Memories of a mountain

I am not exactly a world traveler. However, I have been to a few beautiful places over the years. From the Florida Keys to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, there are plenty of East Coast sights that are pretty inspiring. But perhaps the most breathtaking place I have seen in the East is in northern New Hampshire.

Mount Washington is known as the "Home of the World's Worst Weather." It holds the record for the highest recorded wind speed (231 mph). I visited the mountain in early June about 17 years ago. At the bottom of the mountain, it was a comfortable 70 degrees. At the top, the temperature dropped to below freezing. Along the way, I picked up a rock and put it in my pocket. I still have it.

Until recent years, I moved around a lot. Possessions have fallen by the wayside as a result. But for some reason, I kept that rock. When my cat discovered it the other day, and decided to start playing with it, I took it from him so that he wouldn't break another tooth. As I picked it up, memories of the the mountain came to mind, and I thought, maybe that is the value in material objects -- they instantly connect us to happy events in our lives and take the edge off of current-day realities and stresses.

The Mount Washington Hotel at the base of the mountain is almost as majestic as the mountain itself. When I first saw it, I thought of the hotel in the movie The Shining. But it's even more grand and far less haunted than that.

However, when I visited the hotel, there was something unexpected waiting there. Chipmunks. They were inside the hotel, running around the lobby, down the hallways and sliding themselves under the doors into the guest rooms. I asked the hotel people about the small critters and they responded in a carefree tone, indicating that the chipmunks are simply part of the hotel. Because the building was so old, vast and accessible to the small animals in this great wilderness, hotel management decided the chipmunks would become part of the ambiance of the place. They made little effort to get rid of them. It was a novel idea but a little disconcerting even for an animal-rights supporter. After all, who wants chipmunks nibbling on their toes in the middle of the night?

At the top of Mount Washington there is a list of all the folks who have died while camping or hiking along its trails. There is a weather observatory and pictures of what it's like there in the winter. Harsh does not begin to describe what a January day looks like on the summit.

Yet, in the summer and early fall, Mount Washington is welcoming. It rises up from the Presidential Range in an inviting manner. At under 7,000 feet, the summit is not in the same league as the Rockies, but it is nonetheless impressive as you look out into the clouds.