It’s the Journey, and the Destination

The Background and the Choices

In the mountains of New Hampshire, you will find Mount Washington. Mount Washington summits at around 6,288 feet. Consequently, Mount Washington can lay claim to being the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River. This mountain, known for it’s extreme weather, can be summitted in three possible ways. First, you could hike it, but that would be stupid. Secondly, you can drive up via a steep, paved mountain access road. I would like to do this road in the future. However, as this was my first visit, I wanted to relax and take in all the views. So, I opted for the third route. Sit back, relax and get transported to the top via the Mount Washington Cog Railway. When traveling on the Cog Railway, there is no doubt that it’s the journey, and the destination.

First the Journey

In the mid 1800s, Sylvester Marsh grew up near the Mount Washington area of New Hampshire. He camped regularly on the mountain. At that time, there was no way to ascend the mountain other than walking. On one of these arduous trips, Sylvester got the visionary idea of building a railway to the top. However, due to the extreme angle of Mount Washington’s slope, no normal railway was going to do the job. Therefore, Sylvester engineered a “cog” railway…

Basically, the train engine has a big cog positioned on the underside of the engine. Then, the teeth of the cog fit into the special third track in the middle of the rail. The teeth of the cog grab into the rail system to slowly and firmly power the train up the very steep incline. In fact, the overall grade to the top averages about 25%. On the way back down, it works in reverse to support the braking system to prevent a run away disaster.

Highlights on the Journey

Obviously, the scenery was magnificent. So, I will try to narrow down my pictures to my favorite spots on the journey. My personal favorite was Jacob’s Ladder. Jacob’s Ladder is an elevated trestle that represents the steepest grade of the trip at 37%. This incline is the second steepest railway grade in the world. Even the train engineers have heightened respect for Jacob’s Ladder. For more than a century, after safely crossing Jacob’s Ladder, engineers threw a coin on a specific rock that marks the end of the ladder.

The train starts at an elevation of 2,700 feet and travels up to 6,800 feet. You end up well above the tree line. As you look out your window, the vegetation goes from lush forest at the bottom to a barren mountain at the top…

Then, it’s the Destination

As you reach about 6,000 feet in elevation, the visitor center will come into view…

The visitor center at the top is very well equipped. It has a observation deck, post office, cafeteria, museum, restrooms, and most importantly…heat. On the day of my journey, the temperature at the bottom was in the low 70s. The temperature at the top was in the mid 30s with very high winds…so, dress accordingly. Beyond warming up in the visitor center, there are two mandatory Kodak moments for anyone reaching the summit. Get a picture at the exact point of the summit, as well as a picture of the high wind record site.

With those goals achieved, I spent the rest of my time just admiring the views. You are among the clouds. So, you do not look up at them…you look across at them. Sometimes, the visibility is zero. But, just wait a few moments and the constant high winds will reveal the scenery once again. It’s impossible to do justice for this kind of view, but I will share a couple photos anyway…

Wrap it UP! Enough with the Pictures

The trip up the mountain on the Cog Railway was fascinating. The summit was breath taking. I would repeat this trip in a heart beat. Next time, I would love to drive the winding mountain road to the summit. However, my wife is not a sane car passenger. Thus, the windy mountain road with 1,500 drop offs is probably not an option. In summation, dress warm and go ride the Cog Railway and summit Mount Washington…it’s the journey, and the destination. Oh, one last thing…I discovered that Pikes Peak in Colorado has a similar Cog Railroad to the summit. I have my tickets to do this Cog in May. I am looking forward to summitting with Carol. Have a wonderful day, PT

I hope you have enjoyed “It’s the Journey, and the Destination” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

Here was an earlier post about a train trip up a mountain https://travelingwithpt.com/sold-my-soul-to-the-company-store/

If you want to ride the cog, here you go https://www.thecog.com/

p.s. Did you notice the moose in the picture?? Respond in the COMMENTS