The View from the Top

It was a perfect day for a climb up one of the New Hampshire’s scenic peaks – cool and dry. Five of us took advantage of the situation to drive over the bridge from Black Cat Island to nearby Holderness to get some exercise and to drink in the views from a higher elevation.

There are plenty of sights around here by merely sauntering around on the back roads, but none compare to standing on a mountain’s granite outcrop following a brisk hike through the forest canopy and emerging into the full sunlight to behold the spectacular scenery.

As peaks around these parts go, Rattlesnake Mountain, at 1600 feet, is not a particularly challenging one. (There are seven others in N.H. by the same name.) Nonetheless, it will get your blood circulating faster and your muscles and joints moving – no doubt about that. It’s a favorite of families because of the relatively easy climb and the panoramic lake views that it affords.

If you ever do something like this, though, do yourselves a favor and don’t be like some of the people we encountered who went up with no water and equipped without adequate footwear. We saw a few with only flip-flops on their feet – dumb, really dumb. Not Granite-Staters. That’s for sure. Up here, I think they are referred to as flatlanders.

It’s always a good thing to never underestimate nature. Seasoned mountain climbers who have taken on the more serious of New Hampshire’s peaks in inclement weather and without leaving a climbing itinerary with someone below have found that out the hard way.

Thanks for checking in and for reading. Stay engaged and enjoy the remaining weeks of summer. 

Photos:  In the first photo by Denise Bergeron Schleckser, your blogger rests on a shoulder of Holderness, New Hampshire's Rattlesnake Mountain, while in the second photo shot by your blogger, a similar view depicting Squam Lake unfolds (think Jane and Henry Fonda in the flick, On Golden Pond).