MacGougan at Large

Notes on New Hampshire - 3

Notes on New Hampshire - 3

Hiking in the White Mountains

Over four days of hiking in the White Mountains, we put in a lot of hours but didn’t cover very many miles. The hikes were fairly challenging, and I am admittedly slow.

Part of the challenge is elevation gain. Hikes in the White Mountains tend to have about twice the elevation gain I’m used to from hikes in Connecticut. And then there’s the issue of footing.

A meaningful percentage of the trails we hiked looked like they’d just survived a landslide. Lots of loose rocks of various sizes and also big, smooth rocks with a dusting of slippery gravel. So step after step the hiker needs to play a game of Where’s Waldo - with Waldo in this case being any reasonably dry, stable, and level surface large enough to accommodate a booted foot. Extra points if the surface is within a few feet of another Waldo heading in approximately the correct direction.

Also, as already noted, I’m slow. I’m out of shape, I’m cautious, and I’m easily distracted by beauty. I don’t really want to focus on caution or lack of fitness, so let’s consider the distracting beauty of a New Hampshire hike. You might think this primarily has to do with the vista of surrounding peaks we briefly enjoy at the summit of a given hike. The vista is wonderful, but I’m talking about every single Where’s Waldo step up the mountain. All those rocks that I’m either stepping on or stepping around. Each one is a work of art. 

The rocks, of course, are mostly granite. Welcome to the Granite State - America’s Kitchen Counter. The rocks come in sizes ranging from pebble to Mack Truck. They come in base colors ranging from snow white to dark grey. There is always some patterning - flecks of contrast, whorls of design, sometimes glittery glints of quartz.

The rocks are additionally decorated with patches of moss and lichens. The moss is deep green and comfortably soft-looking. The lichen tends to be a vibrant yellow-green, like the color of a high-visibility tennis ball. It appears in splotches that look like sponge art.

Whorled granite covered with lichens looks to me like a kindergarten class playfully decided to add extra touches on top of a Jackson Pollock canvas.