I don’t have much to say about New Hampshire other than I went there. It’s not that the state was awful or anything, I just didn't do a whole lot. Maybe work was busier than usual. Maybe I did zero planning or research. Maybe Concord was rather dull. Maybe I was hung over from my wild weekend in Montreal. Maybe e) all of the above?
I knew almost nothing about New Hampshire going in, except that it holds the first primary in presidential elections and it has the most badass state motto ever - “Live Free or Die”.
New Hampshire has been holding the first presidential primary since 1920. It started because the state, for simplicity and budgetary reasons, decided to hold its election on Town Meeting Day, which took place on the second Tuesday in March. Mid-March offered citizens the best opportunity to travel into town after the worst of the winter weather and before the muddy season.
In 1975 the state passed a law to lock in its status as the first. The primary is to be held on the second Tuesday in March or on a date selected by the Secretary of State that is at least 7 days before the next state’s primary. In the 2024 election cycle, the Democratic Party changed the schedule to prioritize South Carolina and other battleground states. In response, New Hampshire moved its primary up to January 23rd so it was still first.
New Hampshire Secretary of State, David Scanlan, has defended New Hampshire as the perfect state to go first: The state is traditionally a purple, or toss-up, state and its constitution has a “general mistrust of government” built in. It’s a geographically small state in which it’s easy to get in front of a majority of the electorate without a huge effort. Finally, its election rules leave a lot of room for independent and underdog candidates to get on the ballot, and therefore national visibility.
Critics have said New Hampshire isn’t representative of the rest of the country. The state is 89% white and there are no major urban centers. My theory is that New Hampshire can’t let this go because the state’s identity is so wrapped up in it. If New Hampshire lost this, it would have nothing else unique or exceptional to differentiate it from the 49 other states.
Think about it: when was the last time New Hampshire came up in conversation that wasn't about elections?
The state motto “Live Free or Die” is the first part of a quote from General John Stark, the state’s most famous hero of the Revolutionary War. He was invited to attend a celebration for the 32nd anniversary of 1977’s Battle of Bennington (which took place in New York, ten miles from Bennington, Vermont - not even New Hampshire).
He sent a letter in response, declining the invitation due to poor health. In it, he offered a toast to be made in his absence: “Live Free Or Die - Death Is Not The Worst Of Evils.” His invitation to the next gathering the following year said that his toast “will continue to vibrate with unceasing pleasure in our ears.” They don’t write letters like they used to.
New Hampshire’s most iconic landmark is a rock formation on Cannon Mountain shaped like a human face that is called The Old Man of the Mountain. It appears on their license plates, road signs, and the state’s quarter. It was known as “Stone Face” by the native Abenaki people and was also a symbol for the Mohawk Tribe.
More than a century ago, a crack appeared in the “forehead” of the Old Man. It was repaired with chains in the 1920s and more extensive reinforcement was added in 1957. In 2003, the rock finally gave way, crashing down the side of the mountain toward Profile Lake (so named for its proximity to the Old Man). The rock formation lives on as New Hampshire’s most recognizable symbol.
So yeah, New Hampshire is best known for a quote about a battle fought in New York and a rock that fell down two decades ago.
CONCORD
I left my city selection to the last minute again. I'd had the same problem as West Virginia - I couldn’t name a single city in the state, let alone an obvious one. I chose Concord because it’s the state capital. Also, the two larger cities, Manchester & Nashua, bordered Massachusetts, and I wanted "pure New Hampshire" (whatever that is).
I dropped the ball big time by not going to Derry, New Hampshire the week after visiting Stephen King's fictional Derry, Bangor, Maine.
I rolled into Concord around 10 on Sunday night, exhausted from a day of driving and a couple too many drinks the night before. The access code to my Airbnb didn’t work. I spent the next 30 minutes hanging out like an idiot on the porch while the host worked to reset the code remotely.
Once I finally got in, I unpacked the car and checked the place out, which was fine. It did have one unique feature though - a neon peach emoji sign. I couldn’t begin to guess what inspired the host to put that up, but as someone with a little junk in the trunk, I could appreciate it.
The next day I did a big grocery shop for the week. I had spent some time browsing the local bars and restaurants online and hadn't found anything that spoke to me. I made all of my own meals that week.
MOUNT WASHINGTON
Wednesday morning I took a walk into downtown Concord for coffee. I got talking with the guy working the register about my trip and asked what he would recommend I do. “Well, we’re best known for Mt. Washington. It’s the tallest mountain in the Northeast.” he told me. “A-ha!” I thought, “here is something exceptional.”
A quick Google later, I discovered that although, at 6,288 ft, it’s the third highest peak east of the Mississippi River and the tallest mountain in the Northeast, it doesn't even rank in the top 500 highest in the country. Having lived in Portland for the last few years near the base of Mount Hood (11,249 ft), I was unimpressed. Checking my map, it was a 2.5 hour drive away - much too long to fit into a day trip during my busy work week.
Later, when I relayed this story to friends, I was quickly corrected. Mount Washington is exceptional in many ways - especially its weather conditions. The highest wind speed ever recorded by a manned weather station was recorded on Mount Washington - an astonishing 231 miles per hour. Australia and Oklahoma have recorded faster winds, but those were in a tropical cyclone and tornado respectively.
Mount Washington is the fourth deadliest US mountain, having recorded over 150 fatalities since they started keeping score. The Mount Washington Auto Road is such a dramatic and challenging climb that bumper stickers saying “This Car Climbed Mount Washington” are ubiquitous in the Northeast and can be seen everywhere in the country. So, my apologies to Mount Washington for blowing it off as puny. Apparently it's small, but mighty.
SWOPE LOOP
One morning, after grabbing coffee, I decided to go on a hike. The most popular one in the area, according to AllTrails, was an easy 1.5 mile trail called Swope Loop. It only had a 239 ft elevation gain (a measly .27 New River Gorge Bridges), with a nice view of a lake at the top. It seemed easy enough, so I brought my coffee and didn’t even bother with a water bottle.
A few minutes into the hike I got my first mosquito bite. Mosquitoes love me. They love me so much that when I hang with other people who mosquitos love, they get left alone. I swatted at the annoying insect, splashing my legs with droplets of my coffee.
This was my opportunity to turn back - I was still close to the car. But no, I told myself, I hadn’t done anything in Concord so far. I really should finish the hike. So I decided to keep going. I'd just walk faster so they couldn’t keep up with me.
It turns out that movement and exercise attracts mosquitoes. The blood is closer to the surface and your body temperature goes up, which draws them. You also expel more carbon dioxide, something else they use to find you. If I were running I could have outpaced them, but I wasn’t. I was huffing and puffing uphill - a mosquito buffet with a flashing neon arrow.
Every 30 seconds I would bend over and smack my legs or wave my hand around them. Twenty minutes into the walk I had something happen I’ve never experienced before. A swarm of flies started following and dive-bombing me. I could feel them crashing into the back of my head and neck. I began regularly yanking off my hat and waving it around my head to chase them off. They weren’t letting up.
Fast walk. Smack leg. Fast walk. Wave hat around. Bend over and shake hands around knees. Brush off arms. Fast walk. Smack leg. Wave hat. Fast walk. I’m so glad I didn’t see anyone else on the trail.
I finally made it to the top of the hill where a lone bench overlooked a serene lake. I pulled out my phone and slowed down just barely enough to take a couple of rushed pictures then raced downhill through the second half of the loop.
Once I finally got back to my car, I jumped in, slammed the door and caught my breath. I had at least a dozen bites, all of them swollen and itchy, and I was covered head to toe with sticky little drops of coffee. Fuck mosquitoes.
MANCHESTER
My last night in New Hampshire I drove to Manchester to have dinner with my friend Al, who I met while working in restaurants back in Ithaca. We caught each other up on the last couple years of our lives and reminisced. We walked through downtown reviewing the different options for food, finally settling on the Red Arrow Diner.
Manchester is New Hampshire’s only city with over 100,000 people. I didn’t get much time to explore, but it seemed like it was wrestling with the same problems as many similar cities across the country.
There is a rising unhoused population driven, I suspect, by wealth disparity, COVID, meth and fentanyl. In fact, New Hampshire had a 52% increase in unhoused people in 2023 - higher than any other state. Simultaneously, the city is working through the early stages of gentrification. Prices in Boston, only 90 minutes away, have been pushing out the middle class and New Hampshire, with no sales or state income tax, is attractive. Manchester seemed nice enough, but it’s got some growing pains ahead of it.
My time in New Hampshire was...okay. I got the sense that the state has a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts and I didn’t give it much of a shot in that department - Mosquito Loop notwithstanding.
Let’s be real - not all states can be Tennessee or Utah, but I don't feel like New Hampshire got a fair chance to shine. If I have time and energy at the end of the trip, maybe I’ll take a mulligan and redo it. But this time around my week was up, so I loaded the car and headed south to the coast and Martha’s Vineyard.
Yes, and…
Matt
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