It was like having needles hit my face constantly! Even then, the mountain didn't let up; it just kept getting colder and colder! After 45 minutes of climbing over huge, sharp boulders, we finally reached macadam! We did it! We reached the end of the trail! Then it was a few flights of stairs and a small rock pile to the summit of Mt. Washington! In our pictures, which are on film (we don't have a scanner) there we are in our Penn State windbreakers and shorts. At both corners of the picture, there are people in a heavy winter coats that you would wear skiing. Finally, after we've taken our pictures, we headed into the heated and appropriately named "Top House" which holds a museum. Then it was a short but cold walk over to the main building where there's food and a gift shop. It was the middle of July and at the base of the mountain, it was a comfortable 80 degrees. At the top of Mt. Washington it was a chilly 33 degrees, WITH a wind-chill of 17 degrees. Seventeen degrees! It doesn't even get that cold in PA in the winter! After we'd finished our meal and browsed the gift shop, we had to head down. This, I was not looking forward to at all. Leaving the nice heated area for the chilly 17-degree area was definitely not on my agenda. However, I knew I had to leave! So without much complaining I headed down. Oh, and did I forget to mention...It was snowing! Yes, there was snow on the ground in mid-July! It was mad! So, heading down wasn't as bad as heading up, but my mom did cut her hand bad on one of the sharp rocks! It wasn't pretty, let me say that. So we got her bandaged up (yes we were smart enough to have a medical kit) and were on our way. Everything went as planned on the way down! We got out of the fog and it started to warm up. Before I knew it, we were at the bottom! It was truly a memorable experience! I know I will never forget it! So let’s see, I hiked up it, rode up it, cogged up it…Hmm, what’s next, biking maybe…Yeah, that’s it…

Warning!

Mount Washington has the reputation of being "home of the world's worst weather." Severe storms, including snow, can happen at any time of the year. The combination of severe winds, cold and wetness can exhaust the strongest hiker. Never continue upwards in deteriorating weather, as it gets worse at higher elevations. Also note that it is a strenuous climb for those who are not in good shape. The distance by most routes is around four miles each way; that may not sound like much. But in those four miles you gain roughly 4,000 feet of elevation, which is a lot for those not used to strenuous exercise!

Well, we drove up it, cogged up it, and now we are about to hike up it. The East’s largest mountain and home to the world's worst weather, Mt. Washington. It was very early in the morning, around six. Hey, that's early for me in the summer, don't make fun! So we messed around in the shop at the base until we headed up.

We had no idea what to expect climbing this mountain. Well, the beginning was all jolly and fun; actually, it was so easy that my parents and I were making fun of how big a deal people were making. So with about five bottles of water, three lunches and four energy bars, we climbed up very easy steps. It seemed like forever until we reached the Hermit Shelter, also known as the Halfway House. Everything was socked in, and we couldn't really see what was ahead, nor did I want to. Here's where we took our pictures and ate our lunch. It's a great spot really, with all the tired hikers sitting around eating with their enormous backpacks talking to one another on the patio with one wall. I should have taken a picture of it.

Oh, well, so this is where we decided that we might not be able to climb the rest, since the weather was getting worse and it was starting to get cold. So with a short debate we decided to move on. We weren't above the tree line yet, but you could see the trees were dwarfed. The wind was picking up and it made the air around me extremely cold. This however was not the worst part. Going up, I was about 1 foot away from a 500-foot drop off a straight-down cliff and the only thing holding me back was a small shrub that went up to my ankles. The rocks were slippery because of the fog, and to already add to a bad situation, water was flowing down these rocks as we tried to climb up. My parents and I were extremely muddy and our shoes were damp. All I could think about going up was how I was going to come down! Well after we passed that, I thought nothing else could be worse! Oh, was I ever so wrong. With mesh short and a light sweatshirt, we were entering a foggy, (misty) windy and cold situation. It was so bad that I had to take refuge under a rock because the mist and the wind pricked my face so bad!