Camping in the White Mountains: Hiking Mount Washington

This weekend, Robbie, Mattimeo (12 months old) and I went camping in the White Mountains National Forest. We had originally planned to go camping in Acadia National Park, but we were silly and didn't make reservations early enough and everything was all booked up. So we decided to spring for a campsite in the white mountains as it is closer to home and if we were unsuccessful at snatching a camp site, it wouldn't be as big a deal to go home. We left early Saturday morning, and were fortunate to find a tent site at the Dolly Copp Campground, just 5 miles north of Pickham Notch (the starting point for a lot of great hiking trails, including several that go up Mount Washington). So we quickly hitched our tent while Meo pushed his recycling truck around then headed straight to Pickham Notch to hike Mount Washington.

Boy was it busy in the White Mountains this weekend! We had trouble even finding a place to park! We ended up parking on the side of the road and hoped that we wouldn't have a parking ticket when we got back. We stopped into Pickham Notch to get Robbie some socks, and a new map (since ours is packed up in some box), then began our accent at 11 am.

Walking over to Pickham Notch

We chose to hike the Tuckerman Ravine Trail all the way to the summit. We have gone up several different ways in the past including via Lion's Head Trail and Huntington Ravine Trail, but we figured the Tuckerman Ravine Trail would be safest for Mattimeo.

Crossing the bridge near the start of Tuckerman Ravine trail

White Mountains

The first point of real interest along the trail is a waterfall. You can climb up a little staircase to get a nice view of a beautiful waterfall. Mattimeo seemed to enjoy it and pointed at the waterfall the whole time we were up there.

Waterfall

Pointing at the waterfall

The first half of the trail starts off on a dirt path but quickly turns into a very rocky series of steep inclines.

Mattimeo and I

Eventually you reach a series of a couple of bridges. These let me know that in not too much time I will be approaching the cabin in Tuckerman Ravine, which is our approximate halfway point and lunch. But by the time we even got to the first bridge, Meo was getting a little woozy and began to drift off to sleep with his walking stick.

Going up a rocky incline with sleepy Meo

Falling asleep with his stick clutched in his little hand

We tried to put his sleeping hood on, but that only woke him up and made him upset. So by the second bridge we had to stop for a little while to nurse and let him stretch his legs, otherwise he wouldn't stop fussing.

Pointing into the forest while nursing

Our cozy nursing spot

Crawling on a bridge

"DAD PUT ME DOWN I WANNA CRAWL AROUND!"

After our nursing session, we continued on our assent to the cabin and met a hungry little red squirrel who enjoyed nibbling on some of Meo's puffs.

Red squirrel

Finally, we made it to the cabin. We were all very hungry and in need of a nice break. My shoulders were killing me from carrying Meo for two hours up the mountain.

Excited to see Tuckerman Ravine

Yay! We are at the cabin!

Cabin at Tuckerman Ravine

Getting ready for some lunch

Mommy and Meo

At Tuckerman Ravine

Crawling to food

We enjoyed a much needed lunch and bathroom break. Meo was very excited to be able to move around and was walking all over the deck at the cabin. There was lots of people there, and they were all really nice and happy when Meo practiced walking over to all of them at each table. He also met some really cute dogs.

Pumpkin and Banana, yum!

Chomp!

After our little picnic, we continued our assent to the summit via the Tuckerman Ravine trail. The rest of the hike was steep, and it stays consistently steep for the entire 1.8 miles; there aren't really any flat sections. So very quickly we climbed above the treeline and entered the alpine zone.

Starting the more difficult half of our journey

Going up!

Meo and his walking stick

With a full belly and after spending lots of time walking around, Mattimeo got sleepy very quickly and was soon zonked out for a nap on my back. For me, this was a huge relief because the rest of the hike was more perilous and it would be much easier without  Meo squirming and throwing his wait around; I needed to concentrate on not falling down the mountain!

Sleeping baby on my back (still holding his walking stick)

My man

We have to go up there!

For some reason (probably from all the nursing and carrying a toddler on my back), I got hungry again fairly quickly, so we paused so I got mow down another Luna bar by the stream that flows down the mountain.

nom, nom, nom

Meo still sleeping while I ate

Robbie and I found ourselves quoting Dr. Suess a lot during this part of the hike, "Up, Up, Up! Great day for up!" For truely our assent upwards war relentless and seemingly neverending. But with each step, the view became more and more rewarding, and I was pleasantly reminded why we love hiking in the White Mountains so much. At the same time though, I became increasingly more concerned about going back down with Meo on my back; some parts were quite perilous and would require me sliding down on my butt. One trip up and I could fall with Meo which honestly could be fatal for him. I was a little terrified.

Below me

Above me

Going up

Looking over the ravine

Behind us

Meo and I up ahead

Finally we reached the last leg of the journey, the last 0.6 miles. At this point I like to think the summit looks like a big pile of huge boulders that you have to clamber up. It's steep and uneven, fun and difficult, and there is the most amazing view the entire time. At this point Robbie and I almost continued along the wrong trail which would have added another unnecessary mile to our climb, but we caught the error fairly quickly thank goodness! Also, Meo woke up for this last 0.6 mile. He was very excited at first, and pointed everywhere. I think he enjoyed the view just as much as everyone else, which was a relief because I was afraid he would get overwhelmed with being so high up. Gradually, however, he became increasingly aggitated about still being on my back and wanted to get down. I certainly could not let him out of the pack where we were; it was simply way too dangerous. So we tried to placate him by Robbie feeding him puffs every few steps. This made for slow going, but also prevented Meo from screaming.

Up, Up Up! Can you see the tiny speck that is the tower on the summit?

Meo looking out from my back

Behind us

Meo and I on top of the world

Meo and I going up

Still so far to go!

Looking back to what we did so far

Meo and I climbing

Meo and I climbing

Meo pointing at Robbie, demanding more puffs

Looking back at dad and crying a little because he wants more puffs

Since it was so busy, we did meet quite a few people on our way up. One older gentleman remembered us from lunch and was very encouraging for that last leg of the hike (he probably could tell how completely exhausted I was and how cranky Meo was getting). His daughter was waiting on top with his two month old granddaughter, and once we got close enough to the summit, we could see her holding her baby peering over the edge with the blanket that wrapped around her babe billowing out in the wind. It was a happy and welcome site. We started to be able to hear motorists, and Meo excitedly began to buzz his lips "vrooom vroom" (he loves cars). I loved how encouraging everyone was to us, and how impressed they were that I was carrying Meo up the mountain. One couple even asked to take our picture during that last scramble up the mountain. Another pair of girls who were dressed up as Batman and Robin ironically told me that I was their hero for climbing up with Mattimeo. All that encouragement was fuel for me, and finally we did make it to the summit.

Oh, but wait, we had to wait in a huge ass line behind tourists and bikers and the occasional other hiker first.

Waiting in line the first time

I actually had to wait in line twice. The first time, Robbie and I decided it was not safe for us to hike down the mountain with Mattimeo. First of all, because it was nearly 4:00 pm, and that meant we wouldn't get back down until nearly 9:00 pm and we didn't think Meo could tolerate being in the pack for that much longer, even with breaks. Second of all, we really thought it would be too dangerous to go down with him. My legs were like jello, and I always fall going down. I wouldn't be able to carry him because I would be way too scared of inevitably falling, and I would be a nervous wreck if Robbie was carrying him. So Robbie had to run off and buy a shuttle ticket before it turned 4:00 pm and the ticket price would jump from $30 a person to $45! Meo and I were supposed to stay in line, but Meo started wailing and I couldn't calm him down. I got out of line and found a little spot to nurse him; he was so hungry again. Then, when Robbie got back we waited in line again. Meo DID NOT want to be carried anymore, so we let him stand up and climb on some of the rocks. It wasn't very safe, and at one point he fell a little and bumped his face on a rock and started crying. Poor Meo! It was all I could do to entertain him to keep him from screaming with impatience. I could not believe that no one offered to let us go ahead of them so we could get our stupid picture and let the poor baby get off that mound of rocks and stop crying. The people in front of us were Canadian bikers...the woman had tight spandex pants on with little hearts cut out all the way up exposing her legs and she wore high heals and a tight leather jacket. Her and her man brute (a large man with a Mohawk and many tattoos all over his body, took FOREVER to get there photos taken all while Meo cried. I almost just went back down. But gawsh darn it, I just hiked 5 hours with this baby and I was going to get to the fracken top of it! Finally we got our picture taken and Meo squirmed in my arms to get down and eventually started crying again. It was pretty ridiculous. And to top it off, people would not make way for us to get back down! I seriously had to stand behind people almost shouting for them to let us pass with Meo crying at the top of his lungs fighting with all his little strength for me to put him down. It was not pretty, and inbetween frustration and exhaustion, I admit my eyes filled up with tears too.

And THAT is why Robbie and I prefer hiking Mount Monroe over Mount Washington...it is nearly has high, and a hell of a lot nice at the summit.

Robbie, Me and Meo at the summit of Mount Washington

On the bright side though, there is a nice warm place to eat on the top of Mount Washington, and if you are willing to pay for it (which we were for the very first time...we always hike down) a shuttle service to take you down off the mountain. So Meo and I quickly cheered up once we got some more food into our bellies and got to play on the summit while we waited for our ride down and enjoyed the view.

Eating on the top of Mount Washington

We have been upset.

But we are better now!

Playing on the summit

Playing on the summit

Playing on the summit

Playing on the summit

Playing on the summit

Playing on the summit

Overlooking the parking lot on the summit

Waiting for our ride and enjoying the view

The ride down was pretty fun. The shuttle is a big van, and Meo and I sat in a row behind Robbie next to some other couple. Meo sat on my lap and I strapped us both in with a seat belt. Meo seemed to really like the guy sitting next to us and kept on touching index fingers with him. Everyone was really nice and funny in the van, and it was fun talking to everyone. They all thought Meo was really cute and were interacting with him a lot, which was great because I was worried about keeping him from fussing for the half hour journey down. Robbie fed him some puffs when he started getting squirmy. The ride itself was a lot of fun; the view is amazing, and also the ride is kind of thrilling! The drive was going 40 down the narrow, steep road and sometimes it felt like we were going to go right off a cliff. It reminded me of when I was being driven through the mountains in Indonesia, except this driver seemed a lot more competent, the vehicle was more reliable, and the road (though narrow) was still wider and less steep than those crazy roads in Indonesia. I had no problems keeping my eyes open for this drive.

And so there you have it my friends, the story of how Mattimeo climbed to the summit of the tallest mountain in the Northeastern United States ( 6,288 ft (1,917 m)); on his mamas back. What a great adventure it was!