Saturday morning

We had a hearty continental style breakfast including our first picked whitefish (yum!) along with more muesli and yogurt.  There was fruit and pastry and boiled eggs as well.  After fueling up it was time to hit the road. We debated taking the ferry from Stykkisholmer but the drive was the same length so we decided to drive and see the fjords. (foreshadowing). The first dirt road we were on was quite muddy and bumpy but pretty straightforward driving.

By this time, we had calibrated civilization.  Any group of 3 or more buildings was “town,” or any intersection or stopping point with a petrol station/small convenience store and a guest house (sometimes a home with an outbuilding, maybe 5 or 6 rooms) was a notable spot on the map and guidebook.  Most had “cakes” that we came to understand as any type of pastry, mostly danishes  (from the Danish influence), made with either wheat or oat flour, and some with rhubarb or nuts as a filling.  We later discovered one tasty item we tried was called “Happy Marriage” – an oat bar with jam.  Arugula, peas, lamb and fish were plentiful, but most other provisions were imported.  A few types of green-house grown vegetables, such as tomatoes, could be grown locally using the plentiful summer daylight and geothermal heating. It was best to not worry about the cost or exchange rate and just get whatever sounded best, since everything was very expensive compared to the US.

Upon making it to the north side of the peninsula we turned onto another dirt road. This one was being re-graded which narrowed the road to one lane. On trying to pass the grader, we slid sideways and got stuck in the soft dirt on the side of the road. I was unable to move the car. Fortunately the road was fairly busy and a car with 3 young men stopped to help us. As we were debating the best approach, a tour van driver who saw us slide off hopped out, barked some instructions, and had us back on the road in short order. The whole thing probably took less than 10 minutes but it was a little more excitement than I was looking for.

A little more dirt road and we were back on pavement. We stopped at a town which had an N1 (petrol) station. I figured out how to buy a petrol card since many of the stations around the country are unmanned and US credit cards (which have no European style PIN) do not work.

The station was also a grocery store and sold appliances. Kinda the main store for the whole “town” of approximately 1000 people, and reminded me of the store in Herscher, IL near our cousin Eric. One or two units of a variety of standard items (like frozen fish, packaged dinners, a small array of meat, lots of kinds of yogurt and cheese, and an aisle of pasta and dry goods  that could be reonstituted when boiled for a quick meal or camping), but very little produce. We were lucky to find some bananas and an apple and plums, picked up some fig bars, and a yummy Skyr yogurt drink and got back the road.

Our next destination was a major waterfall about 2.5 hours away. As we left town we quickly started ascending and had some great views of flowing rivers. There was no rain so visibiity was much better than the previous day. We stopped at a small waterfall to take some photos. Along the way, we saw plenty of sheep.  Most were mothers accompanied by two lambs, and the two lambs were good about running to mama when cars approached.  At one such instance, a confused lamb ran into its sibling and mounted it in the road instead of getting out of way.  Silly lamb! Finally they both cleared the road and we moved along.

Then we kept ascending and descending. Then the roads turned to dirt. Then we were driving on a narrow road along the walls of the many fjords. Climbing one side, heading over the summit, and then descending the other side. We headed up each valley, usually crossing a one lane bridge where the glacial river emptied into the fjord, then heading back up the wall of the opposite side of the fjord. It was challenging driving.

We finally got back on some pavement at a small gas station/restaurant/swimming pool where the road split to the waterfall and the other way to our hotel. We decided to go to the big waterfall called Dynjandi (good decision). It was another hour of narrow dirt road but this time the scenery was not fjords, but instead a rocky open landscape with very little plant life. There were still snowpacks in the north and west facing cliffs and glaciers in the distance. It was much more brown (and red from iron in the soil).

Finally we descended to the falls. One huge main head fall about 1km from the road descended several hundred feet to a series of smaller falls (all named) that emptied into the ocean. Unfortunately this was our first encouter with bugs – there were swarms of small flies. Brian took lots of pictures, and Susan was glad they had a WC at the parking lot. Never take petrol or bathrooms for granted in Iceland. Also refill or unload (or both!) each time you see one.

After walking around the falls and enjoying the invigorating mists, we headed back over the dirt road to the gas station and filled up again (with a WC stop and another oat “cake” for a snack) before heading toward the hotel. Halfway to hotel the road turned to dirt. We saw a sign advertising a bar and big screen TV showing soccer so we decided we would eat there rather than at our own hotel. We considered a nice bistro in a fishing village across the fjord, but it would have required an extra hour of travel and I was tired of dirt roads.

We checked into the hotel, which was a former boarding school. Our bedroom was a dorm room with an updated bathroom. The bed was also very comfortable (individual duvets again). Su took a short nap and we headed the 10 minutes down the dirt road to the next hotel for dinner.

Due to the continuing rainy weather, bad visibility and being tired of driving we decided to change Sunday/Monday plans. We booked a spot for the car on the ferry back to Stykkisholmer so we wouldn’t have to drive the winding mountain roads farther north, and then a long drive back on Monday. It was fun to do once and great scenery but I didn’t need to do it again so soon. At this point we did not have a hotel for Sunday night but figured we would be able to find one. Su picked out some things to do in the rain Sunday (explore town, go to the swimming pool) near Stykkisholmer, which is a huge town of 2000 people.

Dinner was just ok (fish and chips for Brian, shrimp fettucine for Susan) but we were ravenous. After dinner we both wished we’d tried the grilled salmon and vegetables, maybe next time.  We were joined at dinner by a large group of motorcyclist who were staying at the hotel’s block of rooms in a second building.  They were enthusiastic but polite, and it added an air of energy to the dining room.  The site also had camping in addition to outbuilding and the main Inn. After dinner I watched a few minutes of soccer in the bar before heading out to the evening entertainment – the Latrabjarg bird cliffs. We discovered that after dinner is the best time to go see Puffins, and with daylight extended nearly all night, there was no reason not to head over.  It was a 30 minute drive on narrow dirt roads (again!). The car by this point was filthy and I was exhausted from driving.

The bird cliffs are the westernmost point in Europe (not counting the Azores). Thousands of black birds (terns and other varieties of sea birds) and gulls nest on the cliffs. We managed to see 3 puffins, cute friendly quiet little birds compared with the others, and I again took many photos. The ground was amazingly soft and it was so quiet other than the crashing ocean and birds. We walked about 1km up the cliffs before turning around. We came back down to car and read about a famous shipwreck and heroic rescue by the townsfolk before heading to our hotel. At this point it was 2200 and the sun was still in the process of “setting.” The sky would have maybe turned red if we had stayed until midnight but we were sleepy.

Thursday evening
Despite taking the scenic route through Everett and Revere to avoid I-93 traffic, we arrived at the airport 1 hour earlier than needed. Check-in was fast and we headed to the Air France lounge for “dinner.” The food was ok, the lounge was crowded, we were sleepy and ready to start our adventure.

Boarding was delayed (late inbound aircraft) so we didn’t get settled until nearly 10pm. Economy Comfort meant a larger seat and access to the pre-flight lounge, but not much else. We tried to fall asleep right away. Susan slept the first half of the flight but I was cold. Got my sweater when she woke up and slept almost 2 hours before landing. On the other hand Susan had trouble getting comfortable and didn’t sleep much the second half of the flight.

The last sun we saw for 3 days was as we descended through the clouds to the airport at Keflavik. Upon landing we immediately took note of the huge fields of purple lupine that we would see over much of the countryside. We deplaned out on the tarmac and boarded a bus to the terminal. Customs was fast and baggage claim was fast. We had a short wait at the Hertz counter for our Yaris. We should have known the clerk’s insistence on our checking the car for scratches was foreshadowing for the roads to come.

Our Yaris was a 6 speed manual and drove nicely. It was early (~7:30am) so we decided to head into Reykjavic for some breakfast at a cafe. I signed up for a $10/day verizon international plan. We’ll see what the charges are once I get back home, but it seems to work great and we made good use of it during the trip to make reservations and look up information. I could use google maps for navigation and found the cafe and parking easily. We enjoyed a breakfast of yogurt, granola, and fruit and grabbed a muffin for the road.

After breakfast we walked back up the hill about a quarter mile to a giant stone Lutheran church with a statue of Leif Erikson in front. We had apparently chosen a cafe in the older, touristy section of town so we got to take in some sights. Lots of colorful houses, mostly metal or cement with little courtyards. There were many flower pots, some strawberries growing on a front stoop, and a number of little hot dog and pizza shops in the neigborhood. The town had a very European feel between the tight street, shops, and road signs. Road signs have been easy to read and my German is coming in handy for many nouns which have similar roots.

We drove toward Hotel Budir, our hotel.  After not getting much sleep on the plane and having a little breakfast, Su was ready to doze off, and slept a good 20 min on the way out of Reykjavik.  There was a long 6km tunnel on Hwy 1 north of Reykjavik on the way to Akranes. It started to rain, a consistent pattern during the weekend.  Once we got away from city/main road (Iceland 1), there were lots of sheep along the roads and a good number of horse farms. We appreciated Dan Dunn’s parting advice, “Don’t hit a sheep!” since evidently the car driver has to pay the farmer for the sheep, and with free range grazing, it would be challenging to find the farmer.  We fortunately only saw one dead sheep on the road, so it looks like most drivers are careful, and sheep generally skittered to the side of the road once the cars approached.

We got to the local mineral baths about 1130am but the internet was wrong and the baths didn’t open until 1300, so we headed to the hotel. Our room was not ready so we changed clothes in the WC and headed to a cliff/ocean walk. It was raining fairly heavily with winds from the ocean, so we were damp on the way out, and soaked on the way back. Saw a ton of troll stones (rock formations that looked like trolls and had signs and names), lots of moss and small wild flowers and a few birds. We even saw an arctic fox from a close range. He was wet and on top of a short rock formation just off the trail. He scampered off pretty quickly once he saw us but I managed to snap a very quick photo. The hike was through an old lava flow so lots of volcanic rocks, some mixed with stones smoothed by the ocean water. Everything was so green. So many shades of green.

Afterward, we decided it was a great time to warm up at the swimming pool and drove straight there.  We paid admission and rented towels. As the sign and and attendant reminded us, you must shower first without your suit. It is demanded, in the kindest Icelandic way, as they don’t use chemicals in the baths, just the natural minerals.  This one was special due to the amount of iron, calcium, and healthful algae that grew in it.  There was one large swimming pool and two smaller round tubs. The pool was cooler (but still quite warm, over 90 degrees F) and the tubs hotter ~38C. The water smelled of iron and there was lots of algae growing on the bottom/stairs that made it very slippery, but also made it feel more natural. We chatted with a family from NJ who had vacationed in Iceland at least 11 times, and said how nice this pool was compared with the commercialization of Blue Lagoon which we had missed because we couldn’t get a reservation.  Nice and warm, we showered off and happily climbed into the car. But alas, on the way back to the hotel, Su realized she left her suit hanging in the changing room, so we had to drive back for 3rd time that day before heading to hotel. We noted that our skin was glowing like after a mud bath/massage.

We checked in and got an 1830 dinner reservation. Our room was on a corner of the inn so we had a great view of the river flowing into the ocean. But unfortunately it really clouded up and started raining more, like being in a cloud of mist, so there was low visibility.  We didn’t get to see Snaefellsnes glacier at all despite being so close.

After snacking during the day, but not sitting down for a meal in over 24 hours, we were ready for a nice dinner.  We were the first ones in the dining room to start, and picked a nice bright spot by the window. Brian started with cod cheeks (a local delicacy we’d read about) and Susan had cauliflower soup, which was delightful. We were disappointed that the catch of the day was catfish, so we passed on that and instead both had lamb with spring herbs (pea tendrils, green onions and something resembling anise pods), peas and yummy potato cakes. Brian had two different icelandic beers. One an organic pils which was very good (must be the crisp Icelandic glacier water?) and a red ale that was quite sweet. At one point during dinner Brian stopped and said “listen” – the muzac was an Icelandic rendition of “We don’t have to take our clothes off,” kind of an odd choice for dinner music. By 20:00 there were maybe 8-12 more people dining but we were ready to sleep!

We sat in the cozy lounge for a little while, with only Igor the sleeping dog and one man talking on his cell phone as company.  It would have been a great place for an after-dinner drink if Su had been drinking and we were less tired.  We finally agreed that it was late enough to stave off jetlag and head back to the room around 2100. Brian had managed to stay awake the whole day. We both fell sound asleep and slept 10 hours. We had a full size bed and each person had an individual duvet.

Peak #13 Passaconaway Mar 28, 2006
This doesn’t technically count as a winter hike but easily could. I hiked this one solo. The trail was packed snow and ice so I did a lot of postholing and careful scrambling. This was before I learned about the wonders of yaktrax, crampons, and online trail reports.

Ice on the trail

Presidential range still snowed in

Peaks #14 Mt. Field and #15 Mt. Tom May 3, 2006
A three day hiking trip with hiking buddies Steve and Rich. Day 1 Steve and I drove up together and warmed up by hiking part of the Mount Jackson trail. Steve had brought an extra pair of crampons for me to use and boy did they make a difference. Lots of postholing.

Day 2 all three of us hiked the Avalon, Field, Tom loop. Steve and Rich did not want to go up Mt. Tom as it had been a long tiring day in the snow and ice already so Steve made me a bet. If I could get up Mt. Tom, back down, and catch them on the trail before they got to the car, he would buy wine at dinner. They set out going straight back and I had wine on my brain and charged up Mt. Tom. I caught them just below snowline as they were taking off their crampons and greatly enjoyed my free wine that night. This was also the first time I’d ever seen a moose in the wild. At dinner, a large moose wandered into the field outside the Highland Lodge to graze.

It was a little wet

Peak #16 Whiteface May 7, 2006
Hiked with Susan who thinks this may have been one of her very first hikes back in college with a friend from WILG. A little snow still at the top but mostly clear.

Peak #17 Tecumseh August 5, 2006
Hiked with Susan. It’s a short fast mountain. Here are my trail notes from that day:
1:45 up, 1:10 down. Su and I. Gorgeous 80 degrees and not very humid. Hike was like a giant stairmaster.

Reporting for duty!

Peak #18 Hale October 21, 2006
Did this hike with the Susan and all 3 (at the time) Sheldons. It was early season snow and while the trail was easy the Sheldons had to turn around early after Max took off his mitten and threw it out of the backpack which wasn’t noticed until later when Max started crying and they had to turn back. It was still a fun time and a beautiful day.

Snow in Crawford Notch

Dan and Max

Susan near the summit

Peak #19 Jackson May 26, 2007
Hiked with Susan. A short hike on a lovely spring day. Nice views of the notch and north to Washington.

Mt. Washington from Jackson summit

Peak #20 Carter Dome June 14, 2007
I solo hiked this on a long, long day. I hiked in 19 mile brook trail to Carter Notch hut, climbed Carter Dome, and came down the Carter Dome Trail. The hike from the hut to Carter Dome was incredibly steep. The picture is from the trail down to the hut I had just stopped at. This was also my first hike on Carter Ridge and I was amazed how great the views were of Mt. Washington to the west and of Maine to the east.

I came from down there?!

Peaks #21 North Kinsman and #22 South Kinsman June 21, 2007
Hiked with my buddy Brian. One of my most memorable hikes. I had never hiked with Brian before but knew that he did a lot of outdoors type stuff. He worked with Susan so I knew him socially but we were not yet really friends. We decided to hike the Kinsmans going up Fishin’ Jimmy trail. We had a great, long hike up and turned around to come back down. I had been leading so I let Brian lead on the way back down. Big mistake. I did not realize he was navigationally challenged although he would have freely admitted it if I had asked him. We ended up taking a wrong turn and when I realized it and checked our map we were already hiking on a fun trail with a short series of peaks called “The Cannonballs.” We finished our hike, extra miles and hills and all, had a good laugh, a good burger at a place Brian showed me, and a friendship was forged. However, whenever we are outdoors together, I navigate!

Peaks #23 Hancock and #24 South Hancock July 12, 2007
I did this as a solo hike mostly to knock it off my list. Not a lot of great views, just some pretty wooded trail. The memorable thing about that day was finding a huge “sign” on the ground made out of sticks pointing someone named Ann in a particular direction near the trail split.

Of course Isaac decided to sleep in until 7:30am, more than an hour past his normal wake-up.  Usually sleeping in on a Saturday would be welcome, but today we intended to be on the road at 8am!  After some chatting while Isaac ate his breakfast, we did make it out of the house by 8:30am on the way to Mount Monadnock.  We enjoyed the scenery along Rtes 2, 140, and 202 on the way up and Rte 119 on the way back, as trees were definitely starting to turn colors.  We were sad to drive past the many farm stands selling mums, pumpkins and apples, but we were on a tight schedule and figured we could do some shopping another time.

Clearly we were not the only New Englanders with the same idea on Saturday – the state park was packed!  And given that I was toting a rather heavy 11-month old (he is easily 20% of my weight), we set out on the more moderate and less traveled Parker Trail on the way to the Old Toll Road.  But when we encountered the Cliff Walk trail, Connie suggested we check it out.  The new route provided near solitude (we didn’t encounter another hiker until after the junction with Do Drop) and more scenic path, with only a few steep spots.  We enjoyed some pine forest, mossy growth, and beautiful views.  When we got to Bald Rock, we stopped for lunch to soak in the open vistas.  Hearing and seeing the 100s of hikers at the top and having no need to summit, we then opted to continue in a loop onto the Smith Connector and Amphitheater trails to White Arrow and back along the toll road.  White Arrow was the typical “stairmaster” of rocky steps, compounded with enough water to make them slippery going, so we tread carefully on the way down, but then picked it up on the Toll Road and Parker on the way back.

Isaac loved the trees and would chatter away at me while awake. He loved smiling at the other hikers and looking around.  He fell asleep after a section of rock scrambles and slept through lunch, so we stopped along the White Arrow to give him some banana.  He was a trooper to stay in the backpack for 4 hours straight, and only complained a bit for the last section (audibly and by pulling my hair).  Connie and I distracted him with some bright yellow leaves, which he proceeded to try to eat, requiring us to fish them out of his mouth.  I suppose a little leaf and dirt is good for him.  One of my favorite moments was when Steve, Connie and I all sang “Old MacDonald” as we hiked along the road.  Isaac seemed happily surprised to be serenaded by his favorite song.  He did get a proper lunch and time to crawl around the back seat before we headed home.  And luckily Steve and Connie each had great back seat games to share with Isaac to keep him entertained during the drive.

Here’s the one picture from the hike, of Isaac sleeping through lunch.  Evidently the fresh fall air is tiring, even when he gets to ride instead of walk!

Fresh Fall Air is Tiring

I’m going to split this post into four parts since there are so many memories and photos I want to share. As I went back through the photos I had to make some changes to the “official” ordering of my list as some of the old photos confirmed that I had in fact hiked a peak well before I recorded it after re-hiking it later.

This is Part 1
Part 2 (coming soon)
Part 3 (coming soon)
Part 4 (coming soon)

First White Mountain hike: Back in Spring of 1995 or 1996 my girlfriend and I went to the White Mountains for the very first time. I attempted to hike Mt Lafayette having no real gear or idea what the conditions would be like. This was early in the internet and there was no website with current trail conditions and trip reports like exists today. I remember trying to borrow boots from my friend Chris but in the end I think I opted for tennis shoes. I also wore jeans and had to borrow a pack. I also had to rent a car in order to make the 3 hour trip north. We made it as far as Greenleaf Hut which is about 1000 feet below the summit all the while scrambling up icy slides in our tennis shoes. Needless to say we did not reach the summit and slid most of the way back to the car on our butts. Nevertheless I had a great time and my interest in hiking in the Whites was born.

So young, so clueless

#1 and #2 – Lafayette and Lincoln: Later in 1995 or 1996 I went back with my friends Chris and Dan to do that same hike. I don’t know exactly when we hiked it and I don’t have any photos but I remember it being a grey, rainy, and wet day on Franconia Ridge. We hiked up the Old Bridle Path, had lunch crouched behind a rock on the ridge, and hiked down Falling Waters trail.

#3 – Moosilauke I’d forgotten that I did this hike in 1999 with Chris until I went looking for photos and discovered one of Chris and I at the Moosilauke trailhead. Initially I thought when I did this hike in 2004 with Steve it was my first time. What I do know about the Moosilauke hike with Steve in 2004 is that was the first time I was made aware of the 4000 foot list. Steve was working on completing his 48 at the time and told me about it. At that point I started tracking what I had hiked.

Lunch with Chris in 1999

#4 – Cannon Another double hike! As my discovered photos indicate I did this hike with Chris and Tenille in the summer of 1999. However I didn’t remember that until November of 2011 when I hiked Cannon in the snow with Susan, Steve, and Erik. When I got to the tram station and ski lifts at the top a flood of memories came back from that day in 1999. The vivid memory other than the ladders pictured below are of coming off of a relatively secluded trail and finding 11ty billion tourists on the top who had ridden the tram up from the base station.

Tenille and Chris on the ladders

Steve and Susan in the snow in November 2011

#5 – Osceola I have no photos of this trip. Sometime in 2001, Susan and I hiked Osceola. Since I wasn’t keeping track of my peaks yet I’m not sure if we hiked East Osceola in 2001 or not. This would prove to be a problem later as when I went back to officially hike East Osceola as my 25th peak in 2008 I got bit by a tick and ended up with a nasty illness that took about 4 months to recover fully from.

#6 through #12 – Presidential Traverse! One of the classic New England hikes. This is an approximately 20 mile hike over the alpine peaks of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains. I did this hike with Susan and Dan (in body) and Steve (in spirit since his body was at home recovering from kidney stones). We did this hike over 4 days and hiked Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. Day 1 was a short hike up to the Mizpah Spring Hut. Day 2 took us to Lake of the Clouds Hut which we got to right before a huge storm rolled through, Day 3 took us to Madison Hut and day 4 we hiked out. The weather was clear all of the days except for the storm while we were safely in our 2nd hut.

I hope I can do this hike again someday. One of my favorite things in the world is to walk along an exposed ridge line and this is the longest stretch of exposed ridge I can think of in New England.

Susan near Lake of the Clouds Hut

Why do they call it Lake of the Clouds?

The summit of Mt. Washington is cold at 9am, even in August

Mt. Washington and Great Gulf Wilderness from the north

Morning on Mt. Monroe

Part 2 (coming soon)

Isaac had fallen asleep after lunch, so I had time to change into hiking shoes and load up the pack.  I used the Chicco backpack with the sun cover, which Isaac really enjoyed, and then I strapped my camelback to the pack frame, loaded with water, a first aid kit and a spare diaper.  After hoisting ~30 lbs onto my back, we were off!

Not far into the hike there is a stream crossing.  Anyone who has hiked with me knows that I’m not good at crossings.  My trail shoes are a big improvement over boots, because I have a better feeling for the slippery and uneven rocks, but I was not ready to try to balance or take precariously large steps across a pretty fast moving stream while still getting the hang of shifting the extra weight.  So after surveying the options and watching a couple hikers cross back the other way, I opted to just wade across.  It was up to my knees in places, but luckily for wool socks and shoes with good drainage, the experience was quickly forgotten as we kept tromping up the the trail.  I thought to myself that I should be a better role model, so Isaac avoids that moment of paralysis when encountering a rushing stream, and learns to simply pick his way across the rocks – or splash through – without thinking too much about it.

It was a lovely afternoon, with only a few other hikers and some students doing trail maintenance.  Isaac smiled at all of them. The trail was a bit muddy in places, as it followed a stream, but was cool and shady without any bugs. It took about an hour to get to the pond, where there is a stony beach along the shoreline.  Isaac was happy to get out and walk around, making a bee line to splash in the water.  He was also happy to sit and play with the stones, until I stopped him from eating them, which resulted in tears.  After a half hour break and a snack, it was time to head back.  It only took 40 min to return to the trailhead, where we took off our wet shoes, ate more food, and got ready for the trip home.  Isaac settled down and slept nearly the whole way home.  We arrived in time for dinner and Isaac was ready for an early bedtime after his big day of adventure.

I count this first “dry run” as a success!  Isaac was a good traveler and clearly loved the hike.  He didn’t squirm or kick, and I think we could have done a longer excursion if we got an earlier start (and/or a shorter drive).  The two hours were enough for me to get my mountain “fix” and let go of any nagging issues on my mind -good for both physical and mental exercise.  It was a good hike for me to regroup and rejuvenate, to balance being the old “me” and the new mom “me”.  I imagine it would be easier to have one person carry the baby and another to carry a day pack, (and also the 2nd person could take photos!) but it’s good to know I can handle it myself.  I look forward to more hikes this fall!

Not to be thwarted and since we had several inches of fresh snow on top of the base from the previous storm, we decided to see what it was like cross country skiing with Isaac.

Sunday morning we woke up and seeing the snow falling decided to get bundled up and head over to the ski center. One way to take a small child in the snow is to use a pulk. The ski center rents them so we decided to try it out.

Note, neither Susan nor myself are good skiers. We manage pretty well on flat terrain but add some gentle rolling hills in and there’s likely to be a fall or two. Since I have a bit better balance than Su we decided I would pull the pulk first.

Isaac bundled up in the pulk

Yah mule!

We skied about 1/4 of a mile and decided to stop and check on Isaac. Since he’s so young he’s a tad small for the pulk so we had to pack him in with blankets to get the harness tight enough on him. It’s turns out we didn’t have to worry as he fell asleep shortly into the journey. We also didn’t have to worry about the temperature either. By the time we stopped he was already steaming up the plastic window that keeps the elements out.

Doing just fine in here

We did a loop around one of the fields and since things were going well decided to ski over to the cow barn before looping back to the ski center. As we neared the center Susan took a turn pulling and I got to ski “sled free” for the first time that day. As we both discovered, pulling a baby in a sled is harder than it looks. I was so much faster when set free and Susan ended up doing a little huffing and puffing as she pulled Isaac uo to the ski barn.

Faster, Mommy, Faster

Below are two videos we shot testing out the new camera. Shooting with a new camera, in snow, with gloves/cold hands is certainly a challenge but the basic point across. I keep looking back while skiing to make sure I haven’t dragged the pulk into a lantern post. We were on a trail that can be lit for nighttime skiing and I was not sure whether or not I’d run Isaac into a pole. Better safe than sorry.

We had a lot of fun although I’m not sure if we’ll get enough snow again this year to re-open the ski area. We are thinking of taking short weekend trip to Vermont in a few weeks in search of one last hurrah before Spring.

My goal for June is to improve my consistency and continue to hit my mileage targets.

44
Since learning about it several years ago, I’ve been working on hiking the 48 peaks in New Hampshire that are 4000 feet or higher. On Sunday, Susan and I decided to go hiking and knock another peak off of the list. We chose Wildcat (D and E peaks) to be my 44th of the 48 4000 footers.

There are two main routes to access Wildcat D. One is a long, though pleasant, hike in along 19 mile brook before ascending to Wildcat Ridge and hiking across the A, B, and C peaks to reach the D peak. Since we had already hiked that end of the ridge we opted for the more direct route. Of course, more direct means more vertical in a shorter amount of time. After setting out from the car and crossing the Ellis River (pictures of Su crossing the river on the way down later) we immediately started up the New England version of a stairmaster.

Believe it or not, this picture was taken in one of the easier, more level, sections of the trail.

Susan ascending Wildcat Ridge trail

The trail continued ascending steeply with occasional short steep descents mostly in woods with annoying flies for the next two miles. Just when it seemed like the short hike (ha, short) would never end we hit the top of the ridge, descended briefly to the ski gondola station at the top of Wildcat Mountain, and were rewarded with a great view of Mt. Washington across Pinkham Notch.

Mt. Washington from Wildcat Ridge Trail

Wait, we could have taken a gondola to the top?

Not a bad reward for a lot of work

At the top we snapped a few photos, devoured our sandwich, and liberally reapplied bug repellent. Apparently I got some on the lens of my camera as a lot of my later photos are blurred. Oh well, better than being eaten alive.

The descent went much more quickly than the ascent and despite being hard on the legs didn’t leave us nearly as winded. One final crossing of the Ellis River and we were back at the car and off for a well deserved burger on our ride home.

Ellis River crossing

We got rolling pretty late on Friday, ran some errands around town, and then decided to outline a plan. The weather looked nicest Friday and Saturday, and we had been talking about when we could hike the two northernmost 4000′ peaks in New Hampshire, so why not head north? With an overnight bag packed and a reservation at the Thayers Inn in Littleton (chosen because we had previously stayed there in 2006), we were off for some adventure.

Mount Waumbek is on the Starr King Trail – Starr King was actually more scenic, but is a few hundred feet short of the magic 4000′ threshold. We made good time up driving up to Jefferson with the sun shining, roof open, and tunes playing, and made it to the trailhead in the middle of the afternoon. The trail starts up a logging road, with a fairly gradual incline for New England standards, but its wooded path didn’t offer much of a view until we got to Mt. Starr King. We enjoyed the views from this new perspective, farther north than either of us had hiked before in NH. The first shot has Cherry Pond and Mount Martha in the foreground, with the Twins (or Galehead or Garfield?) behind.

View from Starr King Trail

View #2 from Mount Starr King

We kept going past the open peak through the saddle and on to Mount Waumbek’s wooded summit. After our hikes this weekend, we think it would be really fun to do a ridge hike in the Pilot Range in this area – especially in the fall foliage season.

On the way back, we stopped at Mt. Starr King again and took a little break to check out the remains of a hut, including the fireplace/cook stove still in regular use by campers. A good place to set for a spell and soak up some sun before heading back down to the car.

Su at Starr King hut site

Compared in hindsight with the next day’s hike of Mt. Cabot, the Starr King Trail was dry and soft, with plenty of pine needles. I hiked in my Innov8 low trail shoes, which worked great to keep a light step as we cruised along. We saw some toads and flowers, and only a couple other hikers, along the way.

Route Profile for Starr King/Waumbek Hike

Then we were off to Littleton to check in and grab some dinner. We envisioned an pub-style burger at the little restaurant in the basement of the Inn, where we had eaten the last time we stayed there. It turns out there is a new restaurant called Bailiwick’s, a little more upscale, so we called it “date night” and enjoyed a tasty dinner. After salads, swordfish and steak, followed up a delicious chocolate espresso dessert, we were glad it was a very short walk upstairs to our room.

We left the option open to laze around on Saturday morning, walk around Littleton, or get in another hike before heading back to MA. When we woke up we checked the weather, which predicted cool temps but no storms around Mount Cabot. Our legs felt good after a short hike the day before, so we drove up to Mill Brook Road and set out for another hike.

It had rained overnight, though I expect this trail would be pretty wet on a normal day, as it winds along Mill Brook up to Unknown Pond. This area was a birch forest, lush and full of mushrooms, as well as goldenrod and aster-looking flowers. We saw hoof prints and guessed that a moose had been in the area earlier that morning, so we stopped to look for moose at the pond.

Beej is not a moose, though he does a good Bullwinkle impression

Su and Beej at Unknown Pond

We hiked in a cloud from the pond on up to the Bulge and the summit, so while there were no views, we enjoyed really comfortable conditions for hiking. We saw two women hiking the other way, one was in full rain jacket and pants, while I was perfectly happy in shorts and a tank top. Normally I am cold, and have a historic tendency to overdress, so I have no idea what was up with these two. I just kept going and enjoyed the cool mist that made the trail look magical, with ferns waving slightly as we walked past.

We met up with a couple and their dog at the top, who had come up from the fishery. It turns out that one of the trails up to Cabot is involved in a landowner dispute, and another goes through a gated fishery. It turns out the gate wasn’t open, so these hikers had to do an extra couple miles each way. We were very glad to have taken the northern route and avoided any drama at the trailhead.

We didn’t dawdle on the way down. We opted not to take the spur to the Horn after two guys returning said it was nothing but whiteout cloud cover. Beej was ready to get off the trail after spending 9 of the past 24 hours hiking, and I was equally happy to keep a quick pace to the car. Overall, we made the round trip in about 5.5 hours.

Runkeeper Profile of Mt Cabot hike

After skimming through the usual tourist magazines at the Inn, I finally can say that I understand the regions of New Hampshire. I’ve heard the phrases “Mount Washington Valley” and “Lakes Region” but until this weekend, didn’t really have a picture in my mind of what they are and how they fit together. Based on driving through Jefferson, Whitefield, Littleton, and Lancaster, I would say the Great North Woods feels less developed. There are still plenty of Inns and cute towns that cater to tourism, but it seems unspoiled compared with the North Conway outlet mall and Rte 16 traffic in the whites or the power boating stereotype around Lake Winnipesaukee. The Lancaster Fair was in full swing as we drove through on Saturday, with plenty of people camped out in RVs, helicopter rides, and a ferris wheel – it was definitely the place to be!

Only 6 more of the 4000′ peaks to go! Stay tuned, it may happen before the end of this year.

View of Mt. Washington from Mt. Isolation

We chose Mt. Isolation because the weather promised to be dry for the many stream crossings, and we could get an early start for the nearly 14 mile hike (book time was >11 hours). The mountain sits below the main Presidential ridge, and while the whole descent is wooded, we were rewarded with 360 degree views from the top, including the view of Mt. Washington above.

The 3600 feet of elevation gain was deceptive; a normal New England hike of that magnitude would put us at ~5100 feet of elevation, while Mt. Isolation is one of the lowest of the 4000′ peaks at 4003′. We started up the Rocky Branch Trail, with a fairly manageable grade, for about 2.5 miles. It was extremely humid – even I was dripping with sweat after about 30 minutes. At our first water break we realized that if we kept up this pace and perspiration rate we would need more water than we’d brought along, and debated changing plans. Taking note of water sources we could use to filter water on our way back if needed, we continued along to the Rocky Branch Ridge. A couple energetic dogs almost joined us – they were certainly eager to make new friends – but we sent them back to their owners and kept plowing up the trail.

The trail to this point in time had been damp with lots of rocks and roots on a pine needle path. Once we crossed into the Dry River Valley, we traversed a lush marshy terrain that was really strange for 3000′ elevation, and descended a bit. We stepped from rock to rock and used the well-placed planks to keep our feet dry through this swampy section, which really exercised the stabilizer muscles in our calves, ankles, knees and hips. At 3.5 miles, about halfway along the ascent, we encountered the Rocky Branch Stream and took a break to eat and cool off before turning north along the Isolation Trail. It was refreshing to splash in the water and rinse off before continuing along.

Su at Rocky Branch Stream

We then wound along the stream with 5 official crossings and several other hops over feeder brooks. It continued to be swampy for several miles. We met up with the Davis Path and finally caught our first view of Mt. Washington. The clouds were rolling in, so Brian snapped this shot before we continued up the trail and made it to the spur to the summit.

Su with Mt. Washington in the background

At the top we enjoyed views of the whole Presidential ridge, picking out Jackson (ok, it’s named for Jackson the geologist, not Jackson the president), Eisenhower (big round head, I mean top), Monroe and Washington including the Boott Spur. It always amazes us to see the weather patterns, seemingly at eye level, and how quickly they can change.

Clouds roll in

After nearly 7 miles and 4.25 hours, we took a well deserved lunch break of apple and PB&J while we let our shirts dry out on a rock. We checked our water – it turned out after that initial humid section, it dried out a bit so we had only gone through half of it, perfect for halfway through the hike. Then we packed up our gear and headed back down.

We made slightly better time on the way down than on the way up, but only barely. First, the incline was so gradual that it didn’t have a big impact. Second, the miles of picking our way along wet boulders caught up with us, and what had been carefully placed tip-toe steps on the way up eventually became heavy footfalls on the way down as our stabilizers turned to jelly. We reminded ourselves to be careful and took a few breaks along the way. I finally got to see the cute little toads that were hopping around, and we enjoyed a brief rain shower cooling us off as we made our way back to the car, already discussing what to eat at the Red Fox, as per tradition. As we voraciously ate, we watched the Red Sox/Yankees game and reviewed the hike.

Mt. Isolation Hike

Only 8 more to go until Brian completes all 48 four thousand foot peaks!