Two warm sunny days were forecast so we replanned a little to make the most of them. Up early and full of breakfast bagels, we set out to hike the Middle Sugarloaf Trail, a 2.3 miles moderate return hike with an ascent of 866ft and a promise of fab views. The blanket of fallen leaves changed colour as we hiked on …
… and the view certainly was worth it!
There are high passes in the White Mountains called notches and we drove through Crawford Notch passing a viewpoint …
… the gigantic and hugely expensive Mount Washington Hotel …
… Silver Cascade Falls which are right by the road …
… a convenient lunch stop … oh no more apple, peanut butter & crackers …
… and a tourist train on the Conway Scenic Railway.
There was another covered bridge, Bartlett Bridge, this one repurposed as a gift shop …
… and the last stop was Jackson falls, more of a laid back set of rapids than a huge cascade, but pretty nonetheless.
We are spending the next two nights at The Spruce Moose, a lovely B&B in North Conway village and enjoyed drinking our tea on a rocker on the porch.
It was also close enough to walk into town to eat and we tried two family run places, Horsefeathers and Deacon Street and enjoyed dinner in both.
Next day we drove along the Kancamagus Highway, the first National Scenic Byway in the US, which follows the course of the Swift River and has plenty of stopping places.
First was The Albany Covered Bridge…
… Lower Falls …
… Rocky Gorge …
… Sabbaday Falls …
… The Sugar Hill Overlook …
… Kancamagus Pass at 2955ft …
… and Hancock Overlook.
At this point we stopped and turned because we wanted to take a bit of a hike before the end of the day, and returned to do the Boulder Loop Trail – 3.1 miles with an ascent of 912ft … and yet another view!
Tired, we returned for supper and bed.
As expected the next day dawned wet, very wet and we were glad we had seen ‘the Kank’ in the sunshine, but our onward route means we will drive it again in the rain.
A couple of bridges in Conway, the Saco River Bridge …
… and the Swift River Bridge and then we were off.
Chris had great fun stopping and taking pictures in the rain while I preferred to remain dry.
We took it all the way to its end in Lincoln but these pics show the striking contrast so now you’ve seen it wet and dry!
A slight detour took to another pair of bridges … the Haverhill Bath Bridge …
… and Bath Bridge, the longest one so far at 375ft.
Just time to pop into Vermont long enough to say we have visited all the New England states …
… and time to move along and check in for the night …
Off Travelling Together 