Mount Washington Observatory

Visit the windiest place on Earth in the comfort of your own home! Learning about mountain weather is a breeze with these excerpts and essays.

A Day in the Life
of a Meteorologist
Go behind the scenes at the Mount Washington Observatory, the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.” A team of weather observers and researchers (and one very cool cat) lives on the icy summit year round. A minute-by-minute account (with photos) of a typical day in an untypical place.

A Purr-fect Storm
Meet Nin the Mount Washington cat, and his predecessors Jasper and Inga.

Into Deep Slush
“Nature writing about weather.” Wade through rivers of slush on the Mt. Washington Auto Road during an Observatory EduTrip adventure gone wrong. Sometimes it’s the thaw that will kill you. Excerpted from Tying Down the Wind.

More Weather Wisdom

Talking Up a Storm
Learn about World War II meteorology and other fun facts in an exclusive interview with Don Kent, Boston’s first TV weatherman.

Celsius vs Fahrenheit
Which scale is better? A heated debate (no pun unintentional)

Pilgrim Weather
William Bradford and the Pilgrims botch the first weather forecast at Plymouth Rock

Nature

Interviews with Nature Writers Here are a dozen entertaining and informative interviews with writers John McPhee, Annie Dillard, Barry Lopez, Linda Hassalstrom and others in the natural history field.

Best Nature Writing Books
What if Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickenson had gotten married? Edward Abbey found the idea hilarious. An annotated list of the Top Ten nature writing books, featuring Abbey and Thoreau. Find out why you shouldn’t read Walden until you’re 30.

Book Reviews
Tolkien sure had an eye for mushrooms. Click here for Eric Pinder’s reviews and musings of books (not necessarily nature writing) that inspired or intrigued him.

Katahdin and
Baxter State Park

Lost on Katahdin
Donn Fendler’s famous ordeal revisted.

Bradford Washburn, Curmudgeon
“The Appalachian Trail was just a name to me.” An amusing letter from the Everest mapmaker and mountaineer about the book North to Katahdin.

Follow Thoreau to Katahdin
Baxter State Park traveler’s tips and photographs. Also read about Thoreau’s misquoted mirror metaphor.

Fog on Pamola Peak
An excerpt from North to Katahdin, plus an annotated bibliography of obscure Maine books.

Hunting with a Camera
Musings about nature photography, with pictures and postcards from Baxter State Park, Mount Washington, Iceland and the Appalachian Trail.