Mt. Moosilauke (1919) - Cold Comfort
". . . Vision from the ridge was limited to a few rods. In the fog my eyes began to play me tricks. Doubtless they were the worse for my limited sleep and the strain of the walk in darkness and twilight. As I watched for the hotel I fixed upon boulders and clumps of trees as representing it, finding myself deceived again and again. The extreme summit of Moosilauke is an anomaly among high mountain peaks. It is a piece of uneven grass-land as tame and commonplace in itself as any rolling pasture. To sense the height (4,810 feet) one must see beyond these domestic looking acres. This I could not do.
When the weatherworn hotel at last defined itself I hastened toward the door. I wanted a place by the stove and before long a hot meal. These agreeable conceptions were rudely abolished when I raised my eyes and caught sight of a padlock on the entrance. The house was vacant and closed. With a peculiarly forlorn reaction I moved round the corner out of the chilling breeze.
Most of the windows of the Tip-Top House were boarded over but one on the east side had been forced. I crawled in and wandered through the darkened and disordered rooms. It was not an attractive retreat. Still I considered for a little whether to remain here until next morning. There were mattresses between which I could keep warm but I had no matches and only a couple of ounces of chocolate to eat. . . ."
From "Over Moosilauke" by Percy G. Stiles, pp. 251-261, The Moosilaukee Reader (Vol.1). ©1999.
