch in New Hampshire means a narrow mountain valley, and we followed the road through the White Mountains to Pinkham Notch where Mike had planned a walk.  This valley was first recorded in 1784 but little used until the road was created in the 1920's. Mike said there was not much vertical ascent but I was starting to feel a little tired. Nevertheless with some puffing and panting and a little scrambling and complaining I managed to get up to the overlook called Square Ledge. The view over the wooded hills was worth it and it was not such a long walk. The western edge of Pinkham Notch is bounded by Mount Washington which was our next objective.

It was that time of year. Orange leaves, red leaves, yellow leaves, election hoardings and a bevy of pumpkins. There must be hundreds of acres in the US devoted to growing pumpkins but I wonder what proportion ever reach the table. Jackson is famous for its pumpkins, or rather its pumpkin people who line the side of the streets and front yards, sometimes advertising services, or just for entertainment. They certainly weren’t the common or garden squashes with slits for eyes and mouth. For your delectation here are a few pictures. 

We had a good night in Huttopia, our cornily named group of glamping huts. It was chilly at night although there was a heater on a 30 m inut e timer which you had to start again when it got to the end. Saving the planet! When we had arrived the night before it had meant some stumbling around in the dark to find the correct hut, and we had not seen the lake that the huts were camped round. I wandered down first thing and it was very pretty. You had to go outside anyway to put the kettle on the barbeque gas ring to heat up. But tea and breakfast finished we were off and away. We were situated in the White Mountains, a very large area area covering a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and going into Maine. The mountains are the northern extension of the Appalachians and contain Mount Washington, the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard. First stop after a little driving and a stop at Dunkin' for Mike's favourite iced coffee, was Jackson (population 1000), a quaint New Engla...