Prospecting Crawford Notch

Getting ready to head out once again for the jaunt back to Pennsylvania. With the weather pattern starting to deteriorate just in time for the two day trip, we did the majority of reorganizing a couple days early, then headed out to make a final exploration of the region by visiting the Crawford Notch State Park. We packed a picnic lunch so by golly we ate a picnic lunch but we had to do it at a picnic table lakeside in what seemed like the windstorm of the decade. In truth, the wind is often heavy blowing down through the notch, which is, incidentally, very near Mt. Washington; known for its brutal weather patterns and impromptu rapid changes, I suppose we should have been ready for the wind in proximity to the mountain, but it had been quite nice back at camp on the Saco, so we really had not thought that much about heavier clothing and so on. Next time.

It was first and foremost just a day in the sunshine and the fresh air and breathing in the mountains before leaving them behind for the time being. But we checked the GPAA Miner's Guide and realized there was a possibility of locating some fine placer gold in the Swift River that flows through the White Mountain National Park not too far from the notch. Not ones to pass up a crack at the gold, we made sure we had our pans (the only equipment allowed in the park) along with us. We tried off and on for an hour or two to find some "hot" gravel.....BUT, good thing we had our "first and foremost" priorities straight- because fresh air and dynamite scenery was all we were able to locate for this outing. Too bad! Because some of the crevices in the bedrock looked mighty promising. New Hampshire remains in the "loss" column for those states where we have tried and failed to locate gold. Our long term goal of finding gold in all 49 of the continental states will not get a "notch" on the old gold pan from Crawford Notch for now.