Hi! It's been a while! So Lizzie and I had big plans to do a state trip to South Carolina and Georgia in early June, but all sorts of things went wrong, including delayed flights and mechanical issues on flights and rain and oh did I mention that my garbage boyfriend broke up with me via text message so when we finally did get there all I did was cry and watch bad TLC for two days (though I did get a tan, which is challenging for those of Irish descent--someone called me a "daywalker" which I think is a zombie reference? Either way I'm in). It was enjoyable for everyone and LIFE IS A RICH TAPESTRY. In any case, Lizzie took me up to Mount Washington for my birthday, yay! Neither of us had ever been to the summit (highest in the Northeastern US, 6288') so we went up the Cog Railway, which was built from 1866-1869 (or 'Colonial Times', according to our brakeman).
This cog railway, our brakeman told us, is the oldest in the US, and for a while, was the steepest at one point until the Swiss ruined it, like they ruin everything. There's a coal driven train that goes up, but ours was bio-diesel, and therefore didn't have to stop midway up to waste thousands of gallons of water to make that steam business happen. Yay! Also, back in the day, workers at the top would ride slideboards they'd invented down the railway which they named "Devil's Shingles" which probably was an indication that it wasn't the best idea, as flying down a mountain at 62mph on a piece of wood maybe isn't super safe, and the slideboards were banned after an employee died in 1906. Buzzkill. Anyway, it's about a 45 minute slow ride up to the summit.
This cog railway, our brakeman told us, is the oldest in the US, and for a while, was the steepest at one point until the Swiss ruined it, like they ruin everything. There's a coal driven train that goes up, but ours was bio-diesel, and therefore didn't have to stop midway up to waste thousands of gallons of water to make that steam business happen. Yay! Also, back in the day, workers at the top would ride slideboards they'd invented down the railway which they named "Devil's Shingles" which probably was an indication that it wasn't the best idea, as flying down a mountain at 62mph on a piece of wood maybe isn't super safe, and the slideboards were banned after an employee died in 1906. Buzzkill. Anyway, it's about a 45 minute slow ride up to the summit.
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