Monday, July 1, 2024
I am sitting in the visitor center “cafeteria” at Pinkham Notch in New Hampshire. It is looking like a sunny day. It is hard to say, here in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, what the actual weather will do over time. I have been camping at Dolly Copp Campground for thirteen days now, and the unpredictability of weather is a pattern that repeats itself frequently. Weather reports seem to be guesses, more so than not. Last night the forecast was for clear skies. Instead, we had on and off rain, at least four times there were 10-15 minute showers followed by mostly clear skies. The mountains create their own weather, and it changes quickly. It’s sunny when it’s supposed to be raining. It’s raining, usually passing showers, when it’s supposed to be clear. This has kept me from doing a hike up Mount Washington, but overall, I have been able to do some form of exercise activity daily, mostly cycling. I have had to do this by utilizing “windows” of optimal weather each day.
This is a nice area for riding. Most of the roads have light traffic, and many have a wide shoulder with well paved surface. Two of the roads I have ridden are Route 2 and North Road, which parallel each other on either side of the Androscoggin River going from Gorham, NH to Bethel, ME. North Road is a “back road” with very little traffic. It has a slightly rolling footprint. Rt 2 is a main road with moderate traffic, including many logging trucks. It has a wide shoulder, in the range of 4-5 feet almost all the way between the two towns. The other roads I’ve used are RT 313 and RT 16. RT 313 begins heading south from RT 2 in Gilead. It is a “back road” as well. The first eight miles are slightly uphill, gaining about 700 feet culminating at Evans Notch. From there it descends while hugging the state line, crossing it a couple times. RT 16 is the main road between Gorham and North Conway, a distance of about thirty miles. I’ve ridden it several times on this trip, as the campground is located on it. The campground is at about 1150 feet elevation. Pinkham Notch is about seven miles north from there at 2028 feet, which is followed by a drop of about 1500 feet if riding all the way to North Conway. I have been limiting my rides down the south side of Pinkham Notch to about five miles south, as after that the shoulder becomes narrow.
My longest ride was last Friday, 83 miles with 4,500 feet elevation gain. I had not planned on riding that far. A couple times, the road I was on unexpectedly turned into a dirt road, and I was uncertain of my bearings as there was no cell service. I wandered and found my way. Another time I followed directions of a kindly woman at a little store in Stow, but the directions ended up adding about fifteen miles extra. I think she failed to mention a turn somewhere. I found my way. It was a great ride.
Many of these cycling routes are located within White Mountain National Forest and are lined with trees all along the routes. It makes for nice riding. For the month of June, I rode 670 miles with 35,000 feet of climbing over 19 days.
Tonight is my last night at Dolly Copp. Tomorrow is the best day I have seen, in terms of weather for hiking Mount Washington, since I have arrived here. So, my plan is to have an early start and hike the peak beginning around 7AM. I should be back within six hours, then I will drive to Mount Ascutney State Park, my next home on the road.
I have spent a good amount of time simply hanging around reading, watching the sky, and walking around the campground roads. I have talked with a few other campers, but I have found that most of the sites here have been either unoccupied or occupied by people who keep to themselves. Interactions with other campers are an interesting phenomenon. I have noticed it in other places as well. I don’t think that it’s the case people are unfriendly, but in general, unless I make some effort to communicate with others, there is often very little communication. I also have found that campgrounds out west seem to be more “friendly” in terms of interactions. It comes down to my feeling each day, whether I am in an extroverted frame of mind (usually) or introverted (occasionally). That said, people at campgrounds are generally open to interacting once I make the initial contact. It is very different, than say, walking around Danbury Mall or a street in Manhattan, where it seems people, more often than not, avoid eye contact. I could write a lot about this topic, but will not do so here, maybe another time.
The campground is nice. It is mostly wooded, with the main exception being Hayes Field, where one has a great view of Wildcat Ridge and The Imp when looking towards the bottom direction of the field, and Mount Madison towards the top of the field. Oddly enough, there are two loops named after Meadows (Big Meadows and Little Meadows), but they are almost completely forested. Apparently they were named at a time when there were meadows in the area? Here is some information from an AI generated summary on Google:
Dolly Emery Copp (1807-1891) was a White Mountain pioneer and early settler in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire. Along with her husband Hayes, Dolly cleared land, built a farm, and raised crops and children in the wilderness for 50 years. Dolly was known for her skills in frontier crafts, including shearing wool, spinning yarn, weaving cloth, making soap and candles, and preserving fruit. Hayes also built their farmhouse to provide lodging and meals for travelers traveling north. In 1921, Dolly's farm became the USFS Dolly Copp Campground, which is located in White Mountain National Forest, six miles south of Gorham, New Hampshire.
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