Dwight Peck's personal Web site

Mr Peck goes to [Mt] Washington

In northern-hemisphere summer 2000, Mr Peck, vexed at months of staring at his computer screen and bouncing up and down on his chair, launched upon an extended play/work sojourn in the nation which he deeply appreciates for some things. What ensued was a very fine bad-weathery week in New Hampshire with friends Charlie and Lisa, a week reporting on the Millennium Wetlands Event in Québec City, and a few more pretty awkward weeks in northern Wisconsin.

You may not find this interesting unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

Lisa setting out on the Boott Spur trail, 31 July 2000

The Presidential Range, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire: A wet late return from the Boott Spur Trail -- Charlie and Lisa display mud.

Which of us descended through all the rough bits turned the wrong way round?

Next day, the Ammonoosuc waterfall trail on the west side of Mt Washington, Lisa and Charlie, on a day that would soon decline, weatherwise. (Despite it being Lisa's birthday, and the Swiss National Day.)

Less mud on the Ammonoosuc trail as most of it is on fairly solid ground. It's 1 August 2000 (Lisa's birthday and the Swiss National Day).

Charlie and Lisa on the Ammonoosuc trail in drizzly rain, marching up past the waterfalls hoping to see the sun somewhere near the top

More waterfalls, Lisa and Dwight still anticipating sunlight somewhere above, or if not sunlight, at least soup.

Bound for soup

With some coaxing and instruction from Prof Berman, Lisa continues upward through rainy rocks towards the Lake of the Clouds hut, and sunlight, and hot soup.

But alas, on that day, soup there was in abundance, but sunlight there was none. At Lake of the Clouds hut, the summit was closed off by storms, and Sir Charles descended the waterfalls to fetch the car, whilst the other participants braved the storm along the "Wuthering Heights" [Lisa's contribution] Mt Washington ridgeline southward for an only slightly gentler return to earth and car.

Scurrying off the Presidential Range bedraggledly

Next day, back on Boott Spur, heading towards Mt Washington this time, Professor Charles Berman wields an orange.

Boott Spur is off there in the clouds up to the right, Mt Washington is much more upper and righter than that is. 2August 2000.

Dr Peck seeks energy from a large number of sandwiches whilst avoiding the view of Mt Washington up to the right. The Tuckerman Ravine headwall is just barely visible through mist off his left shoulder (i.e., to your right), but that was Thursday's hike, not reported here.

Between Boott Spur and Mt Washington, Señor Berman follows the cairn markers in fairly poor visibility.

A long way still to go to the top

Mt Washington summit facilities, 2 August 2000

Sir Charles descending towards Tuckerman's Ravine

The Presidential Range in one go (uhh, not)

In earlier discussions with the doubtful park rangers, Mr Peck explained that some time ago he and Sherman Wilson had run all 10 peaks of the Presidential Range, in a snowstorm, in under 10 hours, so he reckoned that this would be a doable route. The Savvy Ranger looked at Mr Peck and asked "How long ago was that?" (No fool he: it was 15 years ago. Ooooh, ominous.)

Sir Charles stands atop Mt Madison in really very poor weather, the first stage in an ambitious route covering half the Presidential Range. 3 August 2000.

As the weather declines still further, Exuberant Communications Officer D. Peck is still planning to show the park ranger how wrong park rangers can be.

Gasping along behind Prof. Berman in the year 2000, reaching Mt Madison from the Appalachia trailhead near Randolph took 3:28 hours -- in 1986, gasping along behind Sherman Wilson, reaching Mt Madison took 1:49. Let that be a lesson to us all about growing older in an unsedated manner.

Sir Charles leading off Mt Mansfield in the general direction of Mt Washington.

Way way behind schedule.

Believe your park rangers, at least if you've passed a certain age. Mr Berman and Mr Peck reached their abort-point with Mt Washington still gleaming way off in the late afternoon sun, and chose to descend as speedily as possible via . . . Six Husbands Trail. Bad choice of abort-routes, abandoned trail! Artificial aids through the cliffs had been left to dangle some years ago, and the lads felt lucky to find an underground route which emerged at the base of the cliffs, to obvious relief and satisfaction (photo above).

Holidays in New Hampshire drawing to a close

The Crowes' Nest is the name of the B&B at which these comfort-seeking travelers always sojourn in Jackson Village, New Hampshire. Owned and operated by Myles and Christine Crowe, two of the friendliest people in New England, the Crowe's Nest can be recommended to all vacationers in the White Mountains who don't require jacuzzis, lounge-rooms with dancers, and well-stocked mini-bars in the rooms, but who do value great views, friendly and helpful hosts, low prices, and mountains nearby. www.crowesnest.net [Sorry, this seems to be gone now (2008).]

Québec 2000 Millennium Wetland Event

Frontenac. So we're in Québec then. Let's get to work.

Fresh from holidays in the USA, Mr Peck takes a break in Canada to admire the Slovenian delegate.

Poised before the Ramsar Exhibit, we're flanked by Tobias Salathé, Ramsar's Senior Regional Advisor for Europe, and Nick Davidson, Ramsar's Deputy Secretary General.

The Ramsar Exhibit at Québec 2000 became a gathering point for the more internationally-oriented among the 2000 wetland scientists present.

Here are Tobias Salathé (Switzerland), Karén Jenderedjian (Armenia), Gordana Beltram (Slovenia), Dwight, and Paul Mafabe (head of Uganda's wetlands programme).

And at the conclusion of the Millennium Wetland Event, we take great pleasure in trashing all the solemn policy documents that were left over.

A lovely walk down by the riverside

A church for sale. Just like Kristin's house. Putting religion to a good use.

And then we went to Wisconsin, better that we had not done so.

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Wisconsin, alas

Visiting a former girlfriend in northern Wisconsin, Mr Peck and his daughter Marlowe encountered stunning wetlands and he made a photo essay on the Ramsar Web site showing all this stuff at its best. View it here. [This link takes you out to the Ramsar Web site.]

Mr Peck leaves his borrowed mountain bike and relaxes from taking photos for his Ramsar Photo Essay (see above), and grimaces for the camera.

Marlowe's friend Caroline shooting Wisconsin rapids in a kayak.

Ms Marlowe Peck, in Wisconsin, 2000

Dr Peck filling up a plastic kayak, wishing that they'd made the middle parts a little wider.

Mr Peck advertising sports products.

Stuck in the stupid kayak, and feeling really depressed about everything, not least about how it's going to feel trying to get back out of it again. More than a thousand 90%-healed old injuries from falls and tumbles in the past are crying out "Don't move us! Let us just stay here."

The girlfriend thing didn't work out at all, what a bummer! Maybe it never does. Packing it in, enough is enough, too much for one chappie in a single sitting, and heading back to Switzerland, where at least the high mountain snow gives you (if conditions are okay) something to hang on to.

(But not if the snow's crusty or icy, or slushy on top, or got crevasses in it, or big rocks sticking out of it, or has got avalanchy, or so deep as to be impassable, etc. . . . . The Alps aren't that far off from human relationships, come to think of it.)

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Get ready for Holidays 2001 (More Mt Washington, will this never end? and a bicycling rally from Maine, USA, through Québec, Canada -- the MOOSA Tour!!).

Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . Posted 25 March 2001, rearranged 27 June 2005, revised 19 October 2008.

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