SPRING OF FALL

Coming from a region where the temperate climates four seasons are hot summer, hottest summer, lesser summer and moderate summer, I was excited to see in many places around the world, where the four seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter follows in heights of precision.

Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere begins from mid-September and goes on till beginning of Christmas. It marks the transition from summer to winter-also known as “Fall” in North America. I dedicate this page to the “fall” that I have witnessed in the Eastern region of USA.

A two-hour picturesque drive to the north of Boston brings us to the State of New Hampshire near Western Maine where the Nature paints its horizon in its wizardly manner. Wondering what it is all about? Relax…  Relax …before that, I should sketch out the pathway to visit God’s own Art gallery filled with His canvas, brushes, palette and colors. Too dramatic?

Let me unfold it.

The entry point we used was from the small town of Lincoln. It has a State visitor center with a cute museum, train station, specialty restaurants, skiing   shops. We were surrounded by icy, chilly winds. We were ready, fully clad in warm clothing to visit the ‘White Mountains’-the Northern Appalachian mountain range. With a gaping jaw, enjoying the magnificence of the Mountains, we see the splash of colors of the foliage- green, yellow, orange, red-the artwork of the Divinity. The Supreme artist seem to have worked overtime in choosing the color pigments! With the onset of autumn, the chlorophyll which gives green color to the plants becomes dormant and the leaves color changes.

When you see either side of the road and whole mountain covered with multitude colors- the awesome sight is beyond anything the mind could comprehend. The drive on the Kancamagus Highway which runs along the Swift river, is dotted with such sceneries, step after step.

An overnight stay in the Kancamagus Swift River Inn and a hiking in the dense wood in the banks of the gushing river readies us for the travel uphill –we are going to climb the tallest peak in the Northeast: Mount Washington–the voyage of a lifetime.

A 6000 feet steep climb on a narrow road, with no guardrails, in an unpredictable weather condition and at times zero visibility is not a challenge only for the adventurers, but also for the vehicle. A long convoy of vehicles ahead of us were waiting their turn to ascend the mountain and within few minutes few hundreds were behind us too. The air pressure in the tires were reduced to get a good grip of the road. All these chores by a dedicated, cheerful team of the Mountain Authorities, kept adding to the excitement. We started climbing, on a clear sky. When we were half way through, it became foggy-we could hear the howling of wind and sudden chillness in the atmosphere to a subzero temperature. There was hardly any visibility, but vehicles kept moving is snail’s pace. It still is hard to believe how we kept driving in that kind of unfavorable weather and reached the summit. To top it all, it started raining.

Stepping out of the car by itself was a great ordeal. Two hands had to be used to push the door out against the wind pressure. The moment I stepped out the car and unfolded the umbrella, I could feel chilling rain drops wetting my head. Even before I knew, the umbrella had flown away!!Such was the velocity of the wind. Mount Washington has the distinction of being the windiest place in the earth. For the sake of posterity, in the past 75 years it still holds the record for the highest wind velocity of 235 miles per hour. The highest wind ever observed by man was recorded here. The temperature falls well beyond minus 50 during winter.

As suddenly as it rained so suddenly did it shine. The thick fog disappeared. The peak of the mountain is the observatory, from where we can see the Atlantic Ocean, many States of USA and Canada. The “Fall” was at its glory-anywhere we could see, it was array of colors beyond one’s imagination. Within a few minutes, the visibility started fading and again we were engulfed in the thickest of the fog. Back to hiding behind the thickest of the winter clothing. The amazing fact is that, the place is always crowded with so many people braving the adverse weather and the difficult terrain. Such is the power of the place to pull in the crowd!

The descend to the base took us half the time as it took to climb. The tires were inflated and we headed back to Boston, not before our Trojan horse, the Audi A6 was affixed with a sticker “This car has Climbed Mount Washington” -a great feat for the man and the machine!

Till I lace up for the next…

J.Ram