Summer 2020 Banter and random observations

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

I like ash, but I’m not a fan of drenching with chemicals to save the trees. Ash and elm will probably need some sort of gene editing to deter EAB and prevent DED. Hemlock and maybe oak are next in line. 

Oak wilt is bad in PA, will probably arrive in NNE in the future.  There's evidence that a useful minority of white ash are resistant or tolerant with EAB, while green ash and brown ash have shown no such traits.  In the wild, green ash isn't common in NNE though often seen as street plantings; it's far more common (or was) in the Midwest.  Brown ash is a far less prominent part of the NNE forest than white, but exceedingly important for indigenous peoples, culturally and economically.

[PhineasC]

I drove up the Mt Washington auto road today. I'm sure it's old hat for all of you, but I will just say it was terrifying. LOL

I had no idea it was like that. I had in my mind a nice two lane road with guardrails.

Glad I did it, but never, ever again. I would much rather hike up.

[mreaves]

16 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

I drove up the Mt Washington auto road today. I'm sure it's old hat for all of you, but I will just say it was terrifying. LOL

I had no idea it was like that. I had in my mind a nice two lane road with guardrails.

Glad I did it, but never, ever again. I would much rather hike up.

I've done that twice, I think.  We took the Cog Railroad up last year.  It was expensive but fun.  I think it was $63 each.

[tunafish]

29 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

I drove up the Mt Washington auto road today. I'm sure it's old hat for all of you, but I will just say it was terrifying. LOL

I had no idea it was like that. I had in my mind a nice two lane road with guardrails.

Glad I did it, but never, ever again. I would much rather hike up.

 

This video will make you feel better, or not.  

 

[klw]

20 minutes ago, mreaves said:

I've done that twice, I think.  We took the Cog Railroad up last year.  It was expensive but fun.  I think it was $63 each.

I don't know if they still do but they used to run a half price day for locals on Father's Day weekend.

[Hoth]

18 minutes ago, tunafish said:

 

This video will make you feel better, or not.  

 

Dude must have his eyelids surgically grafted open. Blink on that drive, and you dead.

[powderfreak]

57 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

I drove up the Mt Washington auto road today. I'm sure it's old hat for all of you, but I will just say it was terrifying. LOL

I had no idea it was like that. I had in my mind a nice two lane road with guardrails.

Glad I did it, but never, ever again. I would much rather hike up.

I remember as a kid my family went up there and once above tree line my mom ended up having to lay down in the back of the station wagon until it was over, lol.

I’ve only done it since then to access spring skiing once the road opens and the snowfields are still in.  

[PhineasC]

42 minutes ago, mreaves said:

I've done that twice, I think.  We took the Cog Railroad up last year.  It was expensive but fun.  I think it was $63 each.

Yes, definitely doing the cog railroad if we ever go up again. It really is a white-knuckle experience. And it doesn't help to be in a huge SUV hauling the entire family on what you thought would be a simple afternoon excursion. I have a new, immense respect for the "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper stickers I see around. LOL

[HoarfrostHubb]

We drove up it 2 summers ago. It is really stunning. We had tried it a few years earlier but they closed the road at 4500’ or so due to ice. 
 

I climbed it twice in two consecutive days when I was a kid

[HoarfrostHubb]

First day back at work in person today. This is going to be a very difficult start. I was glad to be in my building   It was very strange though. 

[Lava Rock]

Dude must have his eyelids surgically grafted open. Blink on that drive, and you dead.

Wow.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Just now, Lava Rock said:

2 hours ago, Hoth said:

Dude must have his eyelids surgically grafted open. Blink on that drive, and you dead.

Wow.

Watch that on a big tv.  Those guys and gals are cuckoo 

[ORH_wxman]

I’ve driven up MWN 3 times. It’s def kind of nerve wracking. Smaller car is def better. 

[alex]

4 hours ago, PhineasC said:

Yes, definitely doing the cog railroad if we ever go up again. It really is a white-knuckle experience. And it doesn't help to be in a huge SUV hauling the entire family on what you thought would be a simple afternoon excursion. I have a new, immense respect for the "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper stickers I see around. LOL

As a NH resident, you can get a season pass for the Auto road pretty cheap - about $100. We have done a few times this year already, and it’s fun to park at the top and walk down to Lakes of The Clouds. My kids would never make it otherwise (4 and 6)

[DavisStraight]

Ive hiked it several times and drove up a couple times but really want to take the cog up. Its the only way I havent climbed it. Make sure your brakes are in good shape before the drive up.

[Flying MXZ]

Gotta love Pastrana.  

[backedgeapproaching]

I was out in Breckenridge about 15 years ago and did the Pikes Peak drive in NOV.  Roads were somewhat snow packed and my friend was driving like a poor man's Pastrana....in a VW Passatt. Just remember holding the door handle so hard thought I was going to rip it out. He kept saying, "Its fine, I have brand new snow tires."  Ha

[PhineasC]

3 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

I was out in Breckenridge about 15 years ago and did the Pikes Peak drive in NOV.  Roads were somewhat snow packed and my friend was driving like a poor man's Pastrana....in a VW Passatt. Just remember holding the door handle so hard thought I was going to rip it out. He kept saying, "Its fine, I have brand new snow tires."  Ha

There are some people who loosen up and become laser-focused when they are pumped full of adrenaline and fear. And then there are others who get all shaky, dizzy, and start grabbing door handles when that happens. The two camps will never understand each other, in my experience. I am more in the second group for sure. 

[Angus]

My niece and family from MD were going to go up yesterday when the temps were forecast to be 30's with 0 -10 above wind chills. They brought no jackets - I brought up a couple for them. They now plan to go tomorrow when the weather is better. I've hiked numerous times but only from the west side or doing a Presidential Traverse and then last year on Memorial Day when technically I didn't summit - but with skis on my back - via a deep snow pack on Lion's Head trail. I have also run the road race - that was brutal - I had been injured for something like two months, had almost no fitness but had a bib# so decided I would do it...finished but walked more than I ran the second half of race.

[mreaves]

 

19 hours ago, PhineasC said:

Yes, definitely doing the cog railroad if we ever go up again. It really is a white-knuckle experience. And it doesn't help to be in a huge SUV hauling the entire family on what you thought would be a simple afternoon excursion. I have a new, immense respect for the "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper stickers I see around. LOL

The drive never really bothered me.  As for big drop offs and such, I never really considered that I was afraid of heights until I went out to the Grand Canyon Skywalk a couple of years ago.  That freaked me out a bit.

[iceman56]

22 hours ago, PhineasC said:

I drove up the Mt Washington auto road today. I'm sure it's old hat for all of you, but I will just say it was terrifying. LOL

I had no idea it was like that. I had in my mind a nice two lane road with guardrails.

Glad I did it, but never, ever again. I would much rather hike up.

Did that last week.   Wife drove, I sat in the middle of the seat.    Going up was worse as a passenger as most of the way up you're on the Great Gulf side.    Got the tickets to go in the State Park building which was good to limit the crowds from the damn train, but the gift shop was a mob scene, you couldn't move.    Always cool to get a bag of chips to take down and see it deflate.    Pouring rain and low 40's, yet nothing showed up on radar.    By the time we got back down to 5000 ft the sun was out.    Nice to see the trees starting to change up there.    Back in humid-ass PA this week.

[bobbutts]

Friend of FB asked a question and I don't know the answer.  Anyone have a meteorological explanation?  Or is it just coincidence?

[DavisStraight]

4 hours ago, mreaves said:

 

The drive never really bothered me.  As for big drop offs and such, I never really considered that I was afraid of heights until I went out to the Grand Canyon Skywalk a couple of years ago.  That freaked me out a bit.

That's on my bucket list, hope to do it next year.

[HIPPYVALLEY]

I’ve never driven the Mount Washington auto road but I have skied it.  We didn’t realize you were supposed to pay to do that so got reprimanded a bit.  Lol

[radarman]

On 8/27/2020 at 8:30 AM, backedgeapproaching said:

I was out in Breckenridge about 15 years ago and did the Pikes Peak drive in NOV.  Roads were somewhat snow packed and my friend was driving like a poor man's Pastrana....in a VW Passatt. Just remember holding the door handle so hard thought I was going to rip it out. He kept saying, "Its fine, I have brand new snow tires."  Ha

The road over Independence Pass into Aspen is pretty sweet too.  Did it before game 3 of the 2007 WS against the Rockies only a few days before it closed for the season.  Very snowy at the 12k' sign.  Near the top the road goes to basically 1 lane with no guard rail.  It's awesome.

[Ginx snewx]

23 hours ago, mreaves said:

 

The drive never really bothered me.  As for big drop offs and such, I never really considered that I was afraid of heights until I went out to the Grand Canyon Skywalk a couple of years ago.  That freaked me out a bit.

I have walked on beams 300+ ft up  while Pequot Tower was under construction and never thought about heights. Went to the World Trade Center all glass top floor with a step down and got the pit feeling in my stomach everyone talks about. Only lasted a second. The view was special 

[dendrite]

I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of falling. 

[powderfreak]

Just now, dendrite said:

I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of falling. 

The falling doesn't kill you, hitting the ground though....

[CoastalWx]

I took the cog once and took a van the MWN road several times. Didn't want to torch my brakes..lol. But the Cog? Yeesh. I'm sure it's fine now, but the time I went up was terrifying. A piston broke on the way down, and it was manual brakes the whole way down. There was a legit feeling that we could just be a runaway train. It was to the point that the workers were ready to jump and my parents put us next to the windows in case we were going, so they could throw us out. I'm not kidding. I was only in second grade, but I remember the look on my parents face. That said, I would definitely do the cog again. 

[Ginx snewx]

9 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

I took the cog once and took a van the MWN road several times. Didn't want to torch my brakes..lol. But the Cog? Yeesh. I'm sure it's fine now, but the time I went up was terrifying. A piston broke on the way down, and it was manual brakes the whole way down. There was a legit feeling that we could just be a runaway train. It was to the point that the workers were ready to jump and my parents put us next to the windows in case we were going, so they could throw us out. I'm not kidding. I was only in second grade, but I remember the look on my parents face. That said, I would definitely do the cog again. 

Lol I took my daughter and grandkids up while my wife and son in law hiked up, the cog engine malfunctioned and the cabs filled with choking black smoke for a couple of minutes, we were all hanging our heads out the half windows. Still a great way to see Mt Washington. The weather station is the bomb, I knew an intern and got the VIP tour.