[UPDATE: Changed to Bigelow Mtn. in Maine, to maximize chance of clear skies.]

Join us on a hike to see the total solar eclipse from a mountaintop in the path of totality! The tentative destination is North Percy Peak, but the final location will be selected based on the cloud cover forecast 2-3 days before the eclipse. Our goal will be to be in a place with an extended view of the countryside, where we can see the dark shadow of the moon approaching us at >2000 mph! Alternate locations we might consider: Mt. Mansfield, some peak in Maine, or some peak in the Adirondacks. If you have specific ideas, let us know. As with any trip, weather may force us to modify or cancel the plans. Our plan is to have two separate hiking groups of up to 10 each.

North Percy Peak is one of the NH 52-with-a-view peaks. Its summit is bare rock with a little scrub, and it has a 360-degree view of the surroundings! The hike, on the Terrifying 25 list, ascends a steep rock slab, so if there is a chance of ice, we’ll bring crampons for safety. If we arrive early enough, we’ll hike up South Percy Peak too.

Mt. Mansfield is the highest peak in Vermont, with its own alpine zone and a superb view including Lake Champlain.

Mandatory pre-trip meeting: Monday, April 1 (not a joke!), 7pm at the MIT Student Center.

Participants will share car costs. If you can drive your own car or are willing to drive a rental car, please edit the lottery preferences on your MITOC profile to show this.

To avoid getting stuck in traffic, we’ll drive up the day before (Sunday April 7) and camp overnight in tents in the wilderness (not at a campground) somewhere near our mountain. Then on eclipse day (Monday April 8), we’ll do a day hike to the summit, allowing enough time to be in place a few hours before totality. We’ll drive back to Boston Monday night.

To sign up for this trip, you must be free all day on both April 7 and 8. Note that April 8 is a workday; it is worth trying to get out of work that day - if instead you want to wait for a total solar eclipse to come to Boston, we can plan a MITOC trip for you in the Blue Hills on May 1, 2079.