(Chocolate) Oranges and Easter Oreos on the Osceolas (Middle, Main, and East). October 18, 2013

Mt. Osceola Trail, bushwhack, Greeley Ponds Trail.  About 8 miles (traverse).

I (kind of) cheated as far as Desserts on the 48 is concerned.  Since I couldn't figure out a two-word dessert that begins with the letters E and O for East Osceola, I made "Easter Oreos" (store-bought Oreos with homemade pastel candy coating and sparkly sugar sprinkles).  For Osceola, I chose a chocolate orange.  Middle Osceola is a Trailwrights peak and not technically a Four Thousand Footer, so I didn't have to prepare a dessert for that one.

Easter Oreos

The girls and I met our friend Samantha at the trailhead to Greeley Ponds.  We left Samantha's car there, then drove my Subaru to Tripoli Road.

I hadn't done the Osceolas in a couple of years; the trail was more moderate than I remembered.  Funny how a few years of constant hiking can render "difficult" trails fairly easy.

Trailwrights is a popular list, so herd-paths have developed toward many of the off-trail peaks.  Middle Osceola's herd path begins about a quarter of a mile from the summit of Osceola's main peak, right at the last switchback on the way up.

This is NOT the entrance to Middle Osceola's herd path.

This IS the entrance to Middle Osceola's herd path.

At first, the herd path is easy to follow.

A tenth of a mile or so into the woods, however, the herd path ends in a jumble of blowdowns.  At this point, multiple unofficial pathways go left and right.  We went left, ended up in a nasty, thick, impassable area, then backtracked and went the other direction.  TW72 peakbaggers, your best bet is to approach the blowdowns, then head to the right either just before or immediately after the jumble of toppled-over trees.

There was usually a faint treadway to follow, but the trees grew thick and the hike took on the feel of an obstacle course.  It was always easy to figure out which way to go, though.  We could usually see the summit area from where we stood (I had a map and compass, of course, but the visuals of the summit area were clear).

We reached the summit area (it's obvious once you're out there).  Here's a view...

Though it was obvious we were on the summit, we couldn't figure out exactly which spot marked the highest point.  We wandered a bit, staying on herd paths whenever possible, and stood on all the tall bumps we could find.

We eventually meandered back to the Mt. Osceola Trail...

...sat on the main summit's official highpoint...

...and lounged on the ledges.

Orange (chocolate) on Osceola!

After we demolished the orange, we headed over to East Osceola.

The girls went down the chimney, but I took Max on the bypass.

One more half-mile of steep up...

...and we're there.

Easter Oreos on East Osceola!

The way down East Osceola (toward the Kanc) is steep, and the trail crosses the bottom of a slide.

Finally, we reached Greeley Ponds Trail.  The path flattened significantly.

At Greeley Ponds Trail (and Samantha's car).

Congrats to Samantha, who needed the two Osceolas for her NH48!

This was Alex's third and Sage's second time on Osceola and East Osceola.  It was our first time on Middle Osceola, which Alex and I needed for Trailwrights.

JMT Planning

We didn't hike last week, hence the lack of post.  We did, however, buy a few items in preparation for our 2014 John Muir Trail thru-hike.

Many thanks to Gail Smith, who donated to our virtual food drive for Feeding America!  Help us out, folks -- we'd love to have all $2104 raised before we begin our thru-hike!

We plan on hiking tomorrow, so there'll be another trip report posted this Tuesday.

Happy hiking,
Trish

Mt. Roberts (52WAV). October 4, 2013

The girls and I had plans for the evening, so last Friday's hike had to be quick and close to our home.  We looked over our various lists and settled on 52 With a View's Mt. Roberts of the Ossipee Range.  Forty minutes later, we were at Castle in the Clouds.

We parked outside this gate...

...walked a tenth of a mile down this road...

...took a left at the sign...

...walked up to the stables...

...said hi to the horses...

 

 

...entered the woods...

 

...and began our hike.

We passed this interesting electric fence...

 

Mt. Roberts Trail is a nice change from the usual rocks-and-roots of the White Mountains.  The path is relatively smooth and the grade never gets steep.  It was a nice, fairly gentle climb to the ledges.

 

Shortly after the above picture was taken, we began to hear gunshots.  Those shots got closer and closer...it is hunting season in New Hampshire...we donned our bright orange vests.

Ledges!  The rest of the walk to the summit was more or less open.  We enjoyed the views as we made our way to the top.

Alex took this picture of me...

Summit!

View from the summit of Mt. Roberts...

We ate our snacks, then headed down. 

'Twas a nice morning out.

JMT 2014, Feeding America, and The Clymb

It’s October already!  Time to start gathering gear for our next long-distance adventure, the John Muir Trail in 2014!

First…let the fundraising for Feeding America officially begin!

Last March and April, the girls and I walked the 500-mile Camino Frances route of Spain’s Camino de Santiago to raise $10,000 for Global Fund for Women and GirlVentures, two female-empowering, nonprofit organizations.  For the John Muir Trail in 2014, we’re turning our focus to poverty in America.  Specifically, we want to help obtain groceries for families in need.  

This is where you come in.  From now until the end of our thru-hike (September 2014), you can contribute to our virtual food drive.  Donate directly to our page on Feeding America’s website.  Whatever you can afford will be great -- every cent helps!  Our fundraising goal is $2200 – that’s roughly ten dollars for every mile of the John Muir Trail.  $2200 is enough money to buy 17,600 meals!

Gear Gathering

This is going to be a long trek…and guess who’ll be carrying almost all the food?  You guessed it – Mama (me).  The girls are old enough and strong enough to carry everything else they’ll need, but I’ll have to shoulder all the food weight.  Since we can only resupply a few times during our thru-hike, I will sometimes have to carry five+ days of food for three people.  Since I can’t get around the necessity of carrying a lot of food, I’ll have to shave pounds off our gear.  This means replacing almost everything we now own with ultra-light versions of…well, everything.  I’ll also need new hiking shoes, and the girls will need new shoes and clothes (kids grow too quickly!). This is where The Clymb comes in.  There’s no way I can afford to pay full price for every piece of clothing and gear we need to buy.  Thankfully, The Clymb offers top quality, name-brand gear for insanely discounted prices.  For example, they’ve got a Lafuma sleeping bag on sale right now for $64.98 (the regular price is $120)—that’s the same brand the girls and I have used on every camping trip we’ve ever taken.  That’s over five years of backwoods camping – plus, we recently used our Lafumas on the Camino.  Good stuff.  Another example –  footwear.  The trail runners I used on the Camino are (understandably) falling apart, so I’m about to purchase the boots I’ll use on the John Muir Trail.  The Clymb has the same stuff I’d get at REI, EMS, or Lahouts…but at theclymb.com, it’s all 40-80% off the usual price.  Merrells, Vasques, Garmont, Keen – the inventory is excellent.  I currently have my eye on the Hanwag GTX, but I’ll let you know what I eventually decide to buy.

So…over the next few months, I’ll be purchasing upgraded gear for me and the girls.  I’ll get what I can at theclymb.com first (why pay full price if you don’t have to?) – what The Clymb doesn’t have (ultralight tents, for example), I’ll purchase elsewhere.  Stay tuned – I’ll start posting the details of our gear list next week.  In the meantime, donate what you can to Feeding America!  

Mango Custard on Middle Carter (& Imp Face, & Lethe) 9-27-2013

First, a big thank you to the wonderful folks at Tuftonboro Free Library.  Alex and I had a lovely time last Saturday.  Your hospitality was extraordinarily generous, and we are much obliged.

Desserts on the 48 continues!  Alex is close to finishing Trailwrights, and Sage wanted to check another peak off the 52 With a View list, so we decided to take care of three lists with one hike.  We could bag Middle Carter from our own Desserts on the 48 quest and, on the way up, visit Imp Face (52WAV) and Lethe (Trailwrights).

Mango Custard fit my rules for our Desserts game...M for mango and Middle, C for custard and Carter.  I therefore made this Thai treat in a fit of great ambition.  I'd never made custard before, and the recipe was simple, so I thought this would be an easy feat.  Unfortunately, I made one big mistake.  After cooking the custard, I poured the whole thing into a giant bowl.  I should have poured the custard into small Tupperware containers and allowed each little batch to cool individually.  The result was a giant bowl of cooled custard which I could not separate without breaking the top layer and ruining the texture.  I therefore did what any silly and determined person would do -- I carried the entire bowl up the mountain (the stainless steel wouldn't fit in my backpack, and I didn't want the custard to jiggle).

Our friends Kelly and Isidora accompanied us again today.  We love hiking with those two and I hope our families continue to team up.  Kelly brought M&M Cookies, which made a lot more sense than my mango custard (easier to pack and carry!)  Can't believe I didn't even think of M&M Cookies for Middle Carter!

Custard, minus one spoonful, before the hike.

Since I had a giant bowl of custard in one hand and my dog's retractable leash in the other (those leashes work very well if one takes the time to learn how to use them properly), I couldn't take photos on the way up the mountain.  I was too busy doing a balancing act...I crossed streams and climbed rocks without spilling anything or breaking the top film (yes, I'm proud of myself).

I put the custard down whenever we arrived at a logical stopping point.  My pictures tell the rest of the story.

Sage on Imp Face (52WAV).

Me and Mango Custard on Imp Face

Isidora, Alex, and Sage admiring the views from Imp Face.

Near the scrubby summit of Lethe.  Couldn't get better pictures while holding the custard.

Sage arranging our stuffed animals on the summit of Middle Carter.

Me, Sage, Mango Custard, Kelly, Isidora, and Alex on Middle Carter

Desserts on the 48!

M&M Cookies on Middle Carter, courtesy of Tammy

View from the little ledge by Middle Carter's summit

Heading back down

It was a fun day.  Won't be carrying any more bowls of custard up mountains, though.  Not only did I have to carry the whole thing up, but I had to make sure the entire dessert was eaten so I could shove the empty bowl in my pack for the hike down.  I'll be just fine if I don't eat custard again for quite some time (though it did turn out well...the recipe's a good one).

Coming tomorrow evening -- we officially begin preparing for the John Muir Trail.  Stay tuned for our gear list -- and, more importantly, the link to our Feeding America virtual food drive!

(This was Alex's 4th and Sage's 2nd time on the summit of Middle Carter).