CLOUD NINE The first day started off sunny. In the mid-afternoon the first cloud blew in. We weren’t at a high elevation, and it was a small cloud that scudded by. On the second day, we made it up to 4000’ and the second and third clouds settled in. Visibility was low on Mount Guyot, but cleared as we made it to West Bond. When we made it back to Guyot, the third cloud was there. The fourth cloud had settled in on top of South Twin. The next day, we actually climbed Garfield in the sunshine! But the climb up Lafayette brought us into the fifth cloud. Yes, I know what the inside of a cloud looks like! I would rather have seen the view from the mountain tops. And the next day, back into the cloud. Cloud Six. We hiked through that most of the day. That was quite enough hiking, so we took a day of rest. We drove over to the cog railway up Mount Washington, and as we watched a large cloud stuck to the top. We probably would have taken the cog railway anyway, but $65 each seemed a bit steep to see the inside of another cloud. Quite frankly, if you seen one, you’ve seen them all. Instead, we went over to the Cannon Mountain Tramway to see if there would be any views there. The tramway is only $10 each. As the tramway rose, we could see cloud #8 sliding in, covering the mountains on Franconia Ridge. The tramway finally made it to the top of Cannon Mountain. You guessed it: Cloud Nine. As we drove home the next day, all the clouds had blown away, and all of the views would have been beautiful. Oh, well. You pay your nickel and take your chances. Hmmm… Don’t the laws of averages say that this year, the hike should be with cloudless skies? Please. © Paul (AHikingDude@aol.com) ~A HIKER'S MEANDERINGS ~INDEX~ ~WRITERS' CORNER~