Category: Place

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North Twin hike during peak foliage in NH

North Twin October 2018

Saturday’s hike was epic. North Twin 4,761, 8.6 miles round trip during peak New Hampshire foliage.

North Twin from the outlook selfie.

4,000 footer #2 for Winnie and #43 for me!

We had to cross the Little River six times.

The Little River

After slipping on a rock half way through the first crossing I decided for safety I would just walk through the water and not worry about rock hopping. My Injinji socks and Pearl Izumi trail shoes quickly dried enough to not give me blisters.

The fall foliage was beautiful and the lighting just right:

Peak foliage in NH on the North Twin trail.

We saw a few dogs and about 20 people total which isn’t much considering the drive past Lafayette trailhead with cars parked for miles on I-93. I can’t image hiking Lafayette with all those people. One family hiked North Twin with children who looked 5-years-old – amazing! So many smaller groups that loved Winnie and petted her.

Winnie at the top of North Twin on October 6, 2108
North Twin trail sign
Top of the mountain. We took the outlook trail to see the view.

She’s getting less scared of people on the trail which is nice.

A great day to be on the trail. I had great conversations with hikers about hiking the 4,000 footers and other trails.

The view of the trail while almost to the summit.

Then after driving home I met my mom to see to movie, A Star is Born.

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Mountain Time

Devil's Thumb, Continental Divide

I’ve been thinking of the mountains and 4,000 footers. After spending the weekend in a resort town I’m missing my Colorado mountains. Not missing them in the sense I want to live there, just missing being surrounded by them and the wilderness.

The cure of the longing is to just head north this weekend and do a hike. I’ve been planning and to-do’ing forever and just haven’t done it. I think the Flume is calling me for a hike tomorrow.

As I piece together all my life’s journals I see notes and thoughts about mountains. Here’s a note and quote from my 2010 journal when I was living in Colorado and working on my book:

Annie Dillard – Pulitzer Prize winning author

I’m reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I’ve never been able to get very far reading this book. I’ve owned it for over 10 years. But for some reason, unknown at the moment, the first three pages brought me into the story. Maybe it’s the changes in my life that brought me to it at this moment.

 

I live by a creek, Tinker Creek, in a valley in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. I think of this house clamped to the side of Tinker Creek as an anchor-hold. It holds me at anchor to the rock bottom of the creek itself and it keeps me steadied in the current, as a sea anchor does. It’s a good place to live; there’s a lot to think about. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it, folded, and not throw it back as some creeks will. The creeks are the world with all its stimulus and beauty; I live there. But the mountains are home.

This is how I feel about living here, in my tiny condo on the hill. It’s a good place to live and there’s time to think. The mountains are home, my chosen home. And it is good.

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Cardigan Mountain, Swim In the Merrimack – A perfect summer day

Cardigan-Summit-View August 2018

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.

Mount Cardigan Summit

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