Mooning the Cog Railway on Mt. Washington

[Caleb]

We all gots to live in harmony.

I'm all for harmony. i can tolerate the cog and its necessary impacts, but the unnecessary defilement is offensive and disharmonious. have you seen the railway lately? I'll take pics and post them when i'm next there. The mountain is really a mess. even if it's a historical -been there-forever-mess- its disgusting and should be addressed. are you opposed to this?

[Lone Wolf]

Nope. Not opposed. Maybe you could express your concerns directly to the Cog owners.

[The Old Fhart]

While I deplore the trash the Cog leaves on the ground beside the tracks, I agree with Lone Wolf that neither the Cog or the Auto Road are going to disappear and I don't advocate that. It should be noted that the Mt. Washington Auto Road Company does an excellent job of keeping their side of the mountain clean.

There are about 250,000 people who visit the summit, which is a NH state park, each year. About 190,000 pay, 60,000 day hike, and a couple of hundred are thru hikers. Mooning the Cog only serves to give a lot of people a lower opinion of thru hikers than they already have. For example, I recall one typical thru hiker sitting on the summit when a child came near and said: “Look, mommy, a hiker.” The mother, after seeing this person she apparently viewed as a bum, snapped back: “Get away from him, you don’t know where he’s been!”

As to Caleb’s comment: “ …maybe instead of baring our asses we could form an advocacy group to get the mountain cleaned up. it would be a positive step,” that is an excellent idea. Every year the New Hampshire Chapter AMC has a volunteer summit clean-up weekend. I have been up there twice and the majority of the big crap has been along the Cog tracks. One year we made a large pile of old timbers about 12 feet high that was eventually carted off. The State, Weather Observatory, USFS, and AMC have been trying to get the Cog to be more responsible.There has been minor progress but there is a long way to go.

[Toolshed]

For those of you who don't know what this is all about, the Cog Railway is a nasty, loathsome, noisy, coal-spewing choo-choo train that has been hauling fat tourists up Mt. Washington for nearly a century.

....yawn......

[Caleb]

Every year the New Hampshire Chapter AMC has a volunteer summit clean-up weekend. I have been up there twice and the majority of the big crap has been along the Cog tracks. One year we made a large pile of old timbers about 12 feet high that was eventually carted off. The State, Weather Observatory, USFS, and AMC have been trying to get the Cog to be more responsible.There has been minor progress but there is a long way to go.

good idea. i will inquire with the AMC about the status of the clean up projects and what i can do to help. will report all findings. C

[hikerjohnd]

My father is really into railroads and I thought while in the area I'd try to ride the railway/take pics and try to share the experience with him. Does riding the railway take you far out of the way of the AT? Can I take the railway down the mtn and easily hook up with the AT there? just curious...

[Jack Tarlin]

John:

You can hook up with the railway at the TOP of the mountain, as the Trail crosses the tracks just below the summit of Washington.

The other end of the traintracks is a bit removed from the Trail; if you want to hook up with the Trail and hike, better to start at the foot of the mountain, ride the Train up, and then descend from the summit to the A.T.

Or if you arrive at Washington's summit on foot via the A.T., you can ride the train down, and then back up again, getting some cool pix for your dad.

[hikerjohnd]

John:

You can hook up with the railway at the TOP of the mountain, as the Trail crosses the tracks just below the summit of Washington.

The other end of the traintracks is a bit removed from the Trail; if you want to hook up with the Trail and hike, better to start at the foot of the mountain, ride the Train up, and then descend from the summit to the A.T.

Or if you arrive at Washington's summit on foot via the A.T., you can ride the train down, and then back up again, getting some cool pix for your dad.

Excellent - I think I'll do the round trip from the top so I don't miss the white blazes and dad will still be happy!

Thanks for the input!
--John

[The Cheat]

Excellent - I think I'll do the round trip from the top so I don't miss the white blazes and dad will still be happy!

Thanks for the input!
--John

Take a slideboard down. If your still alive you can take the railway back up.

[dgodwin7]

I'm with ganj - When I was there this summer visibility was didly squat. Mooning would only have made my heiny as cold as my hands. ;-) But it is a crappy train and I say...moon it! Dang tourons.

[Caleb]

The State, Weather Observatory, USFS, and AMC have been trying to get the Cog to be more responsible.There has been minor progress but there is a long way to go.

I e-mailed the AMC. If they've made an effort to clean up the mountain, that's great. I will be a part of any future effort. But as the mountain is still absolutely full of trash, it's hard for me to characterize the past efforts as successful. Perhaps a beginning was made. Also, perhaps the AMC is not the best advocate for the job... they are afterall concessionaires on the mountain just like the Cog RR, and the operation of the huts is not without controversy of its own.

thanks again. Do you have any info on initiatives undertaken by the State, Weather Ob, and th USFS?

[fiddlehead]

A little story about the last time i was lucky enough to be climbing Wash. when the Cog came along:
I always wanted to moon the cog but my previous 2 times it was either poor visablity or no train in sight. But in '95 i got my chance and upon hearing the whistle, ran to get to the tracks before the train did. I got across and waited till the train was halfway past and proceeded to "shoot the moon". Well, my packweight was more than i was ready for (and my heartbeat was racing as i waited a lot of years for this) and the sudden shift of weight to the top of my head made me fall over. Embarressed as could be, i looked back and saw the entire train giving me an ovation and cheering. I didn't see any one of them that looked like they weren't thoroughly entertained or mad. I only hope someone got it on video.

We did the same thing to the train at Cumbres Pass in CO. T here were 7 or us this time including a beautiful woman hiker, and we rode the train halfway up and told many people the NH story i just repeated above. Well the train stopped for water about halfway up and we got out, climbed the bank and hitchiked the rest of the way up. Luckily we arrived about 15 minutes before the train and started out northbound on the CDT. After 5 minutes walking, we heard the whistle again and hurried to a great viewing spot. (deja vu?) This time we practiced and counted down and turned around on cue and it went great. (we were ready for the counterbalance) We found out later from someone who was on that train that some people were really upset over it! (turns out they were only upset because they didn't have their video camera on us at the time)

So, i sure hope that the tradition continues and these people who are so against us having some fun, will look at it a bit different and start enjoying their damn lives instead of bitching about trivial hiker fun!!!

[rickb]

HikerJohn--

In case your Dad is looking to spend some more time in the area after riding the Cog, here is a link to the local tourist train. FWIW.

http://www.conwayscenic.com/

Rick B

[hikerjohnd]

HikerJohn--

In case your Dad is looking to spend some more time in the area after riding the Cog, here is a link to the local tourist train. FWIW.

http://www.conwayscenic.com/

Rick B

Thanks for the info! I'll check out the train while I'm up there! Unfortunately he has to experience this vicariously. He is in the early stages of Alzheimers and my mom is in a wheelchair - so they do not get out much. He still enjoys watching train videos and reading his model train magazines - but that is about the extent of his adventures. I plan to bring back pics (and maybe shipping my video camera up there but not sure yet) and write letters about the experience for him to enjoy.

[rickb]

I plan to bring back pics (and maybe shipping my video camera up there but not sure yet) and write letters about the experience for him to enjoy.

If you are looking for pictures, one of the tourist train stations is within sight of the AMC's Highland Center. The Highland Center is off the trail a couple miles, but it does have a $20+/- bunkhouse (includes breakfast). Depending on how your walk is evolving, you might end up there anyway.

The tourist train doesn't run all that frequently, but if you happen to have a schedule, it runs over a neat tressle bridge within walking distance of the Highland Center IIRC, that might offer a great photo op.

Of course, the Cog will offer even better ones.

[bailcor]

It is hard to overstate this level of 'affront'. beyond what's been mentioned, the cog operates with a huge disrespect for the mountain.... the whole cog- side of the mountain is littered with discarded and rotted rr timbers, creosote buckets, and piles of various RR/industrial trash. I wrote WMNF about this last summer, and also wrote a LTE to the Conway newspaper. No publication, and no response from the FS. i don't mind the mooning, but maybe instead of baring our asses we could form an advocacy group to get the mountain cleaned up. it would be a positive step. C

I am old enough to remember when all engine's were those coal eating dragons and loved the sound of them passing in the night. If a few still spew their smoke I don't think it will hurt us to much. By the way we on the moon call it "earthing".

[gr8fulyankee]

Mooning the cog is an asinine thing to do.

If mooning the Cog is an asinine thing to do,

Then count on my assinline.

I grew up in Laconia, NH. Lived in that wonderful state for 30 years. I consider the Cog the stinking Cesspool of our state. I remember hiking up the mountain many times as kid and young adult, smelling that foul stench, thinking thats what massholes smelled like. The Cog has done so much damage to such a delicate area.

[Lone Wolf]

Showing your pimply ass to tourists ain't taking action. If you were serious you would do some monkey wrenching. Blow up the tracks or something. But you're probably just a weenie liberal like the rest of the mooners.

[Pencil Pusher]

edited: Not humor the pc crowd would appreciate...

[Roland]

edited: Not humor the pc crowd would appreciate...

Discretion is the better part of valor