Black Mountain (52WAV, Jackson). May 20, 2014

Black Mtn. Ski Trail, 3.5  miles roundtrip.

Yesterday, we saw the wonderful A.R.T. production of Shakespeare's The Tempest.  Since we had to be in Cambridge, MA by late afternoon, we elected to cross off a short, easy 52WAV in the morning.

This Friday, we'll do a longer hike...then the girls and I are headed overseas for various reasons unrelated to hiking.  There, we'll keep up our exercise (though it won't be hiking), then, when we get back to NH, we'll hike mountains three days a week until it's time to board a plane for California.  Sage would like to finally finish the 52WAV list (she's been casually working on it since she was four), and Alex would like to finally finish the peaks on the Trailwrights 72 list (she's been casually working on those since she was six).  We figure finishing those lists in six short weeks will be an excellent way to get in shape for the John Muir Trail.

Black Mountain (in Jackson, NH) is a short, moderately steep trek up a local ski mountain.  There's a cabin 0.4 miles from the top...I took a fabulous picture on my iPhone of the girls by the cabin, with the snow-capped Presidentials in the background...but then I accidentally deleted that photo (and three fabulous other images) before I had a chance to copy it (and them) to this blog.  Arg arg arg.  Here are the four photos I managed not to delete.

Starting out

Cabin ahead

Summit!

This was an enjoyable walk.  We look forward to Friday, when we'll take on a more traditional, longer hike.  Then, once mid-June hits, we'll be all over the Whites knocking down peaks right and left until we leave for the John Muir Trail in August.

Wonalancet Hedgehog and Hibbard Mountain (52 WAV). May 9, 2014

Old Mast Road, Walden Trail, Wonalancet Ridge Trail, Shortcut Trail.  5.5 mile counter-clockwise loop with about 2000 feet of elevation gain.

Finally and at long last, everyone in our household is healthy!  It was quite a winter with injuries (me) and illnesses (the girls), but we are all now 100% fine and dandy.  Last Friday, we celebrated our return to health by taking on Mt. Hibbard, a relatively easy mountain on the 52 With a View list, and nearby Wonalancet Hedgehog.  It felt SO GOOD to get back up a couple of proper (albeit mellow) mountains!!  Sage hopes to finish the 52WAV this year, and Alex wants to finish the Trailwrights 72 list, so our NH trip reports will be filled with those peaks from now until we "get 'er done."

We arrived at the Ferncroft parking area around 8:45 and began walking up the wide and easy Old Mast Road.

1.8 miles and forty minutes later, we arrived at the junction with Walden Trail.

Our pace slowed considerably as we climbed the steep route toward the summit of Wonalancet Hedgehog.

We took a short break on a boulder at the top of the first steep stretch.

As we continued toward Wonalancet Hedgehog's summit, we came across piles and piles of moose poop.  The scat stretched across the trail for yards and yards...in my six years of year-round near-weekly hiking, I have never before seen this much moose poop on one trail.  It was quite amazing.

There was still a bit of snow left near the summit...though never so much that we needed snowshoes.

Summit of Wonalancet Hedgehog!

From here, we headed down Walden Trail, toward the intersection with Wonalancet Ridge Trail.  Once on Wonalancet Ridge Trail, we descended a short way until we reached the unremarkable summit of Hibbard.  We took a break and ate our summit snacks on a nearby quasi-viewpoint.

After eating and descending a bit more, we found the short spur path that led us to this view...

The rest of our descent was lovely.  Due to time constraints (we had to be somewhere in the early afternoon), we skipped the summit of Wonalancet and took the Shortcut.

Wonalancet Ridge Trail below the Shortcut is beautiful and filled with interesting items such as the child-eating rock...

...the fern-topped boulder...

...and a gorgeous open forest.

Upon nearing the end of our hike, Alex remarked that she wished we had taken on a longer trail.  She said she felt strong and ready to really get back into things.  Sage echoed her sister's sentiments.  Since both girls hiked at their usual, pre-illness pace with backpacks that are almost as heavy as they'll be on the John Muir Trail, I think we can take on something with more distance and elevation gain next week.

I hope all the moms out there had a great Mother's Day.
'Til next week -- Trish

Belknap After Bronchitis

We were so happy to get back on the trails last Friday!  April was a difficult month.  First, Sage was ill with a high fever and chest congestion for a solid seven days.  Next, Alex fell ill with an even higher fever (104.2!) and had to be taken to the local ER after she became too weak to walk.  She was diagnosed with bacterial bronchitis, which is what I assume Sage had before her.  Now, finally, both girls are healthy and strong enough to resume hiking.

On May 2, we ascended Mt. Belknap.  We chose the short (0.8 mile) Red Trail and descended the gentle Blue Trail (1.1 miles).  This was, by our standards, a tiny hike, but I thought it best to keep things simple for our first post-illness venture.

Up the Red Trail...

Summit!

Fire tower!

Descending the Blue Trail...

We hope to do a 52 With a View peak next week.  I think we'll stick with the relatively easy 52WAVs until the girls and I are back from an overseas vacation in June...then, from mid-June until August, we'll be all over the Whites, training for the John Muir Trail (health permitting!!!).

Spring!

Hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather!  We are finally out of snowstorm season up here in the Whites (at least, in the valleys).  Nevertheless, the girls and I are staying off the high trails for a few more weeks; we want to wait for most of the snow to disappear.  None of us enjoy hiking on deep, soft, melting snow.  Postholing in snowshoes is not our cup of tea.

Thank goodness for the New Hampshire state parks!  We have a lot of trails to explore; not all hikes have to lead up Four Thousand Footers.  Last week, we checked out Bear Brook State Park near Concord, NH.  What a great place!  We had a blast...and we LOVED being able to sit on bare rock and have a snack without worrying about hypothermia.  Winter hiking is fine and dandy, but all three of us are ready for spring.

Catamount Trail, Bear Brook State Park, NH

It'll probably be May before we can start cranking out some real training hikes.  In the meantime, we'll have fun exploring what the southern part of New Hampshire has to offer (which is plenty!).

The girls and I have stayed off the mountains during the past couple of weeks.  We don't have a lot of flexibility as to which days we can hike during the academic year, since both girls are heavily involved with a myriad of extracurricular activities.  Fridays have been our "hiking days" for the 2013-2014 school year...and our March Fridays have been met with snowstorms, sleet, and overall challenging weather.  Therefore, we've kept our hiking to the local streets and hills.  Hopefully, we can get back on the mountain trails next week.

In the meantime, check out Hugh's latest TED Talk.  It's groundbreaking, inspirational, and just plain cool.

One Year Later...(One Last Post-Camino Reflection)

March 13, 2014

Exactly one year ago, Hugh, the girls, and I (and Flo from Switzerland!) were sleeping in an albergue in Valcarlos, Spain.  We had just begun our Camino, even though it felt like we hadn't left New Hampshire.  The snow was plentiful and the temperatures were identical to our normal Northeast winters.  The four of us felt happy, optimistic, and excited to see what the immediate weeks would bring.

What followed were days of bliss.  Yes, I know, roll your eyes if you must -- but I'm serious.  Yes, there were moments of fatigue, and yes, the sun was sometimes too bright (for this NH hiker), and yes, there was that bunion I developed (and still deal with).  But still.  Our time on the Camino was nothing short of magical.

What made the Camino so special?  Probably the same thing that makes every thru-hike amazing, in spite of the tired feet and aching muscles.  We met, spoke, and broke bread with people from all over the world, we saw beautiful countrysides, and we were able to eat everything we wanted without gaining an ounce of fat -- but the main thing, THE special thing, was the simplicity of our routine.  Wake up, hike, find a spot for the evening, clean up, eat, sleep, repeat.

The simplicity -- THAT'S the magic of the Camino.  I haven't yet hiked any other long-distance trail, but I suspect that's the magic of them all.  Hike, eat, sleep, repeat.  Day after day after day.  When one strips away modern day-to-day superfluousness (anything more than the basic needs of food, health, and shelter) and is forced to live moment-to-moment, outside, in all types of weather, one is left with oneself.  Meaning, there's nothing left but your core.  Who you are and what you value becomes abundantly clear after a couple of weeks on the trail.

The girls, being very young, didn't look at the Camino as any kind of back-to-basics experience.  They saw it as an adventure.  A huge, big, marvelous adventure in which they saw many gorgeous landscapes, spoke to many different people, and ate many fabulous meals.  I hope they remember our upcoming JMT hike in the same way they now remember the Camino.


March 14, 2014

I had to stop yesterday's reflection because of mom duties.

I'll conclude this post by listing the following life changes that were a direct result of the Camino.  I suspect these changes are permanent.

No more wasted time.  I don't mean no more staring at clouds or sunsets -- those moments aren't wasted time.  On the contrary, those kinds of moments are what life is all about.  I mean, no more wasted minutes or hours spent trying to impress people I don't care about or appease the insecure.  No more spending time with people who a) discriminate against...well, anyone or b) participate in organizations that discriminate against...well, anyone.

Simplicity rules.  If I don't need it, then I don't own it.

Letting go of my kids while still actively guiding them.  See my previous post regarding VLACS.  Also, though we will continue to hike throughout the years (the girls show no signs of slowing down), the JMT hike might be our last trek for charity.  Both girls want to continue contributing to society, but both want to "give back" in their own, unique ways.  Alex wants to do serious trail work in the Whites, and Sage is interested in a specific local volunteer opportunity.  This is good, this is important.  Each daughter is finding her own way forward, each is discovering how she can make a positive contribution according to her own individual interests.  So, in sum, our hiking adventures will continue after this summer's hike of the JMT, but future charity work may or may not involve our hikes.  It's important the girls begin to find their own ways forward in terms of volunteerism.

Taking better care of my health.  I lost weight on the Camino, and I've kept it off.  Keeping it off has been rather easy, since we now make a huge effort to eat healthy, home-cooked meals almost every day.  We all continue to get a lot of exercise...and I continue to enjoy the taste of red wine (though I don't drink as much now as I did on the Camino!).

Knowing...knowing...that more thru-hikes/extended outdoor excursions are in my future.  Assuming my health remains strong, I will hike long-distance trails throughout my retirement years.  If my health does not allow for thru-hiking, then I'll bike cross-country.  Or, I'll visit all the National Parks.  There will be something I can do, regardless of my health status.  The earth is beautiful, and I want to see as much of it as I can.  I don't mind tenting, so this kind of travel/retirement won't be expensive.  I'm a low maintenance gal.

I'll leave it at that.  Time to move onward.  Ultreia.

Smarts Mountain. March 7, 2014

Lambert Ridge Trail, Ranger Trail.  7.8 miles roundtrip, 2351 feet of elevation gain.

This was a perfect-weather day, and we originally planned on doing Franconia Ridge. The FR trails were, I had heard, sidewalks, the day was to be bluebird, and the sunshine bright.  However, at the kitchen table, twenty minutes before leaving the house, we changed our minds.

Franconia Ridge is gorgeous, but we've done it several times.  Sage and I share the mindset that we'd rather ascend a new-to-us peak than repeat the same thing over and over (except for the 4Ks we've haven't yet completed for our Desserts on the 48 quest).  I looked online while the kids finished their cereal and discovered that the Lambert Ridge Trail was broken out.  The Lambert Ridge Trail goes up Smarts Mountain, a 52 With a View we hadn't yet experienced.  We threw our snowshoes in the car and I texted our new destination to our "safety folks" (people who know of our hiking plans).

Smarts Mountain is near Lyme, NH.  It's the first significant NH mountain northbound Appalachian Trail thru-hikers ascend.  There are several ways up this peak -- we chose the Lambert Ridge Trail, which coincides with the AT and, as I previously mentioned, had already been broken out by other hikers.

The trail goes up at a moderate grade for the first 0.8 mile.  We were happy the path was firm.  My snowshoes rode on my back for the entire ascent.

Reaching the first ledge (at 0.8 miles).

From here to the summit, the path visits multiple viewpoints.  This is one of my favorite 52WAV peak so far -- so many opportunities for gorgeous scenery!

At 1.8 miles, one can see the summit (about 2 miles away).

Don't fall here!

The path was choppy (and firm) on the upper half of the trail.  This didn't bother me...it never does.  These are New Hampshire mountains, and hikers are free to choose how they ascend.  Some folks love to use snowshoes, and others do not.  Those who do not use snowshoes have every right to hike in the winter, though they do make things difficult for themselves once the snow reaches a certain depth.

There are a few (loud) hikers who become furious when they encounter a trail that doesn't look like it's been perfectly groomed...if there are postholes, or anything less than a smooth and obvious snowshoe track, they rail, complain, and insult other hikers online.  I simply don't get that attitude.  Sure, it's nice to have a smooth and firm path in front of you...but I don't expect anyone to hike the way I want them to just so I can have a trail that looks good and is easy for me personally.  These are the mountains...I don't feel I'm entitled to an easy time of it out there.  Yes, postholes can trip you up...but so can rocks, boulders, and roots, and no one expects the trail maintainers to smooth out the trails during the summer.  Again...these are the mountains.  Hike your own hike...and graciously allow others to do the same.

Reaching the intersection with Ranger Trail.

Beginning the last 0.6 miles to the top.

Fire tower (and summit)!

The girls began their trip up the stairs without asking my permission...my kids are old enough and experienced enough for me to trust their judgment, even though those steps were covered with ice.

The wind hit us full force once we were just underneath the enclosed top (which we couldn't get into).  Alex and Sage seemed comfortable, but I was frightened.  There's nothing much to prevent a four story fall onto rocks, the wind was forceful, the ice was everywhere...you get the idea.  I wanted to take a slew of photos since the views up there are 360 degrees, but I was afraid to detach myself from the handrail.  I was barely able to get my camera out of its case and snap a couple of shots from my waist (without looking through the viewfinder).  Here are the two photos I managed to take.

I love the expression on Alex's face.  She's as calm as I am panicked.

Sage was around a bend and up the final flight of stairs, so I couldn't get a picture of her on the tower.

We didn't spend much time up there as I was extremely worried one or all three of us would fall.  We made our way down, then I snapped this shot of the tower itself.

We ate our snack at the nearby tent site, which had a little viewpoint and was sheltered from most of the wind.  Here's Sage, happy about checking off another 52WAV.

This was a lovely hike with amazing views.  The descent was a bit tricky because of the uneven trail and the softening snow...well, it wasn't tricky for the girls, since their relatively light weight kept them on (as opposed to in) the path.  They therefore continued to microspike it.  I, on the other hand, had to don the 'shoes, and life became difficult for a while since the now-smushy track was uneven from the barebooters.  I kept my eyes open and watched my footing -- just as I do in the summer with rocks and roots -- and made it to the car without twisting an ankle or hurting my knees.

There's another snowstorm on the way for later this week, so I'm not sure if we'll hike on Friday.  If we do, then I'll post our next trip report on Monday, March 17.