Last Saturday, we left for the White Mountains, New Hampshire. It took us only 2 hours to drive from Boston and to arrive to a gorgeous park: mountains, hills, woods. Green everywhere. Great! It looks like Vermont, we crossed this State a few weeks ago. We left without any particular stuff (only sneakers), but as we are frightened/obsessed with black flies and bugs, we were wearing long pants. We also took care of reading the basics regarding “how to face a bear in the wild”, but we didn’t see any of them (hello, I’m writing there, comfortably on my couch). Unfortunately, no moose either, except the blue ‘teddy moose’ my friend bought on a gift shop, and the one we saw dead on the side of the road.
Track: Sonic Youth, New Hampshire
We first went to the Visitor Center and asked for a map. People are nice and talk to us like old friends. First step, very promising: Flume Gorge. Tickets costs 15$, it’s a two mile loop. The walk includes uphill walking and a lot of stairs, but come on, it’s really easy. Bravo American people: you are the best to create an entertaining atmosphere, even in nature : each boulder, bridge or fall have its own sign.
When we reach the gorge, I’m surprised that we are really in the gorge. The wooden path is only 1 or 2 meters from the river, and we walk on a narrow trail, surrounded by giant seeping granitic walls. I love this place! It smells “fresh” and we feel like a prehistoric park (as I figure it).
Short story: this is a old lady who accidently came upon the gorge while fishing, in 1808.
We cross several covered bridges, where we feel more like “countryside ambiance”. They are called « kissing bridges »: because of the darkness they provide privacy in the wild. Ouh la la la that’s a good idea! Do you know what are their real aims though? Try to find out and leave comments!
After this perfect walk, we keep going on our park loop. Next stop: The Basin. We wander in some kind of New England Bayou and we, at last, find the Basin. Crystal clear water is flowing and sliding in a granite bedrock. Nice!
After that, we stopped in a big and empty parking lot, following the recommendations of the visitor center guy. We are supposed to find waterfalls. There’s an path in the wood, a sign says it’s abandoned. Who cares? We are in a funny mood, even if the clouds are dark and the wind strong. We start walking, talking about bears (deep down I’m scared). 10 minutes after, a big storm came through. We found a so-called shelter under the trees, but that’s not a great idea under a storm, so we start running. We are totally wet, but it’s cool: we don’t have a lot of opportunities to run under a pouring rain. I’m out of breath. The car is too far! We run despite all the recommendations to avoid that because of the bears. I might die in New Hampshire (even if I still cannot pronounce this name properly). We reach the car and transformed it in a steamed and wet room to dry ourselves. It smells dead moose in a few minutes. We watch the big drops on the windows, and finally turn the music on and start singing.
We keep going, passing through tiny villages. At the end of the day, a quiet sun set in the mountains.
On our way back, Marine sleep tight and so do I after 5 minutes of talking about biology, stem cells and artificial arms (3 researchers were in the car this day).
We arrive in Boston, I love the city by night. We drive our friends to their funky YMCA. Good news: tomorrow it’s only Sunday, weekend is not over yet!
- All my videos
- Website of Flume Gorge and other stuff to do in New Hampshire
- White Mountains website to plan a great weekend!
