White Mountain Fling

Roused from hiblognation, I guess I should put up something... We went to the White Mountains of New Hampshire in mid-May, at the very start of the camping season. The area has its share of spectacular landscapes and glacier-carved formations, impressive not so much for lofty peaks than for craggy gorges and shapely waterfalls. Cloudy weather partly obstructed our view of hills, which have a rugged, weathered texture. But one gets a vivid sense of the elements blowing, grinding, chafing, freezing, cracking and eroding rock over millions of years. Mt. Washington boasts the worst weather in the world, something to the order of 80+ days of hurricane force wind, and lashed by rain and snow. The neighbouring mountains are bald and barren, only lichens, grass and hardy plants surviving. Waterfalls are inviting - to see, too bad too cold for swimming. We had two restful nights, and three days exploring. Cold mornings bound us beneath the sleeping bag, and with nothing to do by 10pm, we got a otherworldly 10 hours sleep. We also enjoyed quite unusual sights. Pictures speak for themselves, with some help...


Yes, we remembered to take a picture before dismantling the tent!
Here's our delightful campsite, in verdant settings by a bubbly creek.

Lost River Gorge. The walkway meanders along the river. You don't see it
from this angle, hence the name. The water flows in between cracks and crevices,
from fallen or millenia-worn rock.

Tree and stone facing the elements.

Notice the arch beneath the bridge, and egg-shaped channel.

narrow passages through caves - mostly large collapsed slabs.
it's quite amazing how small the holes we can crawl through.

is that from crouching low or waiting forever for photo to be snapped?

the expression disguises the elation at passing the squeezer test.
unfortunately, the passage to which this gate led was submerged
in water. too early in the season. aiya, what a shame.



The Basin (above and below). This unusual flow channel has moulded a perfectly circular
pool about 15 metres in diameter. Water gushes from the upper right, emanates
evenly and swirls about neatly, then exits lower right. Bit like a stage act.


Sabbaday Falls. Ya, we would have picnicked here on Sundays in the 19th century,
when it was named.

The next are from the Flume Gorge...

The rock face of the gorge is a straight drop. The slant is not artistic; the 3-finger
tripod slipped.

Enlarging the photo to read the sign along the arch will help
make sense of her histrionics.


A sheet of water maps the contours of this rock face, marking
bumps with white streaks.

in a day, the water follows where the rock directs;
in a thousand years, rock is at the mercy of water.