We planned to hit every summit on the range, but by the time we topped Jefferson we realized that we were going slower than we’d expected.

We had hoped to be on top of Mount Washington around 10 a.m. or thereabouts, and we were at least an hour behind. As best I can recall, that’s why we decided to stay on Gulfside past Mount Clay. I remember racking my brain for some historical tidbit we could use to justify skipping the summit as an act of political protest. Was Henry Clay a slaveholder? A prohibitionist? Beats me. I couldn’t remember anything beyond his first name. I’ve since found what may be the best reason of all: He was never president. How the heck did he get a peak named for him, anyway? Apparently the New Hampshire legislature stripped him of the title and awarded the peak to Ronald Reagan a few years back, but the federal government wasn’t ready to go along.

We kept noting the mileage on trail signs, and checking our timing as we went. Heading up Mount Washington, I made a remarkable discovery: Miles in the northern Presidential Range are actually greater than the standard measure. Though I lacked the tools for precise measurements or calculation, I estimate that a Presidential Mile must be about two kilometers, or 1¼ miles.

It doesn’t help, too, that long stretches of the trail pass over jumbled fields of jagged boulders… Presidential speed bumps.

Part five (will be up 2/23)