A blog about ultrarunning, Ironman and hiking 4,000 footers
Winnie did great on the hike to South Hancock. There were several stream crossing and a few times she had to lay in the river to cool down. The trail was magnificent and a nice hike until the last mile to South Hancock when it was a good climb.
I’ve clipped articles all my adult life and the ones that have made it past the years of cleaning out and reducing my crap, are in the white binder. These articles inspired me through the low points of my life and kept me moving when I didn’t know what to do; which was a lot.
There is a frequently-read article I clipped in 2007 and placed in a sheet protector written by Drew Munro, then editor of the Sky-Hi News, a newspaper I later worked for in Grand County, Colorado. The article is titled: Distance sometimes offers a better view.
I didn’t know Drew at the time but his story touched me and I understood his feelings. I had visited the area, too as a 17-year-old traveling through the western National Parks. Now I was living in Granby, Colorado as well.
In the article he is new to the newspaper and his story starts as he is running around the Middle Park High School track at night for a cancer benefit. As he progresses around the track he sees the Rocky Mountains in the distance and thinks about a cross country trip in his youth; he is now living where he explored years ago.
He said quoting TS Eliot, “I intend to step back far enough occasionally to see [this place] or perhaps know it for the first time.”
And maybe that is what I need to do now here in New Hampshire. Step back, and get reacquainted with the White Mountains. I knew them so well over 20 years ago. I spent so much time hiking and camping and almost hiking all the 4,000 footers. I need to get north and hike those peaks that inspired me and gave me goals.
For the last few months every morning I visit the Mount Washington Observatory – web cam. As I work myself up to hiking 4,000 footers and beyond, my inspiration each morning is a quick glance at what is going on at top of the world.
Some evenings I also take a peek at the peak to see what’s going on.
This is what it looks like right now:
Ha!
Today began with a hike to the top of Mount Cardigan at 3,155 feet.
I met a woman, and her dog, who is an ultra runner and former Ironman athlete. I love it when you meet your people. It doesn’t happen much for me but when you do, you learn so much. I didn’t snap a photo of her but I hope to see her on the trail again.
Here is the top – the view was great, a little hazy in the distance but after all the rains the last few days it’s understandable. The streams were running throughout the hike; it was glorious.
And as I made my way down the slabs of rock and into the forest, the streams were so cool and nice!
Once I got home it was a hot, 90 degrees in Concord so I took the Winnie-dog to the Merrimack River (Sorry, no pics).
It was a good day to be a New Hampshire resident. #hikeNH #swimNH
Today I hiked to Mount Sunapee, first time hike. The Andrew Brook Trail was beautiful and while the brook was dry in many places there was still a bit of water. Solitude Lake was beautiful; filled with lily pads and frogs. A few dogs on the trail found the water to their liking.
I love trail junctions and signs so I took a lot of photos of them.
I’ll bring Winnie on this hike once it’s a little cooler.
The peak was filled with people doing yoga. Great views from the top on this gorgeous day. Tomorrow….. Mount Cardigan.
Mileage: 6M
Time: 2:19