Mt Washington - what to pack?

[Brett Dikeman]

Ok, this'll be my 3rd year, so here's what I've learned.

Earplugs aren't all that necessary; the noise isn't constant(runs are
every 3-5 minutes, and no matter where you are, you see each car for about
10 seconds or the car is only close to you for a few seconds(up top I
believe there are some spots where you can watch the cars come up from
below you.)

One big item is this...amusement items.  Chris Miller brought a set of
Bocce balls which a bunch of us had far too much fun with(there are some
pictures of various colored balls flying, us cheering/yelling/running/jumping up+down :-)
This is the time to dig out that backyard volleyball net you've never used
since you bought it and toss it in the trunk :-)

coolers are excellent ideas.   Water/lemonade/soda is expensive.
The lunchfood is usually good quality but nothing fancy for sure.

Our eventmaster is quite partial to Tuckerman's Ale, incidentally(we have
photographic evidence of this, too)

If you signed up in time and paid for it, the NEQ will have a long-sleeved
t-shirt, which everyone usually starts wearing on the spot :-)  It is
supposed to rain(hopefully it won't), so be prepared for that; courtesy of
my employer, we'll have about 24 umbrellas(well, 24 if my coworkers stop
stealing them :-)  The marketing dept was happy to unload some of the
several hundred we had on hand.

  If you're going up to the top, it can be as cold as 40 degrees when
it's 80 down at the start, and the wind is ALWAYS blowing.  So add long
pants, windbreaker, what have you.  The general rule is that whatever it
is down below, it's windier, colder, etc up top.  Keep an eye on the
forcasts on accuweather.com and similar sites, but remember things can
change radically, so the current forecast for rain might be totally
bogus(cross fingers, pray, etc.)  If you go up Sunday with the club on the
mini-parade, you can come right back down again, but if you go up before a
race, guess what...you're stuck up there until that half of the race is
over, which can be a few hours, so be prepared(bring a shoulder pack with
a bunch of the necessities like a rain jacket, sunscreen, etc.)

Sunscreen and bug repellant are also must-have items.  Remember, you're up
pretty high already even at the base, so there's more UV etc.  Even in
overcast skies you can get a good sunburn regardless of where you are, so
bring sunscreen.  Sunglasses are also a good idea, esp up on top.

The Dana Place Inn has a pool; I always forget to bring a suit.

Lawn chairs are handy, yes.  Make some friends and bring extras if you
have 'em :-)  The NEQ also provides a good-sized tent for shade and 2-3,
maybe 3-4 tables w/chairs.

Having a small amount of cash on hand is important for food, goodies,
donations to make-a-wish for participating in the NEQ
mini-parade-drive-up-the-mountain, etc.  Cash machines are quite a drive
away.

If you're staying at the inn, toss some cleaning supplies in the trunk and
head around in back in the morning and you can wash off the bug guts off
in a small area with a hose the inn provides for us.

Well, that's what comes to mind, quickly...if you're on the edge about
bringing a camera, keep in mind that a bunch of us(myself included) take a
number of photos and post them up and I don't mind doing requests(if you
look at last year's photos on my site,
http://www.200q20v.com/~brett/pics/car/audi/washington_2000/index.html

you can see I did a few portraits(as well as lending the camera to a few
folk for some, uh, interesting, self-portraits :-)   Not sure what
happened with that picture of joe and his few-week-old TT, there.  Looks
kinda fuzzy, I'll have to dig out the original(which was spectacular.)

I think in the past I've usually averaged around 100 photos that make it past my initial
fuzz/finger/exposure/composition "filter" the monday following :-)

Brett

 On Thu, 21 Jun 2001, Kent McLean wrote:

> For someone making their first trip to the Mt Washington
> Hillclimb, what do you recommended I/we bring?
>
> - clothes? (I know, it's Mt Washington ...)
> - cooler with drinks/lunch? or concession stands?
> - lawn chairs?
> - earplugs?
>
> I'll be bringing a camera w/lots of film (regular and
> digital).