April Fools

We can all probably agree that renaming the Presidentials based on how tall the presidents were is a nonsensical proposal. But you reading this now, is proof enough that disruption of beloved spaces, whether physical, in-title or otherwise, will always elicit outrage or at least an inquisition.

Mt. Washington and the rest of the Presidentials were “rebranded” once before, in 1820 by a party of self-proclaimed pioneers led by Ethan Crawford. As they summited the peaks, they renamed each one and toasted the men they honored with water from the Lake of the Clouds.

Members of this party were from Lancaster, and Ethan Crawford was a knowledgeable mountaineer, yet their appreciation and understanding for the landscape didn’t extend to the people who have called the area home for centuries. The Abenaki People called the mountain Agiocochook (A-jee-uh-kaw-juke), "the place of the Great Spirit" or "the place of the Concealed One". The history of the mountain range intertwines with the Abenakis, yet they are left out of the narrative and disregarded.

We made this our April Fools Prank so you can take that initial reaction to this project and use it constructively to defend and acknowledge, not only the landscape but the people who have cared for it before you. Here are some ways you can do that:

MWV Pledge:

Whether you’re a local or a visitor, be a responsible traveler in the White Mountains. Take the MWV pledge and encourage others to do the same. Inform others of our obligations, as recreationists and land users, to practice basic natural conservation and respect for the terrain.

HikeSafe

Know and follow NH Fish & Game and the White Mountain National Forest’s Guidelines to recreate responsibly.

Acknowledging Stolen Land

Abenaki People have lived in the place now called New Hampshire for more than 12,000 years. The Abenaki are part of a larger group of Indigenous people who called themselves Wabanaki or “People of the Dawn,” and form one of many communities connected by a common language family.

Mount Washington is located on N’dakinna (IN-DAH-kee-NAH), which is the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples past and present. It was because of two Abenaki guides, Darby Field was able to summit Mt. Washington and chronicle their journey in 1642. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude the land and waterways and the Alnobak (AL-no-BAA) who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.

Though keeping public lands public is something we fight for now, we have to acknowledge these lands were first stolen from the indigenous nations who called them home before becoming “public.”

Keep the Forest Free

Mt. Washington is part of the White Mountain National Forest. Respectful land use and recreation should remain accessible to everyone. The purchase of public lands or building permitting by private, for-profit ownership is contradictory to that sentiment. As stewards of public lands, it is our job to keep the forests free for all and away from private purchase.

And with that, Happy April Fools Day! Thanks for being a good sport. We hope you learned something, because we certainly did. Thank goodness this isn’t a real thing. Imagine if every time you wanted to summit Washington you had to tell your loved ones you were “going to summit Johnson.” Yikes!