Leaving Mt. Washington
The summit has a roadway by which tourists can drive right up to the peak of Mt. Washington. I had noted the occasional bumper sticker down in Crawford and N. Woodstock: 'This Car Climbed Mt. Washington'. And there was the parking lot and gift shop to prove it.
The hill also had a cog railway train that climbed the mountain several times a day from the tourist valley below. With fifty or so tourists, and a couple dozen of hikers that had come up from Lakes, it felt crowded. The Lakes people didn't stay long with the socked in conditions. They hiked off, back down to LOTC, or maybe on their return descent to the valley floor. Tupelo/Stumpy and Squirrel headed out up Trail. I sat at a table eating lunch, and talking with 'Ski', a section hiker we had met down at Lakes. We talked at length about Costa Rica - wild ideas of how to make our fortunes. The gut wanted to get moving and the weather wasn't improving. Packflip and out the door. Following trail in the wind and clouds was from rock cairn to cairn.