Winnie-dog and I started hiking Ethan Pond Trail with the goal of hitting Willey, Field and Tom. One hour in I started thinking, maybe just Willey and Field. It was a gorgeous sunny day at 9am when we left the icy parking lot off 302 in Crawford Notch.
This picture was taken at the start of the hike. I love being on the Appalachian Trail.
It was a tough trail especially once we hit the ladders. The first few were okay and Winnie was trying to figure out a path up them. She avoided actually using the ladders. At one point she jumped up to a rock and fell down. I watched her trying to figure out a way back up again and had to help her up.
A few ladders later there was no route and it was steep. I was going slow and methodically plodding up but I couldn’t figure out a way to get her up the last set of ladders. So I turned around. It’s okay because it was such a great day and the trail was so nice until that point. I knew I would do it again. Several hikes in the last year I have turned around when Winnie wasn’t having fun anymore and I went back the next day by myself to summit the mountain. I also realized, later, that we could try the mountain from the north side too.
Trail Junction Crawford Notch State Park
We hiked down and then I turned on the Arethusa Falls and Frankenstein Cliff Trail in an effort to stay hiking in the woods; and just be in Crawford Notch a little longer to enjoy the sun. We stopped at the big river crossing and looked up to the Falls. Gorgeous! All the water and ice.
As I look back at trail descriptions I read that there are other way to do the three peaks and will try it again another day. The point is to be in the White Mountains and to get to know all the trails and mountain peaks. It was a great day!
I bought The Hippie from the airport bookstore to read during the flight to Colorado. I was dating a hippie at the time and I like Coelho so I thought it would pass the time in a good way. It was July when I started and November when I finished; I got distracted along the way.
As he writes about the Magic Bus and the people he meets I find that I’m drawn into all their stories. I was reading it more for the people and learning about them, and not so much about finding a life philosophy. As I read I’m constantly referring to maps to figure out where they are and understand the physical journey.
The main take-away from this book is learning about the character’s urgings to see the world. I enjoyed reading the stories of men and women who want to take every opportunity to see the world. They are full of hope and want to change the world while having amazing experiences. They start their journey in Amsterdam, stopping in Istanbul as they make their way to Kathmandu.
Paulo learns from everyone and finally he meets a white-haired man while taking a risk walking into a building. Paulo is in search of knowledge and wisdom. And my favorite quote from the book:
“A man in search of spirituality knows little, because he reads of it and tries to fill his intellect with what he judges wise. Trade your books for madness and wonder—then you will be a bit closer to what you seek. Books bring us opinions and studies, analyses and comparisons, while the sacred flame of madness brings us to the truth.”
Other quotes I like: “Salute the sun. Allow it to fill your soul – knowledge is an illusion, ecstacy is the true reality.”
Paulo is in search of dancing and learning the ways of the Sufi. It’s not until I re-read sections to really understand what he is looking for. I like this quote so much.
“Then seek the Truth. Seek always to be on its side, even when it brings you pain. There are times when the Truth goes quiet for long stretches, or when it doesn’t tell you what you want to hear. That’s Sufism.”
“‘The Truth is what makes us free. You will know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free,’ Jesus said.”
“He had entered a state of complete emptiness, and this emptiness, though its inherent contradiction, filled everything.”
On Sunday, I took Winnie hiking to Mount Sunapee. I’ve hiked the Andrew Brook Trail three times now and it never gets old. It’s a gentle, nice hike to great views. Originally I was thinking about hiking the Tripyrimids or Tecumseh so I could get started on hiking (again) all 4,000 footers. But it was so cold in the morning, despite the sun, and wanted to wait until it warmed up a bit. I went for a swim at the Y and once I got back and made lunch it was almost noon. There wasn’t enough time left to hike in the Whites.
It’s a 45 minute drive from Concord to Sunapee versus over an hour to Waterville Valley, so I decided that we would hike Sunapee and get comfortable winter hiking on a smaller peak before Waterville peaks.
Andrew Brook Trail
The first .75 miles of the trail I was able to bareboot it. Then it started to get icy and slick so I put on my microspikes. We got to Lake Solitude in an hour and then about 30 minutes to the top where snowmaking operations had started. According to the Mount Sunapee website they open next Wednesday for skiing. It’s been so cold that I suspect there will be a lot of trails open.
Monadnock Sunapee Greenway Trail Sign
I love being on the Greenway Trail. The sign reminded me of the 3 day trail running event that I’ve been wanting to do for a few years: The Ragged Mountain Stage Race. I wanted to do it last year but I trained for the Leadville 100 instead. So this year, I might just sign up. Three days of 50Ks – sounds awesome.
Solitude Trail Sign
It was a beautiful day for views. I only saw six people the entire afternoon – so quiet. I didn’t see or hear any wildlife other than chipmunks. It was a great day to get used to winter hiking conditions before heading to the White Mountain next weekend to bag some 4,000 footers.
Although, not so quiet from the snow guns at the Ski Resort.
This is my first book review since deciding to read and review one book a week in my 49th year. I started this book a month ago and finished it today. In the future, I will read each book in the week before the Sunday Review.
This is not a book about the outdoors, it actually takes place entirely indoors, in Moscow’s Metropol Hotel. Every sentence in A Gentleman in Moscow is magical and interesting. There are so many things I like: the characters, how the Count teaches Osip about being a gentleman, and that it takes places over so many decades. We watch the Count get older and become more interesting.
There are so many great lines. The Count takes his seat in the restaurant with his newspaper “the international symbol of dining alone. I just laugh at the cleverness of language.
The most interesting aspect of the story, and where everything gets really good is when he meets Nina, a nine-year-old girl living in the hotel with her father, they immediately become friends.
She appears at his table and points out to him that his moustache is gone, the barber made a mistake and then he decided it all had to go.
“Where did they go?” she asks him at first. She had been studying him for weeks apparently. “Like swallows they traveled elsewhere for the summer.”
The narrator goes on to wonder what is being taught at school. You are not to ask questions about personal appearance. But they become friends forever at that moment.
Nina learns about all the hidden spots in the hotel and the best scene is when she starts to include the Count on her adventures. She has the master key to the hotel and show the Count into a room; looking both ways before entering. He follows suit in future adventures and it’s so endearing. They both end up learning so much from each despite the Count is not allowed to leave the hotel since confined to house arrest.
One of my favorite scenes, and there are so many of them is when his friend Mishka says to his friend the Count, “Who would’ve imagined when you were sentenced to life at the Metropol … that you had become the luckiest man in the world.” (292)
He had made friends and became a father to a parent-less girl. He had a great life.
It was when he becomes the caretaker to Nina’s child that he realizes what was so important in his life. He was at the hotel when Nina asked the biggest favor, to care for her child.
But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered most.
(352)
I could go on and on forever about the characters and quotes and poignant moments. Please read this book. It will make you want to learn more about Russian history, music and art. I took in every sentence and read slower than I ever have so I didn’t miss any details. It was so worth the days I gave up to read this amazing book. This book reminds me why I love reading and books. Stories like this bring you into their world where you fall in love with characters and want to see new places.
Our lives are steered by uncertainties, but that if we persevere and remain generous of heart, we may be granted a moment of supreme lucidity…
I have so many questions about the book and want to understand it all. I’m going to have to read it again. But not now. I have more new books to read as part of my 49th Year. Next up: Paulo Coehlo, Hippie. I started reading it over the summer and will finish it and write a review for week 2.
The photo above was taken on the morning of November 14 on one of my typical hikes in Concord: Marjory Swope Park.
While I usually have yearly goals and give updates on them as part of my posts, I’m going to change it up. I’m starting a new timeline for my 49th year. I’m going to set goals for 11/14/2019 to 11/13/202. I have 365 days before my 50th birthday and I’m going to make my 49th year the best ever – live my best life – as so many people like to say. For me, I need to set goals and have a plan or I will sit on my soft and binge watch Netflix shows all day.
What is new this year from my typical athletic-related goals is reading a book every week. As of right now I have eight books on my table, all in various stages of being read or not read (but wanting to read).
Last month my friend Jeff invited me to a book club he has been going to. The book they were reading was A Gentleman in Moscow. I haven’t been part of a book club in years so I looked up the book and it sounded pretty good. I started reading it and loved every sentence. However, on November 14, the day of the meeting, I only finished half of it. I wanted to talk about it with other people who read it, though, because, seriously, it was so good. I don’t mind spoilers because I like knowing what’s going to happen (same with Game of Thrones, I watched the final episode before finishing season 5). The book club met at To Share brewery in Manchester. The brewery is in an old garage, well lit and the beer was fantastic. I’ve been into New England IPAs lately.
I met some awesome men and women who love to read and were so animated about the book: everyone loved it.
I can’t wait for the next meeting. We are reading The Girl With the Pearl Earring.
My other goal is to hike all 48 4,000 footers in my 49th year. I just finished them this year after starting them in 1988 and I want to hike them all in one year. I think it’s possible.
Then, of course, to actually finish a 100 mile race. I’m signed up for Umstead. Training right now is not going well. It’s taking a while to get used to running outside when it’s 30 degrees.
My 49th year will be about reaching goals and having the best life ever.
