In this lively 1880 account from Appalachia, Mrs. Lucia D. Pychowska recounts an adventurous excursion by a small party—five women and their guide—to the remote lakes and rocky summits of Loon Pond Mountain in the Pemigewasset Valley. Battling swollen rivers, indistinct trails, and rough, burn-scarred terrain, the group presses on with determination, rewarded by crystalline mountain ponds, alpine flora, and sweeping views of Cannon, Lafayette, Liberty, and Flume rising beyond the East Branch. Blending careful natural observation with understated humor and grit, Pychowska’s narrative offers a vivid glimpse into early recreational exploration in the White Mountains—and into the often-overlooked role of women in nineteenth-century mountain travel.

By Jim Hamilton (Spring 1992, The Resuscitator) NOTE: If you’d like to start at the beginning, head on over to Bearding the Old Man—Part One Collecting information about the 1955 bearding of the Old Man of the Mountains led us to David “Stretch” Hays, trailmaster of the AMC trail crew that summer who had mentioned […]

Little is known about the first attempt to beard the Old Man of the Mountain because there are no known photographs or newspaper reports to document the event and the principal players included the celebrated son of the other “Old Man”—Joe Dodge—who would not have taken kindly to knowing that son Brookie “Hirum” went AWOL from Lakes of the Clouds to pull off the daring stunt. It’s interesting that the secret was so well kept that, years later, a second bearding party knew that Hirum and an accomplice had attempted to attach a tree to the Old Man’s chin, but were probably unsuccessful. After all, if a tree falls in a forest with nobody around to hear it, does it actually make a sound?