White Mountains

Camping East Coast is way different from other places we've been.  Especially once you get past the mid-Atlantic.  We've encountered really restrictive definitions of family for what a camping fee covers, expensive campgrounds, and a severe lack of National Parks and such.  We camped at the only COE spot in all of Vermont, and we loved it.  VT apparently has very restrictive sewer laws, so camping fees cover two adults and two children.  Every kid after that (for sites that accommodate up to eight people) is $5/night.  Except at COE, who doesn't care how many kids you have.  So it seems that the "restrictive law" and the need to recoup the dollars isn't entirely fair.  But whatever, we've struggled to find places that willingly accept all the kiddos.  Without additional charges.  In NH, we looked for US Forest sites within the White Mountains.  We stayed at Russell Pond because they have flush toilets and hot showers.  At $24/night, that's the most expensive White Mountains campground.  And the showers were mighty expensive ($2.50/5 minutes).  So we only stayed two nights, but we had a blast checking out the Kancamagus Highway!  

We started our day at the Visitor's Center, where we checked out this HUGE moose stuffed animal.  There are signs that warn of hundreds of collisions with moose, so stay aware!  Have we seen a moose yet?  Not so much.  But we've had fun exploring.  K and NB decided to do the Jr. Ranger booklet for the forest, so we got that and headed out.                

NB wanted to look like he was leaning on the mountains.  Not quite the look he was going for, but I took the pic nonetheless.  This was our first scenic overlook.  There were a ton, so eventually we just passed by and only stopped at the ones that locals recommended to us.                                      

We took a short hike to Sabbaday Falls.  The lady at the Visitor's Center said that our best bet for falls were the ones closest to the road, the shortest hikes.  She said that the ones with longer hikes were just trickling.  I don't know if the ones further in are always struggling with water, or if that's just a right now kinda thing.  At any rate, we took her advice.  The hike to Sabbaday Falls is only 0.3 miles, but it is GORGEOUS.  This is the start, just past the signs that tell us about the trail and why it was named such (Sabbath Day -- Sabbaday).                                

G and NS decided to cross the brook.  But as they progressed towards the waterfall, they realized that they couldn't really cross back.  So they had to turn around and find a good spot.  G refused any help, and he ended up with a foot in the water.  While he was wearing socks and his hiking boots.  He then changed into his water shoes to finish the hike.  Originally he and Bill weren't going to finish the hike, but the rest of us took so long at the falls, they decided they should see what kept us so occupied.                                

This waterfall is amazing.  It cut through the granite, so there are walls around it.  It turns corners.  It pools three times.  The water is still blazing a trail through the rocks, as you can sometimes spot water shooting out from UNDER the rock sheets.  Such a fantastic waterfall!                  

Ok, I don't have the signs in front of me, nor did I actually take a picture of the signs, but I believe there are granite and basalt layers here.  This is the bottom most part of the falls.  You have to get out on the rocks to see this part, but it's totally worth stepping off the beaten path.  Take the time, see the extra bit.  So cool.                                          

This is from the top most pool.  You can see that it turns the corner.  Just a really cool fall.  Come to the White Mountains, see Sabbaday Falls.                      

We also stopped at Rocky Gorge, where Bill continued the tradition of dunking heads in the cold water.  The kids love it.  I would not, so I stay away!                                        

Rocky Gorge also has some pretty amazing water action going on.  Lots of small falls, tons of water.  No swimming allowed, the currents are just too strong.  The kids were a little upset with how close I came to some of the falls, but I was always safe, and I got some amazing pictures.  I did get a little bit stuck at Sabbaday Falls--the rock I chose as a landing pad for one of my pictures was a little slick just beyond me, so getting back up was a bit of a challenge.  But I managed with a little help from K and all is well.                                

These were the cool falls at the gorge.  Lots of rushing water, tons of power zooming past us.  Sabbaday Falls and Rocky Gorge were quick stops for us, but such amazing beauty.  And that's only about halfway through the Kancamagus Highway.                  

We only did one more stop, at Lower Falls.  But we stayed a good long time.  Someone at King Arthur Flour told us to go to Cascade Park for the granite waterslide.  We never did find it, but I read that there are many places to stop and slide down the granite into the water on the Kancamagus.  This is one of those places.  We forgot towels, so Bill didn't want the kids to get into the water.  Here NB and J are pretty much following that edict.                

At this point, J is pretty darn wet.  I gave up and told the kids they could get into the water.  I had a couple who really wanted to wear their swimsuits to be in the water, so they headed to the car to change.  In all fairness, their street clothes were still pretty dry, so it made sense to change.  J and NS were completely soaked, so it made more sense for them to carry on.  NS was the only one who actually slid down the granite slide.  He did that a couple of times.  Wisely, the others decided to skip out on that because they didn't feel good about it.  Since I wasn't actually in the water (nor in a suit, so not at all prepared for rescue work), I appreciated that they were cautious.  And really, I watched many teens and adults hesitate up at the top.  The one guy who completely laid down made me nervous--I felt like  that was a head injury waiting to happen.  The slide wasn't completely smooth, it was quite bumpy at parts.  But I cheered everyone brave enough to try.                      

Clearly the water was cold.  K was doing the cold dance in the water at this point.  Right behind them is another slide area, but the water went under rocks, so the kids opted not to try to slide it.  The rock that Bill and I sat on was quite slick, so even though I didn't end up in the water, I still did a granite slide.  So did Jack.  So did a lot of others.  But there were no injuries, so it was a fun accident.  We spent several hours here, it was just a really great stop.  How much fun would it be to live near something so amazing that you can use for free?!