The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has contracted for the improvement of the summit site of Mt. Wachusett. My photographs and documentation of my observations make up the content of this blog.
It is best to find your employment and amusement in simple and homely things. These wear best and yield most.
Henry David Thoreau, Journal October 5, 1856
Today we have our first continuous snow of the year, or so it seems. We have had so little. The snow began at sunrise and continued well into the afternoon hours. And so, I struck a course to the summit through the woods, foresaking the rough, frozen, icy trail. It was a most pleasurable trip as I dodged the rugged ice covered boulders as one climbing the Khumbu Icefalls of Mt. Everest.
Well, perhaps not quite that dangerous! Oh what the mind can imagine!
In any case, it was a great trip to the summit. And I was rewarded with my first view of the new railings which are in place on the Observation Deck. As yet however, I have no evidence that the railings for the ramp are ready to be placed.
I saw tracks of one early morning trekker - snow shoes headed first up ... and then down. Otherwise, the only folks on the summit were skiers who would certainly frolic today!
Basket Lift and Tower
I noticed almost immediately the low profile of the railing on the Observation Deck. The last element of the ladder structure to the cab is not yet in place, but there was progress this week. And I continue to wonder about the lift vehicle ... why do they leave it exposed and in the air? I would think it would be safest to retract the arm and lower the basket to the ground.
They are now down to only one lift vehicle on site. Since mid-September, they have had at least one, increasing to two late in November and running with two units until the end of December when yet a third vehicle made an appearance. That visit lasted until the second week of January. It was gone last week and this week, they have gone down to one. Does that mean they are getting closer to the end of the project ... at least as far as aerial work goes?
Railing Detail - NE Corner
NE Corner
NE Corner
The NE Corner remains the same. Why not?
Frozen, But Still Flying
Observation Deck Fence Detail
Ladders to the Top
Entry to the Cab
I haven't yet figured out how the trap door to enter the cab works.
Western Wall
Southern Wall
SE Corner
Snow Envelopes the Summit
Harrington Trail Down the Western Side of Wachusett
Worcester From the Summit in Snow
Oh ... you can't see the city? It's there, trust me. And so ... back down the Khumbu Icefalls. See you next week.
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