Continuing my quest to get into hiking shape (note to self: when they rank a mountain as "moderate" in the Whites, they actually mean "if you're not from around here, you'll think it's ridiculously strenuous and steep, but we consider it moderate because it's less than 10 miles long." Soooo.....yeah.).
Backing up: I managed to hurt my left eye pretty badly last week, to the point where I needed an eye patch. No joke (although we did joke, quite a bit!). Jeff fixed me up all pretty. My hike would be with glasses, which is not the most pleasant experience, but hey. I still had an eye.
After perusing the list of mountains to tackle next, I chose North Moat Mountain. The Moat range lies just to the west of North Conway--those are the mountains you see from town. Down there, they don't look too bad.
Just out of town, you drive past Cathedral Ledges that look like impressively tall pipe organs cut into rocks, and onward a few miles to the parking lot for Diana's Baths. The happy accident about this loop trail is that it begins and ends at the baths, perfect for soaking those sore, swollen toes and rubbed-raw heels. Lucy Brook, still icy this time of year, cascades over exposed granite worn smooth over the millennia. It has created lovely little pools perfect for one-person soaks, thin sheets of water sliding down the hill, various tiny waterfalls, rocks to lounge upon. The dogs took a quick dip and onward we went.
The Moat Mountain Trail follows Lucy Brook in the forest for a couple of miles. Numerous stream crossings and some wet soil provide a home to likely millions of mosquitoes. Thanks be to Deet for some relief. After two miles, the trail suddenly turned to the left and BAM!! The HILL loomed ahead. We began to climb.
And climb. And climb. It was a 2,500 ft. ascent in two miles (the mountain clocks in around 3,500 ft.). The canopy opened up a bit, with more exposed granite, fewer deciduous trees, some mountain views. There were spots where I was scrambling on hands and feet to get up, the rocks chest-high at places.
The granite still has scars on it from when the glacier receeded. I love geology!
This whole time, we were the only ones on the trail. Apparently it is not well-travelled. I have a pretty good idea why...but we did come across two women who were taking a much-needed rest near the top. Sandy and Jennifer were two friends from a town near us. Sandy was getting in shape to conquer all the 48 peaks taller than 4,000 ft. and Jennifer was accompanying her. The four of us plus the dogs clambered up the rest of the way and HOLY COW. The views were breathtaking, even with the grey clouds and slight haze. These were the best views I've seen on the east coast.
Check out the 360!
But what goes up must come down. On the Red Ridge Trail, we came upon areas taller than head-high that required actual climbing. The dogs refused to jump, so Jeff, being the good dog dad he is, carried them down.
The Red Ridge Trail is exposed for a mile or two, with gorgeous views in the hot sun that now emerged from the clouds. We were baking up there, and unfortunately had run out of water. Poor Shelby with her black fur was melting. I scratched my head and found my hair part entirely crusted with blood thanks to mosquitoes and black flies. I made up a funny little song to keep spirits up. What a gorgeous day, though! We are blessed to live in such an area, and to be healthy enough to hike like we do.
As we climbed down what amounts to a huge ravine, we encountered Lucy Brook again, a much-needed cooling break and a drink for the pooches. Ah, we must be close to Diana's Baths! And so we walked. And walked. And we walked. We thought we were lost! I was starting to stumble and limp, my feet feeling like clubs. Finally, at mile 10, we hit the baths. Shoes and shirt and pants off, we waded in the freezing water to relax.
Sandy and Jennifer caught up to us and kindly invited us to have a beer with them at Sandy's second home in North Conway. Score!! A cold beer was much-needed, and those two chicks were totally cool. We love meeting such great people on the trail! Sandy and I popped Advil right away. Soreness factor: three days until my legs were better. Eye is also now back to normal. Just in time to plan for our next hiking adventure...
For those who don't know, Jeff and I have set a goal for this summer: hike to the summit of Mt. Washington this summer! Its summit is 6,288 ft., so I realized that I need to get into better shape by hiking some of the lower-elevation-but-still-extremely-challenging peaks in the White Mountains. So last weekend, for our first in the series of hikes on tall peaks, we decided to hit Mt. Chocorua!
Mt. Chocorua is a mere 3,475 ft., but the elevation gain is something like 2,700 ft. Soooo....yeah. It's pretty sharp looking from the distance, and I knew it would be a tough challenge. I haven't hiked anything that steep since I lived in Alaska.
The trailhead is right off of the Kancamagus Highway south of Conway. The lower elevations are gorgeous via Champney Brook Trail. We crossed a lovely stream and hiked next to it while under thick green tree canopy, soft pine needles cushioning the walk.
Champney Falls is at approximately 1/3 of the way up, with a series of falls and small cold pools of water perfect for Zoe and Shelby to wade into and cool off.
We continued upwards, me getting a bit grouchy because my knees were bothering me from the steepness of the trail and hard-packed earth being so unforgiving to my joints, plus I was breathing pretty hard. Ugh! I am not in good enough shape yet. But after a series of switchbacks, there was an opening in the spruce trees and we could see Mt. Washington in the distance. It still has snow on it!
The Three Sisters peaks were to our left via the Middle Sister Trail as we ascended and soon we hit the intersection of Piper Trail near the top. A sharp right turn took us to the ridgeline and onward to bare rock, allowing amazing views of all the high peaks.
Wow!! What a view. The dogs were really thirsty and we sat down to immerse in the scenery and mountain air.
Lots of black flies still out, but gorgeous weather made it well worth the hassle. Some teens had hiked to the peak with their skateboards and were doing tricks on the summit. That's dedication! I should bring my banjo next time..
Check out the 360 view!
Overall, it took us about 4.5 hours to go 7 mi. or so...and I was VERRRRRYYYYY sore the next day. Very proud, though. There are folks up here who hike all mountains taller than 4,000 ft., there are something like 48 such peaks. I have a lot of work left to do before I hit my goal! Ahhh, but for now, it's time to relax...
I present to you proof that I jumped from multiple platforms very high off the ground, despite being exceedingly scared of heights, and ziplined over treetops in the White Mountains!! More in-depth thoughts on this and the manifestation of life's lessons to come later. Now for the fun!
Brave and ready for action, thanks to the "pump you up" music playing in the check-in building. Rocky theme song, Will Jenkins and I meet your challenge!
I could use a little Captain in me for liquid bravery, where is the flask? We are VEERRRRRYYYYY high up off the ground, yikes!! Don't look down, group!
The event was a much-belated birthday gift for the adventurous man himself:
*nervous laughter* This thing is safe, right?!
Walking across another one of those scary swing bridges, probably 200' above the ground! On our way to the 80' line drop that felt like free fall, and when the line bottoms out and the tension grabs, you zip straight across the notch reaching speeds of 40-50 mph!! Thumbs up from the folks on the tree perch, ready for takeoff. 
Jeff took some videos, check them out!!
I earned the nickname "Mary Poppins" due to my prim and proper position in the harness -- look how straightbacked I am as I fly! I need a parrot-topped umbrella that talks. :-) You can move to observe 360 degrees of granite, mountains, birch and pine trees around you by rotating the carabiner.
I'll post another video soon of Jeff dropping backwards on the 80' free fall.
So...I've been tooling around with my frailing banjo Edie since last summer, and before that with my sister's bluegrass banjo for about half a year...and yet last night was the first time I've tried playing with a metronome.
I was underwhelmed by my sense of timing. I constantly speed the song up as I play, downshifting at the tougher spots, then speed right back up for the grand song finale. "Mama's little baby loves shortnin', shortnin', Mama's...littlebabyloves...SHORTNIN' BREAD!" I have a lot to learn and I am wondering if perhaps I ought to have started playing with the metronome on day one rather than add that as offbeat accompaniment a year later--my audience was likely cringing inside. I apologize. Tonight, for your listening pleasure: Arkansas Traveler! And more of the same songs you've been subjected to for the last two months...
Life seems so static sometimes that when change occurs, it can be jarring. We have our routines, our normal activities, daily paths, vices, behaviors, and we may remain stuck in that rut for longer than is healthy. Change is what forces our boundaries to open up a bit more, whether we like it or not. We are shoved, sometimes quite uncomfortably, out of the mire and up on hardened soil with a loud THUD.
I have a lot of lessons to learn about how to deal with change--specifically, getting older. I always feel so young that it shocks me to see a mature woman with larger curves in the mirror. I have wrinkles and achy joints and yet I still feel young. My concept of beauty has matured and adjusted but acceptance of my own aging process, the loss of certain abilities, the need to adapt, has not caught up.
Zoe recently hurt herself while playing too vigorously. She could not walk up or down stairs, jump or run for days and we had to carry her, and I did not handle it well at all. It shed a harsh, bright light onto the issue and made me realize that I need to graciously accept her aging process as much as my own.
Being mentally/emotionally nimble, flexible, taking a tumble and using it to propel us forward are often big tasks that can seem insurmountable. I have, in the past, been frozen with fear, afraid to take the next step because "what if it's the wrong path? What if I become unhappy?" All we can do is put more faith in ourselves and our ability to make sound decisions and move forward.
Jeff was laid off yesterday. At first I was shocked and initial feelings of worry and slight panic ensued. How would we support ourselves on one income? We have only a tiny bit of savings between us so far and I don't earn a whole lot. And then, once I realized that we have plenty of options, I saw this as a great opportunity. Usually I am so scared of change, and now here it is, and I feel completely calm and even a bit happy.
So maybe these are the first primers for how to live a more fulfilling, successful life. Learn acceptance. Patience. Have faith. Focus on positive. Be more open. Don't be afraid. Keep moving forward. These are important life lessons that the Universe has served to me and I am eager to learn from them.
After perusing the list of mountains to tackle next, I chose North Moat Mountain. The Moat range lies just to the west of North Conway--those are the mountains you see from town. Down there, they don't look too bad.
The Moat Mountain Trail follows Lucy Brook in the forest for a couple of miles. Numerous stream crossings and some wet soil provide a home to likely millions of mosquitoes. Thanks be to Deet for some relief. After two miles, the trail suddenly turned to the left and BAM!! The HILL loomed ahead. We began to climb.
And climb. And climb. It was a 2,500 ft. ascent in two miles (the mountain clocks in around 3,500 ft.). The canopy opened up a bit, with more exposed granite, fewer deciduous trees, some mountain views. There were spots where I was scrambling on hands and feet to get up, the rocks chest-high at places.
The granite still has scars on it from when the glacier receeded. I love geology!
This whole time, we were the only ones on the trail. Apparently it is not well-travelled. I have a pretty good idea why...but we did come across two women who were taking a much-needed rest near the top. Sandy and Jennifer were two friends from a town near us. Sandy was getting in shape to conquer all the 48 peaks taller than 4,000 ft. and Jennifer was accompanying her. The four of us plus the dogs clambered up the rest of the way and HOLY COW. The views were breathtaking, even with the grey clouds and slight haze. These were the best views I've seen on the east coast.
Check out the 360!
The Red Ridge Trail is exposed for a mile or two, with gorgeous views in the hot sun that now emerged from the clouds. We were baking up there, and unfortunately had run out of water. Poor Shelby with her black fur was melting. I scratched my head and found my hair part entirely crusted with blood thanks to mosquitoes and black flies. I made up a funny little song to keep spirits up. What a gorgeous day, though! We are blessed to live in such an area, and to be healthy enough to hike like we do.
As we climbed down what amounts to a huge ravine, we encountered Lucy Brook again, a much-needed cooling break and a drink for the pooches. Ah, we must be close to Diana's Baths! And so we walked. And walked. And we walked. We thought we were lost! I was starting to stumble and limp, my feet feeling like clubs. Finally, at mile 10, we hit the baths. Shoes and shirt and pants off, we waded in the freezing water to relax.
Sandy and Jennifer caught up to us and kindly invited us to have a beer with them at Sandy's second home in North Conway. Score!! A cold beer was much-needed, and those two chicks were totally cool. We love meeting such great people on the trail! Sandy and I popped Advil right away. Soreness factor: three days until my legs were better. Eye is also now back to normal. Just in time to plan for our next hiking adventure...
