We spent an inordinate amount of time in the first mile. There were just so many birds and a few wildflowers.
Finally, another woodpecker comes out while we stop for a snack! It *is* a black-backed!
And at one point while still in the trees, we bushwhacked off out of sight of the trail and just sat down for a few minutes. Tim grabbed this picture of a female Black-Throated Green Warbler (confirmed by several people on Tim's birding forum)! Both of these birds were firsts for us!
Here's the view from the 1-mile mark, looking up toward the summit. And then looking out into the valley.
Back into some scrubby woods for a few minutes before coming out above treeline.
Now it's time to go over the Caps.
Diapensia and Alpine Azalea were blooming.
The Castles were visible across on the adjacent ridge.
Climbing up the Caps is not too tough. Coming down is much more difficult. Tim keeps looking over his shoulder to see if Valerie needs a hand up.
Across the valley to our right, we can see the summit of Mt Washington, and a bit farther still, Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
The final half-mile to the summit looks just like this first picture. It takes a long time to travel a half-mile when you keep having to put your hands down. Note that the big cairn is not at the summit. It's in a small col near the top.
Tim took this series of pictures as Valerie made the final ascent. Then he came up and joined her!
The trip down was long and slow. Tim surveys the caps below him.
[From Valerie: I will admit, this mountain kicked me up and down. It took us 6.5 hours to go 5 miles. Tim really loves the climbing. I do fine while climbing up, but I'm really slow and scared climbing down. ]