April 8, 2024

Start/End: Table Rock Trailhead, Rt. 26

Peaks: N/A

Elevation Gain: 735 ft

RT Mileage: 1.37 mi

Duration: 57 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

I would have loved for the path of totality with this eclipse to include the Whites—viewing the eclipse from the northern Presis would probably have been pretty amazing—but unfortunately the eclipse path is just to the north. The next best thing I could come up with was Table Rock, so that’s what I went with. Another Terrifying 25 route in the bag couldn’t hurt either.

We left home at 6:30 AM to hopefully avoid most of the eclipse traffic heading north. Even so, we ran into a small traffic jam north of Manchester, and a much longer one heading into Franconia Notch. We made it out of the notch at around 9:45, and the rest of the drive was smooth sailing. It was a beautiful morning, and the Whites looked stunning. Now I really wished the northern Presis had been in the path of totality.

We arrived in Dixville Notch at 12:45 PM. Dozens of cars lined Route 26 on either side of the trailhead, and I figured the rock would be incredibly crowded. We began hiking just before 1:00. The trail was short but steep, and in good shape after all the hikers who had hiked up before us. We made it to the rock just after 1:30, and were early enough to get a good spot on the far end of the rock.

The rock had a super nice view both into the notch and of the town of Dixville below, and I knew it was going to be pretty epic during totality. Of course, we had to wait two hours for that, but it was well worth it.

Totality was truly one of the coolest things I've ever experienced, and it definitely lives up to its reputation. I think I was even a little too focused on photography during the eclipse, and if I ever see another one I'll try to experience it with my eyes more. Getting off the rock after totality was extremely slow since some people didn't have spikes and were slowing everyone down.

After some glissading on the way down, we were back at the trailhead around 4:15. Our 45-minute delay after totality placed us behind most of the traffic, and we arrived home at 3:00 AM the next day. Still, in my opinion it was 100% worth it, and I'm already making plans for the August 2045 eclipse (revisit my first 14er maybe?).