The Pemi Locomotive

[SteveHiker]

I've heard rumors of a locomotive lurking somewhere in the depths of the Pemi Wilderness. But no one really will say whether it exists or not. I guess it's one of those secrets, like the 3k list. Well, it has been the object of my curiousity for some time now. Instead of just blindly traipsing through the woods though, I decided to research a little first. Try to figure out likely hiding places. I found an old out-of-print book on the history of the logging railroads by a French-Canadian author Averill Poisson. Armed with that and some old maps I began tracing the old rail routes into GoogleEarth. Then I looked for any signs of anything that looked weird in the growth patterns of the trees, a trick I picked up at a previous employer (a remote sensing company). I found a few candidates that looked promising. Not owning a GPS, I had to plan my bushwhack routes carefully. Over the next several months, I'd explore one when I got bored. Finally one day last month, I found what I thought was it. But it was buried under so much snow, I really couldn't tell. I began digging it out, but there was a thick crust about a foot down, and it had taken so long to get there, I gave up so I could get out of the woods, or at least back to a trail before dark. I resolved to return.

So today, given that it was a warm day, I called in sick and headed out. I brought a shovel, and figured the warmer temps might soften up that crust. Unfortunately, I took the wrong drainage at first and got a little lost. Fearing that this was going to turn into my Moby Dick (or perhaps already had become one), I reluctantly turned around. On the way out, I noticed the same weird looking rock and realized I'd been going the wrong way. Correcting my mistake I found my way back. After about 2 hours of shoveling, I uncovered enough to read it's markings. It's in pretty good shape considering how long it's been out there. Now I'm not going to tell you where it is, as it probably should stay a secret, but I will say that right nearby was a nice view of Mt Washington, which was a welcome surprise.

I took some pictures, too. Enjoy.

Slideshow

 

[Amicus]

Very intrepid sleuthing, but I think you left too many visual clues in those pix. The 'whacking masses will be all over this in no time, and there goes the secret.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

View of Mount Washington from the floor of the Pemi?

 

[forestgnome]

I'm glad that what I see in that picture is no where near the Pemi. Wilderness, in a strange way. Looks like a view from Bretton Woods area. Sleuthing can be fun.

 

[skiguy]

So today, given that it was a warm day, I called in sick and headed out. I

I take it you must have a kool boss who is not on the net who would not have a chance of detecting your sleuthing

 

[RoySwkr]

Paul Doherty put the "lost locomotive" up Wild River but never found it. Personally I doubt that those greedy loggers would have left anything so valuable.

 

[onestep]

well, I WAS going to swap you my 3k list for the location...

 

[peakbagger]

There alledgedly is one buried on the old mill site in Berlin, in an old river channel that was filled in long ago.

The better goal is to find the Lombard steam tractors that were broken up into pieces and hidden in the woods at the old Brown company Cupsuptic logging camp.

 

[skiguy]

If your that interested in debris one does not have to go far but to go over the gaurd rail at "Dead Mans" curve in Pinkham Notch. All kinds of nice stuff left from more than one snowy night in the Notch.

 

[SteveHiker]

ok, so the first 4 sentences were true.

I'd like to thank the person I "borrowed" a few of those photos from. I'll protect her anonymity since she's a respected member of the community. If she wants to take credit that's up to her.

This is two years in a row that I've managed to fool a few of you. It's going to get a lot harder in the future. Perhaps my amateur attempts won't be enough and I'll just executive produce next time and hire some professionals. Let's see, if I could get Tim Seaver to take the pictures and Tom&Atticus to write it, and then get a half-dozen or so Mean Girls to star in it, I might have something.


And if bikehikeskifish is reading, without cheating can you tell where any of those pictures are from? Hint, all but 1 are in the White Mountains.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

This is two years in a row that I've managed to fool a few of you.

I was not fooled, but just playing along.

But, I really enjoyed the slide show! Looking forward to next year's.

 

[BobC]

I wasn't fooled because I know you're just not that ambitious (and neither am I)!

 

[Amicus]

OK - Time to let the cat out of the bag. Steve was playing an April Fool's trick, but of not of the simple variety to which he know "confesses." He did in fact discover the Pemi Locomotive, just as he described and photographed. (I know because I was there - not there.) Acute observer of human nature that he is, however, he realized that everybody would treat his account as a hoax - like last year's. Having taken you all in, he now "confirms" your sagacious recognition of his "fiction."

Steve studied in Paris and is a hardened Post-Modernist, it may be useful to know.