A weekend in the Whites

A weekend trip to the White Mountains is never enough, it always fly by way too fast. This was the briefest of visits too, I probably should have pushed it and went on friday night instead of driving up on Saturday, but oh well, a short visit was probably enough for a first camping trip with miss Barkley anyway. We had a great time, and Barkley was a trouper, both on the trails and in the tent, I think she enjoyed herself, and at the moment is asleep exhausted on her bed in front of the TV.

Ready to go!

First stop was Mt Washington! I've hiked up the largest peak in the east three times now, but decided to drive up for the first time - quite the windy road! We then did a short 2 mile hike most of the way to Lake of the Clouds, one of my favorite spots in the Presidentials.  

It was pretty windy up at 6288ft!

The view down the western end of the Presidential Range - Monroe, Franklin and Eisenhower are down the trail. 

Our turn around point, time for a cookie or two and some photos. For an old girl she did great amongst the boulders. 

Lake of the Clouds Hut. Would have been nice to go all the way and revisit one of the weirdest hiking experiences i've ever had (bagpipes and weddings....ask me about it if you haven't heard the story!), but it was late in the day and I didn't want to overdo it for Barkley. I really want her to enjoy camping and hiking, so didn't push anything too hard this weekend. 

Back to our campsite at Cocker Pond, just east of Evan's notch. Barkley was a great tent companion, other than snoring quite loudly! 

The view from our campsite....pretty sweet! 

Today, after a quick (very quick as the bugs were out!) 2 mile hike from the campsite to Round Pond we drove home via Evan's Notch, checking out other campsites for next time on the way. There is an overlook on the road through, so we stopped and found this marker - I love markers and have a photo collection of them from all over the US. 

There was also a historical site in the Notch - Brickett Place, an old farmhouse currently being restored. We got talking to one of the rangers and he convinced us into a short hike from there up to a small waterfall. Someone was lagging a little as we entered the wilderness (it was all uphill till there), but soon perked up on the flat and took off to the water as soon as she heard it. 

Trying to get a good self portrait on the self timer is hard. Trying to do it was a fidgety dog is even harder!

The hike was a great end to a great day and we've scoped out some great camping spots for next time too! Evan's Notch is just stunning, and being in Maine it's only 2 hours away, so i'm hoping we get back at least once this summer.