My Week as a Volunteer

2015-01-23 18:55:51.000 – Noreen McGrath, Summit Volunteer

I was a little apprehensive in the final days preparing for my first winter week at the MWObs. Were my clothes going to be warm enough? How many trips were coming up I’d have to feed? And most of all, could I handle it by myself, since I was the only volunteer this week. Flying solo- so they say.

Well, I had nothing to worry about. I had trips to feed five days out of the week, on top of the crew’s dinners, the daily chores and I still had time to go out and play in the wind and watch the stars. I think I’ve taken a bazillion photos, posting and emailing them to my friends below. They all think I’m nuts for wanting to go to the peak of Mt. Washington and not some tropical island for my week vacation in January, but I’ve never been one to enjoy what the masses do. I like to be different. Experience things for myself, and I’ve always loved a good storm!

Besides enjoying the weather & views while I’m here, I enjoy meeting new faces and tend to leave with a new friend or two. This trip was no different. Besides working with a great crew (Ryan, Kaitlyn, Mike and Nate), I met some great guests and others who work for MWObs. It’s always interesting to meet people that share some of that same “crazy” that you have. That’s what people who don’t experience this call it. Crazy. Although I don’t find it crazy at all, I’m not offended when they say I am. Crazy is another word for Fun in my book. So thank you for thinking I’m crazy!

When I was planning on coming up, I thought, I’ll do a winter trip to check it off my list as done, but I’m not done by any means. I’ll be back! I enjoyed my stay, as I had in the summer weeks, and feel like I have more exploring and experiences to partake in. With being the only volunteer for the week, it did cut down on my free time, but the weather was never friendly enough to get in a winter hike anyway, so I had no problem with going out to “play” only on the peak. Next time I come though, I hope to have a partner, and together we can get things done and go explore. 

Now I wait for Slim to arrive with the next crew and we will head home to “normal” weather. Kaitlyn says a Nor’easter is coming Sunday! I live on the coast so, maybe I’ll go up onto my roof deck in my full Mt. Washington gear, and play in the wind and pretend I’m back on the peak.

Noreen McGrath, Summit Volunteer