The Whites

lenticular Sky

Tis the season, and is always true of this time of year, I am overwhelmed.  In addition to the last-minute holiday orders, I am also trying to find time to get ready for my winter Lightroom CCClassic course.   Lightroom is such an amazingly capable course that it is always a challenge to cover all the essential features of the program, and this year, as always, I must catch up with the new tools that have been recently added. 

I have a lot of work to do and complicating my efforts is the requirement to come up every week with a fresh blog article.  This week I will try to simplify by devoting my blog to a gallery of images from our recent week in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

Bob's 70th

Last weekend a group of our friends gathered in a house in Glen New Hampshire to celebrate Bob’s 70^th birthday.  Bob is not the oldest member of our group, but he is DEFINITELY older than me, at least for a little longer.  It seemed like a great excuse for a trip.  

John studying the Manual

The house was great, with plenty of room for 5 couples, including my daughter Abigail and her husband Grayson.  We had wonderful views of the mountains, including a glimpse of Mount Washington.  Given the culinary talents of this group, we didn’t need to go out to get great food.  There was plenty to eat and, of course, because we were celebrating Bob, the desserts had to be amazing.

Mt Adams Birches

The weather was sunny and not terribly cold.  Glen is north of North Conway and Jackson on the eastern side of the White Mountains.  Everyone had a broad range of choices for winter activities, including cross country skiing, snow shoeing and hiking.  Of course, I also found some time for photography. On Saturday Susan and I drove up Route 16 enjoying incredible views of the mountains.  I hoped to hike in to capture images of winter waterfalls, but Glen Ellis Falls was snowed in. 

Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Abby and Grayson

We hiked up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to see the Crystal Cascade, but the flow was largely frozen over.  The best part of the hike was the social interactions.  On the way up, we ran into Abigail and Grayson  as they were coming back from a much longer hike to the base of the Ravine.  

Frozen Crystal Cascade

On the way down we saw Larry Davis.  Larry is a Mount Monadnock legend, who is featured prominently in our up-coming documentary on the Mountain.  He holds the record for most consecutive days climbing Monadnock - 2,850 consecutive days between 1990 and 2000. Recently, Larry moved to Gorham New Hampshire and has now shifted his allegiances to the White Mountains, where he is a steward for several miles of wilderness trails.

Abby and Grayson

Larry Davis and Susan, Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Sunrise Light on Mt Washington

Sunrise Light

Parish Light

Sunday morning, I got out for a sunrise from the Mount Washington overlook just north of the center of North Conway.  Although Washington was shrouded in fog, the light had a wonderful rosy hue that reminded me of the magic quality of light in many Maxfield Parish paintings.  Later, we returned to Jackson, famous for its cross-country skiing facilities.  We explored some old favorite locations such as Black Mountain, the Christmas Farm Inn and Jackson’s “Honeymoon” Covered Bridge.

Honeymoon Bridge

Ellis River Cascade : Jackson

Sunday afternoon, we traveled across the Spectacular Kancamagus Highway.  The weather varied from sunny to overcast and, at the higher altitudes, the mountains were covered with clouds.

Jackson Barn

Kancanagus Highway

It was a great weekend, delicious food, wonderful scenery and good company.  I must thank Bob for his advanced age that provided the excuse for this lovely gathering.

Jeff Newcomer
www.partridgebrookreflections.com