Return to the Whites: Mt. Avalon, Mt. Field, and Mt. Tom

What I learned this weekend: There is no better way to combat a tryptophan-induced post-Thanksgiving food coma than to hike a snowy mountain in a blizzard.

After a few delicious days of feasting and indulgence, I was anxious to get back to the mountains, and especially to see the Whites covered in white! Simon and Jon picked me and Emily up at 7am in Boston (we brought our pillows for the back seat). We made a quick stop in Manchester (ahhh to be reunited with Deka!) to meet up with NH locals and we were well on our way north to the White Mountains. We arrived at the trail-head near the Crawford Notch Visitor Center around 10:30am. The trees and ground were dusted with snow, and there were a couple fluffy inches on the ground.

There were ten of us in total as we embarked on our 7.3 mile hike. I was a bit nervous about trying my new hiking boots (purchased for my Nepal trip in a month), but coupled with Simon's liner socks they worked really well! The first leg of the trip was about 1.25 miles, after which we reached a fork in the trail and decided to go left and climb Mt. Field first.

Along the way to Mt. Field we summited Mt. Avalon, which afforded the nicest views along the entire loop. We could see the Presidential range enshrouded in clouds in the distance.

The top of Mt. Field was a bit less exciting since it was mainly just a cairn in the middle of the woods. There was a bit of a view off to the side, but by then the clouds were thicker and it was beginning to snow. Dan managed to act as a bird feeder by holding some trail mix up in the air!

We headed over to the spur to Mt. Tom, where most of the group hiked up to check out the peak. On the way over a blizzard swept through and we all soon sported a pair of frozen, snow-covered eye lashes. The storm stopped about 15 minutes later, and we were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful sunset through the snow-covered evergreens.

Post-hike we headed to Moat (delicious restaurant in North Conway) for dinner and stopped at one of the gear consignment stores where some people found treasures!

I think I could fall in love with winter hiking...

Backpacking the Carter Moriah Range Trail

We (Simon, Travis, Tom, and I) met up at DEKA at 7am on a chilly Saturday morning to depart for the White Mountains. Approximately 3 hours and 1 car shuttle later, we (Memphis and Jordan included) were ready to go!

Memphis & Simon, Jordan & Travis (with his Dunkin Donuts coffee), Me, and Tom

We departed from a trailhead in a small neighborhood in Gorham, NH on the Carter Moriah Trail. It was about 4.5 miles of up, up, and up to the top of Mt. Moriah. From there the plan was to resupply on water at the Imp Campsite before traversing the three Carter Mountains (North, Middle, and South). To get to the top of Moriah we scrambled up some bare rock faces with beautiful views all around us. From the top we could see the Carters looming ahead.

At the Imp Campsite the caretaker warned us to refill on water because there are very few reliable water sources along the Carter ridge. We filled up and headed towards the Carters. It was a steep climb to get to North Carter, and Tom had to drag Memphis (who was carrying a wide pack and sometimes got stuck between neighboring rocks) up the steep sections of trail. Jordan, on the other hand, insisted on sprinting back and forth from the front to the back of the group constantly for the entire weekend.

Jordan exhausted from all her sprinting!

Somewhere between the Imp Campsite and the Carters I managed to slip off a log and step knee-deep into a hole of soupy muck. Luckily Tom had an extra pair of dry socks to lend me, so we carried on!

The hike from North Carter to Middle Carter was fairly easy. North Carter is not classified as one of the 48 peaks above 4000' (even though it stands at 4530') because you don't have to descend (and ascend) 200' before getting to the next 4000'er (Middle Carter).

We planned to stay at a backcountry campsite between Middle and South Carter that Simon had read about online, but as we were nearing South Carter, all we could see was dense, uneven, mossy forest all around us. Just as we were about to give up and squeeze our tents in between the trees, Travis, who had insisted on pressing ahead, yelled back that he'd found a great site. It was perfect! Two flat, soft clearings in the woods with a fire pit next to them.

After making camp we cooked up some beans and rice with broccoli - almost using beer since we were running out of water. Travis started a nice fire right next to Tom's tent, and I attempted to dry out my shoes and socks.

After a restful night we packed up camp and got back on the trail. We quickly ascended South Carter before descending to Zeta Pass where we restocked on water (from a somewhat sketchy stagnant stream). We climbed a very steep but short section of trail to the summit of Mt. Hight, which had a spectacular 360 degree view of the Carter Ridge and the Presidentials:

The Presidential Range from Mt. Hight -- Mt. Washington is on the left

We hopped over to Carter Dome to check our 4th 4000'er off the list (Simon's 20th!) before descending to the Carter Notch Hut and Carter Lakes:

Walking along the ridge to Carter Dome

Jordan's favorite pastime involves frantically digging in the water and picking up large, spherical rocks which she then delivers to us and expects to play fetch with.

From there we headed back down to Rt. 16 via the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. Two days, 4 to 7 mountains (depending on whom you ask), and 19 miles later we finally reached Tom's car. We drove back to Manchester and completed the weekend with a delicious BBQ at Tom's house.

Hiking in the Whites: Mt. Moosilauke

This Sunday Travis and I took a quick day trip up to the Whites to climb Mt. Moosilauke (4802 ft, pronounced Moose - ih - lock). We chose to take the Benton Trail (3.6 miles to the peak), where, according to the guestbook, we were the first hikers of the day. Apparently some of the more strenuous (but shorter) trails would have been very slippery since it rained the previous night.

About a mile a little (~8") owl swooped out a few feet in front of Travis, and landed in a tree to our left. I'm no bird expert, but it looks like it could be a Northern Saw-whet Owl.

About 1.3 miles we took a little side trail that led us to a great view. The tops of the mountains were hidden by clouds, but we were still low enough to have a beautiful view of the valley.

About 0.3 miles from the top we hit the tree line and started following the cairns that marked the trail. I don't think I've ever been on a mountain this tall that is still well-covered in grass. The orange-green mix of ground-cover contrasted beautifully with the dark mountains around us and the storm cloud that looked to be rolling in.

The really high winds were blowing clouds towards us at a very high rate. It was a really neat experience to be at the exact elevation of the clouds. We watched them moving towards us from a distance, and when they hit, the damp whiteness swirled around us until it passed over.

Since the wind seemed to be picking up (and there was a very dark cloud approaching us -- will add photo soon!), we only lingered at the top long enough to take pictures with the summit sign and have lunch in one of the little protective shelters. As started hiking back down, we ran into an enthusiastic (and possibly crazy) hiker who asked us approximately 6 times in a row whether we had hiked this mountain before (we'd had a similar conversation with him in the parking lot earlier). He also warned us of an unusually large bear population on the side of the mountain we had come up. Apparently he'd heard many of them on his way up... 

We made it back down without too much excitement (aside from encountering some piles of fresh bear scat), and headed back to Manchester.

Off-Roading on the Segway

Since I sit at a desk 40 hours a week next to 4 charging Segways, I feel that it's fair to dedicate one blog entry to them. Besides, I used the off-road version, which makes it hardcore enough to be in an outdoorsy blog, right?

Last week Chris and I begged our superior full-time friends to take out one of the company's Segways over lunch and teach how to use it. I won't go into too much detail since the entire affair lasted about 20 minutes, but here is a (hopefully amusing picture). Out of my way Simon!!

In order to maneuver, you just lean forward, backward, and side to side, depending on which way you want to go. It's pretty intuitive, but you have to completely trust that it will catch you, even though you feel like you're just going to fall flat on your face.

Loons, Bugs, and Bears on Lake Winnipesaukee

Winnipesaukee is a BIG lake (approximately the same surface area as Cayuga Lake) located just south of the White Mountains in NH. It's a little over an hour from Manchester when the traffic is cooperating. We (Tina, Brian, and I) stayed over at Chris's condo on Long Island (not the famous one), which stick out into the middle of the lake.

The kayaking portion:


Date: Saturday, July 3rd

Distance: 15 miles

Time: 4.5 hours including breaks

On Saturday morning I got up at the ungodly hour of 5am (ok, it was 5:30 when I was done snoozing) for a 6am launch. Due to a lack of sea kayaks (or more likely morale at 6am), I embarked on this journey alone.

The lake felt very different from the Finger Lakes for a number of reasons:

1. It's not long and skinny, so you never know what's just around the corner!
   
2. Island hopping!!
   
3. More motor boats... more chop (hence the 6am launch)
   
4. Beautiful mountains on every horizon

Around 8am I met up with a loon family (two adults and two chicks). Here's a picture & movie of them!

I made it back feeling pretty tuckered out (slightly sore in the shoulders/abs), but I'm starting to have hope that I can paddle the length of Cayuga -- if we kept up the same rate (and the weather was perfect, etc...) it would take about 12 hours, which is an hour less than the hours of daylight in Ithaca in September...

The non-kayaking portion:
On Sunday morning the four of us got up "early" (9am, ha!) for a hike (Tina's first!) to the top of Red Hill, which sits between Squam and Winnipesaukee. On the dirt road to the trail head, a tiny black bear cub jumped into the road and scrambled across right in front of my car. We watched it run into the woods and join its mother and sibling 100 yards away!

It was a little under 2 miles to the peak (2,030 ft). The views from the fire tower at the top were incredible. We had a 360 degree view of both lakes, the Whites, and a number of other mountain ranges nearby.


We spent the rest of the weekend swimming, hanging out on the boat, basking in the sun (but not getting burned!), enjoying good food, and reading.

Wandering around South Uncanoonuc Mountain

A few miles south of Goffstown, NH are a pair of nearly identical mountains (3 ft elevation difference) called the Uncanoonucs, which is apparently native american for women's breasts - it's quite fitting. Tonight Chris, Jed, and I hiked up the South Mountain.

The hike up passed by a serene wetlands area and Uncanoonuc Lake with a big rock in the middle where people were swimming. Note to self: return with a bathing suit! The next part of the trail (Incline Trail) was a straight shot up to the top-- none of us had ever seen such a direct/steep trail up a mountain before. At the top we had a great view, and could see the Boston skyline 50 miles away!

We didn't have too much trouble finding our way up, but on the way down we meandered all over the place on trails that definitely weren't on the trail map, and ended up hiking up the mountain twice... That was alright by me, however, because the power lines guided us home, and we discovered copious amounts of blueberries along the way! What a lovely way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.

Adventures with Julia and Thundery Kayaking

Warning: This post is too long and I know it... I promise I'll try and keep it more concise from now on!

This weekend I met up with the lovely Julia Schoen in Portsmouth, NH for a weekend of sunny beaches and other adventures. But since this is a kayaking blog, I will cover that part first!

After Julia and I sadly parted ways (she's off to Brazil for a year), I was due to meet up with some kayakers from the NH AMC paddlers group at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH. There were 5 of us in total. The tide (! that scary thing that doesn't exist where I come from) was really low when we put in, so the banks of the shore were SUPER muddy and I almost lost my chacos getting in. Normally I try to keep my feet dry when I'm getting in my boat (call me a wimp), but there really was no getting around it this time (and of course I couldn't seem like a wimp around these new peeps!).

Date: 6/20/10
Distance: ~4 miles


As we were first heading out, we heard some rumbling in the distance, but the trip leaders said it was from a nearby bridge. It was definitely thunder. But as usual, I figured these NH'ers knew what they were doing and followed blindly (do you see a theme? if not, read the previous post). We paddled along the beaches at the park and then cut across to circumnavigate Leachs Island. On the way over there we had to pass under a bridge that kind of constricted the water, and since the tide was coming back in we were flushed right through. As I was being rushed towards the bridge, it occurred to me that a couple of the bridge supports were closer together than the length of a sea kayak, and definitely would have made for some good strainers. I only realized this at the last moment and had to resort to a hasty yet somewhat effective side slip. Woohoo!

The way back through the bridge was a lot harder because the flow rate had increased and the downstream water was churning in all kinds of directions. I hopped in an eddy before ferrying across and paddling as hard as I could upstream to get back to the other side (COE whitewater class is highly recommended!) .

Once we were on the other side of the bridge the rain started coming down and the thunder picked up again. I was not so cool with that, and the end was in sight, so I paddled in as fast as possible. Just as I got my boat up onto my car there was a HUGE crack of thunder directly over our heads. I probably jumped 1.5 feet into the air and decided to make the trip home in my wet clothes. For some reason everyone else seemed less phased than me... maybe I should add thunderstorms to my list of fears (right after spiders), or maybe I just have a very conservative attitude towards kayaking in thunderstorms.

ANYWAYS, I made it home alive, only slightly dusted with dried salt water and frizzy hair. I miss my Rochester and Ithaca paddling buddies!

This is the part where you stop reading if you just care about kayaking (perfectly valid).

Rewinding now to Friday night. Julia and I both pulled into the parking lot of Shel-Al Campground (we think it's a contraction of the superbly sweet owners' names) exactly 2 hours later than planned. I managed to leave my tent in the backyard and only realize once I was halfway to the coast, and she locked her keys in the car and printed out the wrong directions. It worked out quite well!

There really aren't many places to camp along the NH coast (correct me if I'm wrong). Shel-Al was the only one within a reasonable driving distance of the coast, and it's mainly focused on trailers. But it worked out quite nicely since there were very few tent-ers there this weekend.

Both Friday and Saturday night we went into Portsmouth and explored. It's a really lovely city with a bunch of streets with *local* restaurants and shops. I'd love to return when my mother is in a shopping mood (is that terrible of me?). After making a stop on Newcastle Island (just had to do it. brown ale is just too good), we had dinner downtown at a little seafood restaurant with a very friendly waitress. After dinner we sat on a big rock by the ocean and listened to the waves.

On Newcastle Island:

On Saturday we drove up and down the coast (Route 1A, Ocean Blvd) multiple times, testing out Odiorne Point, Rye, Jenness, Hampton Beach. Julia made me get in the water, which was good because I'm a chicken when it comes to these (icy cold) things... While in search of a surf shop we discovered a delicious little cafe on 7th street in Hampton called KB Bagels. Highly recommended.


Saturday night we cooked couscous and black beans for dinner, and I took an ice-cold shower to dampen the terrible sunburn I managed to acquire. Around dusk we decided to make some hot drinks and the mosquitoes decided to join us. They came out in droves and we fled to the safety of the Volvo. We put the seats back, sipped our hot cocoa with Bailey's, listened to Jack Johnson, and watched our classy neighbors setting off fireworks (just for us of course). Magical.

The next morning we woke up to the 4am alarm and dragged ourselves back to the coast to watch the sunrise (5:03am). At first we were worried that it would hide behind the clouds, but around 5:30am it revealed it's cheery face. It was quite a relief since Julia would have hated me forever if it hadn't.


After another trip to KB's for some much needed coffee and a frigid swim (by Julia), we parted ways. Now you can scroll back to the top and start over! (This is the post that never ends... and it goes on and on....... sorry.)

Putting my legs to good use! (Mt. Lafayette and Mt. Jackson)

So this may become my outdoor adventures blog since there are lots of other fun things to do in NH! Like climb mountains!

Last weekend (6/12 - 6/13) I joined some people (Dave, Peter, Julie, Simon, and Travis) from DEKA (where I'm doing my internship) on a one night camping/hiking trip in the White Mountains. The drive up to our campground (Lafayette Campground in Franconia Notch) took about 1.5 hrs. We claimed our turf and promptly walked to the trailhead across the road to being our trek up Mt. Lafayette. There were thunderstorms in the forecast, due to arrive at 2pm. Exactly when we planned to reach the summit. They seemed cool with that... so I put my life in their hands.

Lots of people here are into hiking the 48 peaks above 4000 ft in the Whites, so the two mountains we climbed were both on the list. 46 to go! (ha.)

Below are the trail maps for the two hikes we did (Mt. Lafayette on Saturday and Mt. Jackson on Sunday). For Mt. Lafayette we took Old Bridle Path to Greenleaf Hut and Greenleaf Trail to the summit. We came back down the same way since it was raining and Falling Waters Trail would not have been fun (as the name suggests). 8 miles total.


The top was completely above treeline, which was a really neat (and exhausting) experience. Unfortunately we were completely covered in clouds. Every once in a while a breeze would blow the clouds away and allow a view, but mostly it looked like this:


The next day we met up with Jed and took the Webster-Jackson Trail up to Mt. Jackson, where we were very excited to have a beautiful view! Then we cut over to the Mizpah hut and headed back that way.

Feeling small on the top. One of my favorite feelings :)


On the way home we stopped in North Conway to check out some gear shops that have consignment sections where people sell their used gear at a good price. I bought my first backpacking pack (Osprey)! We had dinner at Moat Mountain Smokehouse - a place that the Deka guys were super excited about (for a good reason!).

All in all a great weekend: beautiful mountains, fun bunch of people, amazing food, and a pair of very sore legs to remind me for the next three days!