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| Archives - Road Trips |
Road Trips: Camping In The White Mountains, New Hampshire - From RoadBike June 2005
Roughing It
Camping In The White Mountains, NH By Tricia Szulewski What do you do when you have a four-day holiday weekend and very little cash? How about loading down the bikes with camping gear and heading to your local national forest! That’s exactly what my friend, Mary, and I did last Fourth of July, when we both needed to get away from the world. Around our part of Connecticut, the traffic is unbearable at times. My daily commute was making me so edgy that I was ready to ride my bike off a bridge. For our vacation, I reasoned that the farther north we went, the more likely it was that we’d get away from people. If we rode just four to five hours, it would lead us right into the White Mountains National Forest. Perfect! We’d sleep in peace, with no noise but the sound of crickets and leaves blowing in the wind. Get Ready... I started out preparing for the trip a week in advance. I’d been camping before, but never via motorcycle, so I was trying to pack only the bare essentials. My Honda Shadow ACE is set up with a large two-up Mustang saddle, a luggage rack, and a giant Travelcade bag that can hold a week’s worth of gear. But Mary’s Suzuki Bandit 1200S wasn’t quite as roomy. She borrowed Tour Master Cortech soft bags from Editor Jess and combined them with a Nelson Rigg expandable tail pack. We could fit in everything we needed, except food and cooking supplies. But, mild adventurers that we are, we decided that we’d stay somewhere close enough to town, where we could grab food when needed. We’d be “roughing it” like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. We took off on Friday to get up there as quickly as possible. Most tent sites in the White Mountains National Forest can’t be reserved, so it’s first come, first served. We rode major highways to go the 300-plus miles as fast as we could with our heavy loads. Apparently, everyone else was thinking the same thing, and the highway traffic was heavy with campers and trailers. Once we were past Concord, New Hampshire, traffic thinned out and the majestic scenery began to relax me. We were soon exiting the highway, heading east on Route 112 along the Pemi River. This road, also called the Kancamagus Highway, takes you all the way through the national forest to North Conway. It has some of the most exhilarating views in the Northeast. Slowing down near the first campground on this stretch of road, we read the “No Vacancy” sign with dismay. It was getting late, and my mind was racing. How much longer would we have to ride before we’d find a spot, if we did at all? Then, a few miles later, we reached Big Rock Campground. There was one site left uninhabited, and it had our name on it.
Right after you leave the national forest heading west on 112, you’ll find Loon Mountain, a popular ski resort. Farther west is the small town of Lincoln, which has pizza places, sandwich shops, ice cream parlors, and even a movie theater. Then, if you head past Interstate 93 and continue on Route 3, you’ll come to the quaint town of North Woodstock. After looking around, we decided to eat at one of the pubs. Sitting on the deck, listening to ’80s music and drinking a cold beer, put me in the perfect mood for the evening. Exhausted from the long day, we headed back to camp after dinner to start a fire and play some cards. By the time the campground’s 10 p.m. noise ordinance kicked in, we were nearly asleep in our tent. But we spent most of the night tossing and turning, alarmed by strange sounds and stifled by the heat in the tent. (We’d set up the rain fly, so there wasn’t much airflow.) Every time I woke up, Mary was wide awake, too. So much for a night of peaceful sleep. Franconia Notch
Discovered in 1808, the Flume is a chasm that extends 800' at the base of Mount Liberty, between granite walls that rise about 70 to 90' high. A moderately difficult four-mile hike will take you from the visitor center to the top of the Flume. You can also take a bus that drops you off about 100 yards from the Flume’s peak at Avalanche Falls. As we wound our way between the rock walls, the wooden boardwalks seemed to be floating in mid-air, and every corner revealed a beautiful scene. The mist from the waterfalls that makes its way through the gorge is so dense that it collects on the rock walls and drips off continuously, as if it’s always raining in the shadows of this great gorge.
Once you’re over the wooden bridge, you can crawl through the newest attraction, the Wolf’s Den. I walked into the dark cave, but when I saw the tiny space that I’d have to crawl through, I decided to turn around and take the old walking path instead. It reminded me too much of the tent I had to look forward to that evening. The next stop along the path was a clearing with another picturesque mountain view. There, if you turn your head just right, you can see a profile of George Washington. When we got back to the visitor center, it was filled with tourists. Hot and tired from the hike, we asked the attendant about the nearest place to go swimming. He pointed to Echo Lake on a map, just one exit north on 93. Looking forward to a dip in cool water, we hit the road. To Be Clean After paying another fee for a tourist attraction, which we swore we’d avoid on this trip, we found solace when we read that there was a bathhouse at the lake. We took our scruffy selves to the beach area and plopped down amongst the toddlers and their parents. The water in front of the lifeguard was roped off in a small rectangle, and I saw parents standing only knee deep at the far end of the ropes. So much for swimming in this lake. But the view of the Notch beyond the lake was absolutely gorgeous. Exhausted from lack of sleep, I eventually conked out. After dozing for about 30 minutes, I saw that Mary was becoming increasingly annoyed. She kept talking about all the vacancy signs at the hotels we had passed. I figured it was time for a nice hot shower. We headed for the bathhouse, only to find that it had no actual baths. So, we rode back to Big Rock to ask about showers. A few of the campgrounds in the national forest offer paid showers. So, with a handful of quarters and a change of clothes, Mary and I headed toward Jigger Johnson Campground, about 25 miles east on 112. This ride offered the most incredible scenery yet. Winding through the hills along the Kancamagus Pass, I felt my frustration fade away as I enjoyed the panoramic views of the White Mountains. By the time we reached Jigger Johnson, Mary and I both were smiling as we dismounted. We agreed to stop at every scenic viewing area on the way back to our campsite. The campground was quiet at the moment, and every shower was clean and available. There was a large tiled area in each shower stall for changing. I inserted my quarters, turned the timer, and enjoyed the rush of hot water. Finally, our luck seemed to be changing. Riding High
According to Don, Big Rock’s manager, Kancamagus Highway is popular with motorcyclists, and the traffic can get crazy at times. The local police and park rangers patrol the area regularly, giving out plenty of tickets. In addition, the road is full of scene-peepers such as myself, and many accidents occur simply because cars start drifting into an oncoming lane. Keeping this in mind, I watched oncoming traffic and chose my lane position carefully. Fortunately, the traffic was light that day. Back at our site, Mary and I agreed that it would be our last night of camping. She was still running on no sleep, and didn’t foresee any sleep in the near future until there was a bed involved. So, we stoked up the fire and played cards until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. We removed the rain fly so that we’d get more air circulation in the tent, and pulled the tent up as close as we dared to the fire. The Eureka tent I’d gotten from Aerostich was great, because you can roll up the rain fly to reveal one entire wall of screen mesh. Perfect for star gazing. Unfortunately, our tent was now open to some annoying neighbors at a nearby site. At one point, after falling asleep and being woken again by yet another belching outburst, Mary asked me, “Ready to go yet?” We were up and dressed in a split second, packing up our bikes. We hit the road and found what we were looking for at the Nordic Inn Resort. By that time, we didn’t even care that we were paying almost $100 for a half-night’s stay. It was quiet and clean, and best of all, it had a bed, shower, and flush toilet! If the resort had a pool, we probably would’ve stayed another night. But, upon waking the next morning, Mary looked at me and we read each other’s minds: “Let’s go home!” RB The Gear Being inexperienced motorcycle campers, our goal was to travel light and simple. So, we looked for lightweight gear that would pack up small and was easy to use. For sleeping, we used EMS Solstice bags, which pack down small and have two different plush fills. The bag is filled more on one side than on the other — the theory is that in cooler weather, you’d want the thicker side over you, like a blanket. When it’s warmer, you just flip the bag over to have more fill underneath you. For us, the bags were plenty comfortable.
Beneath the bags, I used a Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad from Aerostich, and Mary used a Scout Crash Pad from EMS. Both are self inflating and worked well. Though they’re a bit bulky when rolled up, it was a luxury we thought was worth the hassle. I highly recommend using a sleeping pad if you’re not used to sleeping on dirt and rocks. Other special items that I ordered from Aerostich were the Aquis Medium Travel Towel and the Large Compression Stuffsac. Both proved to be super space-savers. The towel took about half the space of a regular towel its size, and the Stuffsac compressed my sleeping bag to a very manageable size. All of this would’ve really lightened my load… except that I used the extra room to pack more stuff.
SOURCES Coleman Floating 4 D Krypton Lantern $14 EMS Scout Crash Pad $39 Aquis Medium Travel Towel $15 |
The campground was exactly what I was looking for: peaceful, quiet, and full of trees, with sites spaced far apart. The campsite was clean and clear of brush, and had a fire pit with a grate and a picnic table. There was a pump for well water and clean outhouses with toilet seats. No shower, though, which I knew might be an issue for Mary. But we decided to claim the spot, rather than keep looking. We set up camp, bought enough wood for three nights, and then headed back into town to eat.
When the sun finally came up, we both decided to give up on sleeping. After shaking ourselves off, we rode north on 93 to Franconia Notch. There’s spectacular viewing as you ride this highway through the mountains. We exited at Rte. 3 and pulled over at the Indian Head Resort, longing for a hot shower and a dip in their pool. I snapped a couple of pictures by the tepee outside, while Mary went in to inquire about a room (for the next time, she said). Then we went another mile to one of the White Mountain’s major attractions, the Flume Gorge.
By the time we reached Avalanche Falls, I was speechless. Partly because I was more out of shape than I thought, but mostly because of the sheer beauty and awe of this natural wonder. After spending some time at the summit, we descended on the longer trail, which takes you by “The Pool” and crosses over the Pemigewasset River via the Sentinel Pine Bridge. Surrounded by tall cliffs, the 150'-wide pool was formed at the end of the Ice Age, about 14,000 years ago, by a silt-laden stream that flowed from a glacier.
The ride west back to our campground was just as breathtaking as the ride east had been. The warm afternoon light sharpened the contrast of the towering white pines against the sky. I imagined riding back and forth on this stretch of road several more times before the end of the weekend. 
For an inexpensive, convenient two-person tent, we chose Eureka’s Apex XTA. The tent was easy to set up and break down and offered decent ventilation, better without the rain fly. One great feature on the rain fly is that it has two vestibules on the outside, where we stored our bulky motorcycle gear. 
For lighting, we used a Two-Way Light from Aerostich. This handy little light acts either as a small lantern or a flashlight, depending on which way you screw in the bulb end. It’s a great alternative to a bigger unit, if you’re out of storage space on your bike. Since I wasn’t sure whether the little light would be adequate, I threw in my Coleman battery-operated lantern, too. It came in handy for everything from playing cards at night to finding our way through the campsite.