The best laid plans....... Today was our planned day for an epic hike up Mount Washington, the highest peak east of the Rockies. However the weather intervened and we decided high winds, low temperatures and low visibility meant the hike would not have been judicious - online the Mount Washington Observatory was predicting 65mph winds around the summit so there seemed little point in heading back to Pinkham Notch to be told the same!

Given the weather and the 43 degree morning temperature we'd left the motel in hiking gear with thermals underneath and a spare thick layer in our bags. A walk rethink was called for and discussed over breakfast at Welsh's Restaurant. The motel breakfast deal was a $10 voucher to use at Welsh's and we found out that a $10 breakfast could be pretty substantial. There were some modest peaks and a recommended view point to the west of Gorham that looked attainable given the weather. We called in at a hiking gear shop and bought a reasonably detailed map of the Randolph trails area which was maintained by a local mountaineering club.

Next was a quick visit to the US Forestry Service Ranger Station to pay for a week's parking permit. The staff here were as helpful as everywhere and a guy we'd met briefly the previous night came out from the back to say hi and give us chocolate! From the Station we drove back through Gorham and up a side road to the trail start. The road took us up to about 1750 feet so climbing Mount Crescent at 3251 feet was not too arduous. The clearly marked trail took us up through woods gently at first but involving some steep stretches towards the summit area, with hands and feet called into play.

The summit area was wooded and had no defining feature or summit marker. There were a couple of view points but these were both modest gaps in the trees with views of cloud covering the hill tops around us. We quickly pressed on along a two and a half mile ridge that was obstinately tree-covered and lacking in interest or view points, so much so that we'd put off a lunch stop for want of a rock with a view of sorts. To be fair there were frequent moose droppings and tracks but no sighting of moose to enrich our day. Mount Randolph summit was equally featureless and we were hungry so we eventually stopped beside the trail for a late lunch. As we descended we could see the sun trying to break through the clouds and it was a little brighter by the time we reached Lookout Ledge which was the only significant view point of the day. However, as the photo shows there were still clouds across all the surrounding hills even if the mist had thinned since Mount Crescent.

Below the ledge we had a mile of pleasant woodland walking with few ups and downs to take us back to the car. With no views to speak of our eyes inevitably wandered ground-wards where we found more bracket fungi and what was clearly the site of a bird kill. Scattered around a tree stump were masses of feathers but not a scrap of bird flesh or bone. The feathers were a stunning yellow in part and we think feathers of a Yellow-shafted, or Gilded-shafted, Flicker (a largish bird a bit like a woodpecker that we'd seen frequently whilst walking in Maine woodland - later identified from a USA Bird Feather Identification website).

With today's temperature, our change in walking gear from shorts and t-shirts a couple of days ago to full Winter walking gear today and the increasingly evident Fall colours we suddenly seemed to have shifted from Summer to Autumn.