Enjoying the Fall Foliage in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire and a Blueberry Pie

Hoping to see vivid fall colors in New England, Pie Pal Linda and I traveled to the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. We were not disappointed.

We started our leaf peeping with a 5-hour ride through Mount Washington Valley of the National Forest on the Conway Scenic Railroad’s Mountaineer. Trees, dressed in their fall colors lined both sides of the tracks and framed a view of towns along the way.

For another view of the National Forest, we rode the Mount Washington Cog Railway to the top of Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the Northeastern part of the US. The “Cog” is the first cog railway in the United States, and the train we were on was powered by an old-fashioned steam engine. The track is the second steepest in the world beginning at 2,700 feet and ending at a cold, foggy, ear-popping 6,288 feet.

At the top, The Mount Washington Observatory provides weather information, environmental monitoring and conducts scientific research about climate and the mountain environment. The videos in the Extreme Mount Washington Museum gave us a sense of the power of the weather at this height without having to be in it!. We ended our trip on the Cog with lunch at the nearby Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. This historic hotel was the site of the signing of the Bretton Woods Agreement by 44 Nations who met here after WW II to set a fixed currency exchange rate using gold as the universal standard and also established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The highlight of our trip, though, was a drive along the Kancamagus Highway, a 34 mile scenic highway from Conway to Lincoln through the National Forest. Along the way there are falls, gorges, covered bridges with spectacular views through log windows, trails, paths, and recreational facilities. We made several stops for photo ops and a hike. By returning to Conway by the same route, we enjoyed the lookouts and trails on the other side of the road. 

People: The engineer and brakeman on our Cog Train ride. The Cog train navigates steep inclines to the top and straight drops to the bottom. The brakeman, as he was eager to tell us at the outset, is the most important person on the train! We agreed, as he deftly spun the wheels that control the brakes on our trip down the mountain.

Places: White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. This national treasure of 800,000 acres in New Hampshire and a bit of Maine was established to curb uncontrolled logging and fires and establish a better balance of conservation through partnerships with nonprofits and state governments. The Forest now has 1200 miles of hiking trails with 160 of them a part of the Appalachian Trail; 400 miles of snowmobiling trails; and 4 alpine ski areas, along with campgrounds and historic sites.

Pies: Blueberry Pie. Of course, we ate pie each time we saw the word on a menu. Blueberries grow easily in the New Hampshire woodlands and we both agreed that a pie made with local berries would be the perfect ending to our lobster and haddock dinners. Naturally, a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side would bring out the flavor of those juicy blueberries.