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Mount Washington/Presidential Range

These pictures were taken over a span of two weeks during the middle, late part of August and Columbus Day weekend of 2001 and January 10, 2002 to capture the awe and beauty of this wonderful area. They hopefully capture the beauty of the place in detail.

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Lake of the Clouds hut, from just below the summit of Mount Washington on our descent. The summit of Mount Monroe is directly behind the hut.(above); Me at the summit (first below) Ammanoosac Ravine from below the Lake of the Clouds hut. This was taken on our ascent.(second below); Lake of the Clouds hut, taken on the final ascent of the summit. (third below)

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Mike at the Summit of Mount Washington (August 21, 2001)

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This is a picture of the Presidential Range, taken from Pinkham Notch in the first weekend of October, 2001. The weather was abnormally warm with temperatures in the 70's. I was walking around in shorts, sandals and a t-shirt while taking these. And yes, there is snow on the higher reaches of the summit. The ranger at the visitor's center told me that there was 4.5 inches of snow a few days earlier.

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Mount Washington, taken from the base of the Auto Road. Route 16 is to my back and the entrance to the road is to my right.

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Mount Washington, as seen from the Mount Washington Auto Road parking lot. The summit is shrouded in snow squalls and winds were over 70 miles per hour. (Taken January 10, 2002)

Mount Washington Hotel taken from the summit of Mount Avalon in Crawford Notch (August 18th). This was a relatively easy hike, taking little more than an hour and a half. The summit is about 3,500 feet above sea-level and commands spectacular views of the Presidential Range. However, on this particular day, they were concealed by a think layer of gray clouds.

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At the end of this summer I hiked Mount Washington with a couple of friends from Bristol. We left the trailhead at 6:30 a.m. and nearly five and a half hours later we arrived at the summit. Being late August, the weather wasn't as severe as one might think (foggy, wind around 20 mph and a temperature around 50 degrees). I was on the summit with a sweatshirt and pair of gym shorts. Upon leaving the summit, the sun broke through the clouds and everything became lit with light. It was absolutely beautiful and spiritual to be up there, with the martian-esque landscape illuminating into a patchwork of green grass and alpine vegetation and gray rock.