Riding the Cog Railway was a wonderful adventure. We took the 10AM train and spent about an hour at the summit.
Near Base StationReady for our ascent. We had a beautiful clear day.View from our coach heading up the mountain. Traveling up the mountain Sherman Adams Visitor Center
Due to Covid restrictions only a limited number of visitors were permitted in the visitors center. We acquired a ticket online and welcomed the opportunity to get some hot chocolate and get out of the cold wind for a few minutes.
Tip Top House, an original summit hotel dating back to 1853.Cold and windy at the summit.Our coach awaits.Train at summit awaiting passengers.Leaving the summit we had a good view of the Engineer. Long way downThey estimated visibility to be about eighty miles.
We had beautiful clear skies. We could see Wild Cat Ski Resort where Lenny used to snow board while in New Hampshire on business. Tuckerman’s Ravine was also visible – Lenny climbed Tuckerman’s in the past. Good memories for him.
Water for steam engines. Waiting for a train headed for the summit.
Mt. Washington is home to the most extreme weather observatory on Earth. The only months of the year Mt Washington has not recorded a below zero temperature are June, July, August and September. The morning before we visited it was 32 degrees. The wind at the summit when we were there was 25 mph. We were on the observation deck for only a short time and the wind and cold was unbearable.
We finished our ride on the Franconia Notch Trail had lunch (PBJ of course) and decided to put in some more miles. We only needed a few more miles to reach our 100 mile goal. Tomorrow, Thursday, there is a chance of rain and Friday we have planned a trip to Mt Washington. Saturday is supposed to be a wash out.
We had hoped to ride Lincoln Woods Trail which is close to our condo. It’s a short trail but right on the Pemigewasset River. We arrived at the trailhead to find it packed. Parking lot was full. The trail must have been really busy.
There are many miles of the Northern Rail Trail yet to ride so we headed for the trailhead at Lake Webster in Franklin.
What, walk my bike?
The wind was really blowing and there were white caps on Webster Lake – named for 19th- century statesman Daniel Webster. We rode in fairly dense forest on a rail bed raised high above the forest floor.
Remnants of retaining wall along trail.
We both enjoyed this picturesque trail. Always love the views of forest from raised rail bed.
Area of rock cut away for railway.
There was a more noticeable uphill grade in this area then what we rode yesterday. Our return was fun. We both felt like we could ride that all day – slight downhill and wind at our back.
Another view of rock that was cut away.
Retaining wall made from large rocks. Interesting sign along trail. Awww…the Red, White and, Blue!Boscawen – end of trail to Franklin our 1st ride. Franklin to Andover our 2nd ride.
August of 2019 we road 58 miles of trails in New Hampshire. Landen was along for the ride in tow behind Lenny’s bike. Many of the trails transitioned seamlessly into one anotber.
Trails with Landen from August 2019. Derry R/T, Winham R/T, Salem Pathway. Londonderry R/T. WOW Trail, Lake Winnisquam Trail. Franconia Notch Trail
Mural on bathhouse on WOW Trail. August 2019
We’ve ridden 48 miles the past 2 days to complete our New Hampshire 100. Yay! 41 done and now there are 7! We celebrated with carryout from local Thai restaurant.
It was a cool morning as we headed to Sport Thoma to catch the shuttle to Canon Moutain for our ride on Franconia Notch Trail. Arriving at Canon Moutain we were met with a cold wind and sunny skies. Our gators (Covid wear) provided much appreciated additional warmth. We rode this trail last August with Landen in tow.
The tramway at Canon Mountain was closed due to pandemic. Sport Thoma would normally have bike rentals available here but now only shuttles from their shop in Lincoln.
Landen loved his ride up the mountain in Sport Thoma Van. August 2019 – we miss him.
The notch is a mountain pass between the Kinsman and Franconia Ranges. The trail runs thru the Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains.
Before heading south we rode north to above Echo Lake. There is a small RV camping area above the lake. No crowds to contend with around here.
Beautiful trail the entire length.
The trail drops 750 feet from foot of Canon Mountain to end of trail at Flume Gorge. Don’t be fooled there are some good climbs along the way. My max heart rate was 162. Gasp!!
Ojoy! Winding thru the forest.
We took a ride thru Lafayette Place Campground. We both enjoyed the smell of campfires wafting thru the campground. Much busier in this area as well as further south at a trailhead parking lot. Still no traffic on bike trail.
What, walk my bike? We actually heeded this sign.
We stopped at the Basin and took a short hike along the Pemigewasset River to the Basin, a huge granite pothole.
Pemigewasset RiverAlong trail to the Basin.Granite flume above the Basin.
Once again no pictures of The Basin as there were too many people gathered around.
Back on the trail we left the crowds behind and headed for Flume Gorge where the parking lot was filling up. We had a little more than 2 miles to get to our car – on road and down hill. It was a scream. Imagine going 31 mph on a bike. Exciting, exhilarating and a bit scary. When I slowed to 26 mph I started pedaling – outrageous!! 🤪
We arrived in Lincoln, New Hampshire Sunday evening August 23rd after an 11 hour drive from Ohio. Once again we packed food, water and all supplies needed for the week. It’s our Covid MO. Only made 2 stops for gas and that other necessity.
View from our condo – thunderstorm on the way.
We had a thunderstorm in the evening. We were thankful we had the bikes inside before it arrived. Enjoyed watching storm move in over the mountains and hearing the thunder.
We spent yesterday getting our bearings and setting up a shuttle for Wednesday morning to top of Franconia Notch Trail.
New Hampshire’s longest rail trail – 57.6 miles between Lebanon and Boscawen, built in 1847 by the Northern Railroad.
We began our ride in Boscawen about an hour from our condo in Lincoln. The trail is an uphill slope from here to Lebanon. We always attempt to ride uphill going out and downhill on return.
It was a warm, sunny day with widely scattered thunder showers predicted.
Merrimack River – looked refreshing on this hot day.
We followed the Merrimack River north and east from Boscawen. At times we were high above the river, other times almost on the bank and still other times we could not see the river.
Merrimack River
The trail surface was crushed stone and very well maintained. Even with storms the evening before we road, the trail was dry.
Railroad ties – remnants of Nothern Railroad.Many areas had exposed railroad ties.Turntable once assisted in changing the direction of locomotives. TurntableBecause of limited diameter of turntable it could only accommodate the American type. 4-4-0 locomotive pictured.
With the downhill slope, our return was a bit easier. The temperature was about 91 upon our return to the car. We loaded the bikes and were ready to get on the freeway when we noticed some very dark clouds headed our way. We turned around and stopped at a gas station to cover the bikes. Wish we had a video showing our struggles to get the cover on the bikes. We did get them covered and sat out the storm. As we head back to the freeway a tree had fallen over the road. So thankful it missed us.
Corn field at end of trail in Boscawen.
The trail guide said the trail ended in a corn field. They weren’t kidding!!
We will be up early tomorrow morning to catch the shuttle to Canon Mountain and the start of the Franconia Notch Trail.
