Mt. Moosilauke (1876) - Side and Summit
". . . A strange face met daily, often invites more intimate acquaintance. Thus old Moosilauk seen afar in varying phases of storm and sunshine, summer and winter, has mutely asked a more respectful recognition of its presence than casual glance or telescopic scrutiny. Others, perchance, have shared the writer's curiosity, with no opportunity of gratifying it; and this supposition shall be my apology for offering a personal narrative.
Leaving the lively little village of Warren, N.H., a ride of five miles along Baker's River brings one to Merrill's excellent Mountain House, affording a good night's rest and substantial breakfast - two essentials for the pedestrian. This point is the end of civilization; the limit of humanity. Here, at an early morning hour, I began my solitary, though not lonely, walk. Nature smiled in the attractive form of a perfect June morning; everything augured a successful journey.
A mile of alternating rise and level is pleasantly passed amid the music of birds and brooks; then begins the ascent proper. Evidently the hills previously surmounted are as nothing, compared with the climb now at hand. The road is in good condition, excepting a few obstacles caused by wind and rain; but the grade is exceedingly and incessantly steep. Pasture and clearing are now left behind.
This is the forest primeval. . . ."
From "Moosilauk, Side and Summit" by Sigma, pp. 376-379, The Moosilaukee Reader (Vol.2). ©1999.
