HomeJuly 08, 2009:
Camel Celebrates Hump Day by Walking Up Mt. Washington
Pinkham Notch, NH-Josh the Camel reached the summit of Mt. Washington just past 8:30am on Wednesday, July 8 becoming the first camel to accomplish the feat.
Josh and his entourage left the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road at 3:00am to begin the 7.6-mile trek to the summit. Accompanying Josh were two horses named Kid and Mariah, an Irish wolfhound named Tadhg and his handlers Chris Butler and Jennifer Bolay. Climbing through fog, mist and rain, the crew made good time up the Mt. Washington Auto Road until the final 100 yards. Unaware that the summit was so close, Kid decided he no longer wanted to climb, and Josh refuses to go anywhere without his best buddy. After much cajoling, Josh and the rest of the group crested the final rise to summit about 45 minutes after the stall completing the climb in just over five and a half hours. (Kid arrived on his own soon after.)
When asked about the climb, Josh said, “Chomp, chomp, chomp.” Apparently, he worked up quite an appetite.
Josh spent most of the day on the summit posing for pictures, but not signing autographs. Along with the honor of being the first camel to reach the top of Mt. Washington, he also received a “This Camel Climbed Mt. Washington” bumper sticker.
The Mt. Washington Auto Road is open daily to cars, not camels.
