Where in New England can I take my dad camping to see the Perseids?

• When I was very young, my dad took me camping to see the Perseid meteors; it was one of the defining experiences of my life. Now I am grown and he is nearly old, and I would like to turn it around. Help me find a suitable mountaintop in New England to go camping with my dad; somewhere where we won't have to see anyone else. Details within. Long ago when I was but a wee lad, knee-high to a grasshopper, my father took me on my very first camping trip to watch the Perseid meteor shower at a stargazing party out in a big field. I consider that night to have been one of the most important foundational experiences of my life—the one that initiated a profound and abiding connection to science and to the natural world which has been one of the dominant themes in the narrative of my life. Now I'm halfway through a PhD in conservation biology, and I am going to turn 30 this August—making me more or less officially a Grown-Up. My dad, who in his own youth was quite the mountaineer, is now 60 and while very active and healthy will probably not have too many more years before his mountain-climbing days are officially behind him. As a way of marking this transition and of thanking him for introducing me to one of the most personally-defining and most consistently nourishing and beneficial modes of experience for my life, I would like to turn the tables on him and take him on a more adult version of the same trip that he took me on when I was just a bairn. What I would like to do, ideally, is to set out from https://www.google.com/maps/place/Duxbury,+MA/@42.0502272,-70.6950703,7z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e4a43f74f20275:0x34d9f7a012dbb403 very early one morning in mid-August, arrive at the foot of a mountain somewhere in New England around 6AM, backpack all day at a gentle pace (we're both in good shape all things considered, but he's 60 after all and his knees aren't the best—a consequence of his mountaineering days of yore) and arrive at our campsite by 6PM at the latest. We would then spend probably three nights and two full days up on top of the mountain doing day hikes and general Camping Stuff by day and stargazing and general Father-Son Bonding Stuff by night. After that, we would hike back down the mountain and drive home. What I need, then, is a mountain. We are both very experienced at this sort of thing, but I haven't lived in New England as an adult and I don't want to have to ask my dad where we should go; a big part of the idea behind this is to symbolically show that I Am Grown Now and that I can do these sorts of things on my own. (You know, like the first time you went out to dinner with your parents and picked up the check?) It should be possible, going nice and slow and taking plenty of breaks to let Dad rest his knees, to climb it in a day and get to a good campsite in twelve hours or less. It must be a hike on a trail up a mountain, not a walk on a path through the woods or a drive in a car to a campground. The campsite itself must offer good stargazing opportunities, or be within a short walk of a spot that offers same. It must be somewhere where we can be alone for a couple of days without having to see another soul, despite it being one of the most popular times of the year for stargazing. Super extra bonus points if we can do a little fishing, too. The site can be as remote and primitive as you like, in fact the moreso the better. I want someplace quiet, someplace secret, someplace where other people don't go. (If it's really actually secret, memail me. I can keep a confidence, I promise.) We are both very experienced at the whole hiking/camping/backpacking/mountaineering thing; for reference, I am writing this within hours of finishing a three month season of fieldwork in the Congo, and when Dad was in his prime he did several major mountaineering and bicycle touring trips lasting weeks or months at a stretch. I really, really want to be able to spend a few days alone with him, and I'd enjoy the opportunity to demonstrate my wilderness skills to him as well. We're perfectly comfortable navigating with a map, compass, and GPS. Basically, I am looking for the most remote mountainside stargazing spot in New England that can be accessed in a day by a fit middle-aged man. It's important to me. Help me out, hive mind!

• Answer:

  It must be somewhere where we can be alone for a couple of days without having to see another soul, despite it being one of the most popular times of the year for stargazing. This is going to be very difficult to do in New England at this time of year, unless you go off to some remote parts of Maine, in which case you may have difficulty finding a campsite near a mountaintop. Even in the most remote areas of New Hampshire most campsites will be filled. Any areas where you would be camped alone probably would not be close enough to a mountaintop or any sort of clearing where you could see the shower. Also, there will be a big bright waxing gibbous moon during this year's shower, which will make it harder to see. If you can accept the fact that you can't have your wish of being alone, then I would recommend Mt. Garfield via the Garfield Trail, staying at the Garfield Ridge shelter/tent site. The trail in is five miles of mostly easy grade, though it gets steeper as you approach the shelter. The Trailhead is accessed via the Garfield Rd. (see a trend here?) North of Franconia Notch. Any trail map of the area will show you. If you start early enough you should be able to get a tent platform or space in the shelter, though it will tend to fill up this time of year. They ALL fill up this time of year, most of them even overflowing. The caretakers are usually pretty good about finding space for everybody. It's been a while since I've been there, but there is a small clearing with some benches that is great for stargazing. The summit itself is only 1/4 mile from the shelter, though it is a bit steep getting there. It would be a relatively quick and easy night hike from the shelter, especially if you stayed up until sunrise so you'd have some light coming down. The summit has a 360 degree view that is one of the best in the Whites and there is an old fire tower foundation that makes a great wind block. Hike options from that shelter are towards Lafayette or Galehead, though Garfield Ridge is some of the roughest hiking in the Whites. Another option would be to take the Lincoln Woods trail (from the Kank, out of Lincoln, NH) to the Bondcliff (!) Trail and find a backcountry site along the lower part of the Bondcliff trail. From there the summit is a couple miles of easy hiking, with the exception of a short rock scramble just below the summit of Bondcliff. Bondcliff is one of the most remote mountains in NH and you would most likely be alone up there if you did a night hike, though don't be surprised if you run into a couple of people. I'll be watching this thread carefully for suggestions. Myself, I'll be camped at Speck Pond in Maine on the 9th, though I'm sure it will be full of AT thru hikers. Whatever you do, have fun and stay safe!