Kancamagus Tour
NELLI's trip to New Hampshire and the Kancamagus Highway.
Log - Map - Photos
The weather on August 22nd - the rain date for the Kancamagus Highway Tour - was one of those perfect late summer days that we get too infrequently in New England. It was as nice as the previous Sunday was awful. Clear blue skies; a few puffy clouds, light breezes, and temperatures in the low seventies. So the promise for the success of the Kancamagus Tour was good. Carol and I left for Conway around 8 am with the Europa on the trailer and a thermos of coffee in the 4Runner. From our house in Byfield, Ma, we get on Route 16 from the New Hampshire Turnpike and follow it all the way to the Kancamagus. Traffic was light and we arrived around 10:30 to find our good friends Carl and Carol Whitney in the parking lot at the ranger station with their Type 14 Elite. Carl was concerned that no one was going to show but he needn't have worried. This is a drive that I have been looking forward to for a while. Unloaded the Europa and about that time Jon Gardner and Barbara arrived in the M-100. We were expecting a few more although quite a few people had to cancel because of conflicts with the changed date. We finally decided that it was just the three of us and off we went. I managed to foul a spark plug with some overly enthusiastic pumping of the throttle on cold startup, but it cleaned out shortly. A couple of miles up the road we passed Lower Falls on the Swift River which is more like a series of rapids than falls. With so much rain the preceding week, the river was running pretty high and there were people everywhere in and around the river like so many basking seals enjoying the water. Another couple of miles and we turned onto Bear Notch road towards Bartlett. This is a very nice, windy and fairly narrow road that goes up over the passage between Bear and Tremont Mountains. The surface is a bit bumpy in places but it's a lot of fun in a Lotus. We stopped at one of the scenic overlooks and the view is really beautiful. While we were taking it all in, a group of bicyclers stopped and were very enthusiastic about the cars. One of the group knew right away the make and models which is pretty unusual these days considering that he was probably in his early to mid 20s. We finally had to go so we fired up the engines and drove on. And at just that moment, Bill Gavin arrived in his Elan with his dog Tristan as navigator. Of course Bill blamed Tristan for their late arrival but nobody believed him. In the village of Bartlett, we turned onto Route 302 towards Crawford Notch. This is a very nice smooth road with long curves and beautiful scenery.
Crawford Notch was one of the earliest passages that was opened in the White Mountains. Discovered in 1771 by a hunter, Timothy Nash, who, with his friend Benjamin Sawyer and a land grant from NH Governor John Wentworth, opened a trail through the Notch in 1775. As we parked, people came rushing over with their cameras to photograph the cars. We spent some time at the gift shop and picked up a history of the Notch and of the Willey family that settled there in 1825. Unfortunately on August 28, 1826, the entire family was killed by a landslide during a horrendous storm. The scenery in the Notch is dizzying with the sheer cliffs rising from the lake.
We drove on to Route 3 and then down through Franconia Notch. The view from the highway is spectacular, but sadly the Old Man of the Mountain has fallen from his ancient lookout. We continued on Route 3 to Lincoln which is a pretty big town. It owes it's existence to Loon Mountain ski area and resort, and it seems like a pretty nice place. But we weren't stopping and got right onto Route 112 - the Kancamagus Highway which runs through the center of Lincoln. This western end of the Highway rises very quickly into the mountains - much more so than the Eastern end. At one point we came to a very sharp curve - Murphy's Curve - with a speed limit of 25 mph. Heh, heh.... I told you that these roads were made for Colin's cars. Stopped at two fantastic overlooks about a mile apart. The view is indescribable. Again, we created all sorts of excitement with the cars - people taking photos and asking all about them. But it was getting late and we had not had lunch so we again got under way and headed for Sabaday Falls. A few miles down the road we came upon an accident scene where a motorcyclist had managed to go into the woods. Undoubtedly a case of enthusiasm overcoming good judgment. We continued on since the police and rescue people were already there.
Sabaday Falls Picnic area was pretty crowded - at least the parking lot was nearly full. We all found a space and then followed the path a half mile or so to the falls. I can tell you that the walk was well worth the effort. We again had the benefit of the heavy rains of the past few days and the falls were in fine form. Turns out that both Bill Gavin and my wife Carol have degrees in geology so we had a lesson in local rock lore. The path continued up and across a footbridge above the falls so one could get all sorts of views. There is a very pretty pool below the falls that Carol tells me has a temp just a little above freezing (I kept my shoes on). And there were two young girls swimming in it. Brrrrrrrrrr!
We had our picnic lunches and stayed for quite a long time at the falls. Seemed like no one was in a big rush to leave, but finally it was time to go. A nice drive down the Kancamagus to the ranger station and the end of the Tour. What a day! What a road! Everyone agreed that it could not have been better. So we loaded up and started for home, but we all knew that we have to make this trip again. For all of those who couldn't come, we're really sorry that you missed it. Plan on coming along next year.
Tour Route:
Click on the pictures for larger views
View from Bear Notch Road |
Two Carols and three red Lotuses |
Cars at Crawford Notch |
Crawford Notch |
The trout pond at Crawford Notch |
Tristan always likedleft-paw drive cars |
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Last updated: 01 March 2007
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