Grasshoppers on Garfield. November 3, 2015

Garfield Trail.
10 miles roundtrip with 3000 feet of elevation gain.

It's November, a new month for Grid work!  The girls and I have very few 4K hikes logged for November months, so, when we looked at our hiking history, we saw we could pick almost any of the 4Ks for our weekly hike.  For those of you unfamiliar with NH 4K hiking, the Grid is hiking all 48 of New Hampshire's highest mountains during each of the months of the year.  Since 2008, the girls and I have hiked 4Ks (interspersed with 52WAV and TW72 peaks) almost every week, so, without trying, Alex is now about a third finished with the Grid and Sage is about 1/4 finished.  If we focus solely on 4K hiking from now on, then both girls will finish the Grid before they reach the age of 17.

We are not under stress or pressure to accomplish this -- it will simply be the result of our having hiked every week throughout their childhood, which is what we would do anyway, lists or no lists.  The weekly hiking is and always has been vital for our mental and physical well-being.  No matter what changes happen in the girls' lives, no matter what's going on academically or socially, these mountains will always be here.  The mountains are constant, they are reassuring.  The girls will always have them, even when they are my age, even when their children are my age.

On to Garfield.

We hadn't hiked Garfield since January 2012.  This would be Alex's fourth time on the summit, and Sage's third time, but, since it had been almost four years since we'd been on this trail, neither girl could remember their past Garfield experiences.  We had boots at trail around 7:30am -- I was excited to experience this peak through both their sets of eyes...I remember each and every hike the girls have ever done, so it's fun to re-introduce them to peaks and watch as they start recalling bits and pieces of this, that, and the other.

Starting out

A few tenths of a mile from the parking lot, we met an old Garfield friend.  This fallen tree, with its roots exposed to the trail, has been there since before 2008.  Both girls remembered it once they saw it.  There are fallen trees all over the Whites, of course, but this particular tree stands out because it is right next to the trail, and because you can see it from 50 feet or so away.

Alex and Sage with Fallen Tree, Nov. 2015

Just for fun, here are two past pictures of that old fallen tree.  The first is from Alex's first hike of Garfield in 2008, and the second is from Sage's first hike of Garfield in 2011.

Fallen tree (and Alex), Oct. 2008

Fallen tree, 2011

The hike up Garfield is mellow.  The trail only becomes steep after the intersection with Garfield Ridge Trail.  For most of the way up, it looks like this --

A few tenths of a mile below the intersection, more Garfield friends showed up.  Gray jays!

I did not have my birdseed handy, and I did not feel like digging it out of my pack just yet, so we continued onward.  We figured our friends would still be there when we descended.

At the intersection!

The last time we were here, the area looked a bit different.

January 2012

We began the steep bit of the ascent, which lasts a tenth of a mile or so.

There was a teeny bit of ice here and there, but nothing we couldn't step around.  No microspikes needed.

A teeny bit of ice on the steeps just beneath the summit area.

Up we continued...

Treeline!

The day was warm for the season, but the wind bit unpleasantly into our skin, so we ducked down into the shelter of the look-out cabin (what's left of it, anyway).

I had forgotten how gorgeous the views are from the top of Mt. Garfield!

Franconia Ridge

Pointy Flume and pointy Liberty

Looking at the ridge between Lafayette and Garfield

Looking toward North Twin

Looking toward the Bonds

Owls Head seems so close!

Franconia Ridge

It's gorgeous up here!  Owls Head is the green bump next to Alex, on the right.

You can see Flume and Liberty to the right (Alex's left).

Grasshoppers (brownie version).  Chocolate-mint brownies with mint frosting
and Junior Mints.  They looked a lot nicer before we left the house.  

The girls with grasshoppers on Garfield, with Franconia Ridge in the background.

We sat for a while and enjoyed the grasshoppers (Desserts on the 48!), then headed down.

The jays were waiting for us, of course.  Sage sacrificed one of her goldfish crackers while I dug out the birdseed.

'Twas a nice walk in the woods!  I love living in the Whites.  I swear we have the best hiking trails and scenery in the United States.

We will attempt another Bonds Traverse this week.  I'll post the trip report next weekend.

Happy hiking, and stay safe.

Homeschooling -- Math

This is a hiking blog, so I rarely include details regarding other aspects of our lives.  However, I have recently received requests to describe our homeschooling process, so I am dedicating a page of this blog to our routine and materials.  I post the information in case someone finds it helpful.  Every family is different, so please take what you find useful and leave the rest.  What works for us may or may not work for you.

The page has to be published piecemeal, since I am being detailed with each subject.  This morning, I published our resources and routine regarding mathematics.

You can access the page here.

Havarti on the Hancocks. October 27, 2015

Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail.
9.8 miles with 2650 feet of elevation gain.

We have three full rounds and three-to-five partial rounds left of the NH48 to accomplish the Grid (hiking all 48 of NH's highest mountains in all twelve months of the year).  We enjoy hiking for hiking's sake, but we also enjoy eating once we're on a peak.  Combine the two likes and you get food themed rounds.  We are already casually pursuing a Desserts on the 48 round.  We are now adding a round for cheese, a round specifically for pies, and a round specifically for cakes.  Which means yes, I will have to haul a cake up each mountain and hope the icing doesn't get smushed.  I also have to figure out how to carry a pie in my backpack without breaking the crust.  No matter -- it all adds to the fun.

For this hike of the Hancocks, we chose to bring a cheese.  Havarti, to be exact.

Here we are, gearing up.  This time of year is awkward, since you never know what you are going to find on the summits.  We wore our trail runners but carried our microspikes, and we had all our winter layers with us.

The Hancocks is a mellow hike.  Yes, it's close to ten miles and you do summit two peaks, but most of the approach is flat, or close to flat.

We were at the first intersection (1.8 miles from the car) in about 20 minutes.  It's amazing how the trail flies by when the terrain is easy!

Moving on for the 0.7 miles of Cedar Brook Trail...

I remember this trail as having a long herd path between two of the water crossings.  Now, it looks as though that herd path has become the actual trail, with fresh paint blazes and everything.  Looks nice -- whoever did this deserves a hearty kudos.

Even with the herd path/new improved path, there are a lot of crossings on this hike.  We had no issues...the water was low and ran calmly.

We reached the junction with the Hancock Loop Trail.  1.1 miles to go until we begin our real ascent.

At the last junction before climbing a steep half mile to one of the summits.  We sat and ate a quick snack here, then debated which peak we should tackle first.  This was our seventh time on the Hancocks, and had never gone counter-clockwise around the loop...therefore, I asked the girls if we could go counter-clockwise just this once.  They acquiesced, and up we went to the South peak.

Up...the trail becomes incredibly steep -- my photos don't capture the grade well at all.

South Hancock!

Time to break out the cheese.

Sage contemplates the taste.

Alex decides she likes it.

The sun was out and it felt quite warm for late October.  We didn't linger long, however.  Both girls have science exams coming up, so they needed to put in some time for studying that afternoon.  Across the ridge we therefore went after enjoying the cheese for about ten minutes.

We reached the main peak of Hancock in good spirits.

We ate more cheese at the viewpoint near the summit.

Right as we were getting ready to head down, a dog appeared and stared at us.  The dog kept a respectable distance away.  A few moments later, the owner caught up (along with another dog) and we exchanged pleasantries.  I was so impressed by this dog owner and the way he had obviously trained his dogs not to run at people or jump.  I enjoy seeing dogs when I hike, but unfortunately many of the dogs I see have not been trained for the trail.  The dogs jump on you, or get right in your space and beg while you are trying to eat, or run at you while the owner is nowhere in sight, etc. My own dog will jump on people regardless of the amount of training (it's a border terrier thing), therefore he is always on a leash (retractable).  Anyway, it was nice to meet those two dogs and their friendly owner.

On the way down the steep bit of Hancock, we passed several groups on their way up (one group had a very friendly and cute black dog...not sure of the breed).  The girls and I were surprised to see so many people on the trail on a Wednesday, and after Columbus Day at that.  It was fun to say hi to folks, though.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Halloween season!  Stay safe and warm out there.