Labor Day Sunrise

(More blog entries from howie)

Patiently waiting

Mt Washington doesn't disappoint

The buildup to the final sunrise drive was pretty intense with the phones ringing quite energetically the two days before. The weather was predicted to be very good, quite a contrast to the weather forecasted for the first two Sundays this summer when we opened at 0 dark 30. Since I live on the property I got to “sleep in” with my alarm going off at 3:45 to get ready for the 4:30 am opening. What?! There were already people lined up at the gate to get in. Guess they took us seriously when we suggested folks get here early to avoid a line at the Toll House. Before I could get the lights set up on the lawn of the Toll House and the Auto Road entrance, the cars, pick-up trucks (one even sporting a large American flag!) and motorcycles were lined up all the way out to the highway. Before we had staff in to officially open at 4:30 am, an hour and a half before sunrise mind you, the line was out on the edge of the highway and out of sight to the north. We’ve created a monster.

This person is fully prepared!

Mt Washington doesn’t disappoint – ever. You just need to have a flexible expectation that whatever you experience will be unlike what you may have thought you’d see. The summit stayed clouded in until late morning so in order to see a sunrise you needed to have moved back down from the summit.

Cars were lined up along the 5.5 mile to 6 mile area and folks were treated to a spectacular sunrise with clouds moving around as the sun rose over the Wildcat ridge.

Hope to see some of you again for sunrise next summer!

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