Mt. Major

It's New Year's Eve. Not to compare, but last year on New Year's Eve I was on a sailboat in the Andaman sea, with stars everywhere, squid boats, and bioluminescent algae. I fell asleep most nights around 8:00-9:00 pm on the deck to the gentle rocking of the boat. And went snorkeling during the days in pristine reefs. But this year I have my cats and we are all on the couch and I'm going to do yoga at home. By myself. OK, so not the best year, but I wanted to end on a positive note. I went to Mt. Major for a quick little hike.

I got started a little late because I didn't plan it until after I got up. I was drinking coffee, looking at the cold and gloomy weather and thought, "WTH?!" I decided I would just drive up and back without stopping, be socially distant, wear a mask, and get in a nice short hike - Mt. Major has been so crowded, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad today since it's a Thursday, cold, and wintery. And I might be able to add Straightback, another one of the Belknaps. 

I didn't get there until about 1 pm, which is pretty late to start hiking when it gets dark at 4:15 pm. But I knew from previous hikes that it only takes about 3 hours to do Mt. Major. So, I figured it was OK. For some reason, even though I had my microspikes, I refused to put them on until I was about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. About when I saw this bad boy:

Once I put my spikes on, I was able to go a lot faster :)  It was a pretty nice hike - on the way up I wore my ninja hoodie, a t-shirt and my big puff, along with these awesome new fleece-lined tights that I got from a place called Spandits in Maine (expensive, but made in Maine, super cute, and very warm - they seem high quality, so hopefully I will be wearing with my ninja hoodie for year's to come)! I started out with gloves and a hat, but took them off on the way up - it got pretty warm.

There was this group of teenagers hiking, the girls all had on tennis shoes and no socks, with jeans and thin jackets. I wanted to tell them to turn around. There were a fair number of other hikers, but it wasn't too bad - like I'm sure it's been in the summer. Because I refused to put on my spikes, it did take me 65 minutes to get to the top. Where the view was, as always, stunning. 

The top was windy, freezing and not great for a long stop. I took a few photos, looked at the view, and headed off. I couldn't decide about Straightback, and figured I would make a final decision once I got to the turn. When I got there, I was like "It's taken me an hour and 25 minutes to get here, it's 2:30. It's almost 2 miles down and it's slippery out and it will be dark in less than two hours. Bad idea to do Straightback." And then I turned down the trail for Straightback. I got about a tenth of a mile when I decided that it really was a stupid idea, the mountain would be there on another day when it was light out, and turned back. I did have my headlamp, but no extra layers really. I was pretty sure I would be walking out after dark, and it just seemed like a bad idea for real. I was kind of annoyed with myself for starting so late, but what can you do? It's a really nice hike and I will be happy to do it again, adding Straightback when it's light out.

I headed down and out, which took less time than I thought it would (since I had my microspikes on). In the end I probably would have made it out before dark, but I'm glad that I turned around. It was a nice hike, good to be out there, not a difficult drive up. I stopped at Whole Foods on the way back and spent so much money on IDK what - how can one bag of groceries cost that much?? But whatever, it's NYE and we need to celebrate somehow. Happy New Year to my reader(s) aka Kit! Here's to a better 2021.

COVID 19 update

This is a tough post to write. Right after Thanksgiving my mom had a positive test for covid. She wasn't showing any symptoms, and we thought that she was asymptomatic. But no, it turned out that her body just wasn't fighting the virus. We got a call a week ago on Thursday that she wasn't doing well, and they didn't think she would make it, and she died on Tuesday in the middle of the night.

It's a very surreal feeling because we only had about 3 minutes to talk to her via zoom, so it's hard to believe that she's even gone. I was glad that we zoomed, even though she wasn't really up for it (we worked it out with everyone's schedule but hers, I think the nurses must have woken her up) because we could see that #1 the nurses who were caring for her were really kind and #2 she was really sick, no question. Because she prepaid for her funeral and had everything set up, my sister was able to have her body moved to Schenectady the next morning, before a big snowstorm moved in (she hated driving in the snow). We had a zoom funeral on Friday and will have a zoom burial on Sunday. She would have been happy with the turnout, there were 75 zoom windows, some with more than one person.

It's really hard to know what to do even right now. I've been spending a lot of time on my couch watching tv and doing a puzzle. There have been a lot of zoom calls with my family. I've chatted with friends. I've done a lot of yoga and taken a lot of walks. I've done a little cooking and eaten a lot of comfort food. Today I went to parkour because it was beautiful out and I wanted to do something normal. We tried activities where we played on things in the new snow. My favorite was balancing and walking on some logs. After class, a snowball fight broke out, and of course I had to join in. 

At the funeral we read one of her poems that made me feel a lot more at peace:

Gone

I'm traveling toward the light

that has no scientific source,

no planetary influence.

Beyond gravity, beyond space

I imitate an astronaut

stripped of technological gear

and phobias and attitude

while all the universe expands

into a sci-fi comic strip.

Like a moth I merge with brightness.

Like a ghost I tell my story.

Like a star I crumble to dust.

I glow off-site, speculative

as the earthbound moon's private face,

definitive as creation.

Safe travels mom, wherever you are.

ZoomsGiving

It seems impossible to believe that one day I will look back on this posting and not be wearing a mask outside, hiding from a virus, and unable to hug my family and friends, but I know that will happen. It seems like there are some good options for vaccines out there, and they may be in my arm in another 6-8 months. I think I'm pretty low on the priority list for the shot - so I'm not expecting it soon. But at some point it's going to happen - and things will change back in many ways to how they were before. Except that I'm going to try to work from home two days a week :)

In the meantime, this year we celebrated Thanksgiving via zoom. It was my first time since college that I wasn't with my sister at Thanksgiving. I noticed that she baked an apple pie (what I always bring) and I did not. Since I've stopped eating meat, I did a vegetarian thanksgiving meal, which I have to say was delicious! I found this recipe for a vegetarian sheet pan thanksgiving which consisted of a butternut squash stuffed with wild rice mixed with onion, carrot, celery, feta cheese, cranberry sauce, rosemary, sage and a granny smith apple and then roast potatoes and roast brussels sprouts with cranberries. And, for dessert, a pastry with brie and cranberries that was yummy! I completely over made the amount of rice, but that's OK because rice freezes fine, and it was so good, I will definitely stuff more squash in the next few weeks. For the potatoes, they have you parboil them for 10 minutes, drain the water, put them back in the pan with the lid on to chuff them up, and then cover them with oil, salt and rosemary. And the squash is tied up with a string, just like a turkey! For the pastry, the recipe called for store bought puff pastry, but of course I decided to make my own. After all the great british baking show I've been watching, I decided to make a ruff puff, and it turned out quite well - with lots of layers in the pastry! And the brie and cranberries was so good - I forget about cranberries all the time, but I shouldn't, they are really easy to make. And, for the sprouts you didn't even need to add sugar, just add them with the sprouts, coat with oil and rosemary, and roast! I had a rose wine, and since I haven't really been drinking for some time, felt pretty drunk after a half bottle. I have to say, I didn't miss the turkey at all. 

My sister ordered premade stuff that she picked up. One of my nephews cooked a chicken, one cooked a pie and some other things - not sure what, but he likes cooking, and one made a box of stuffing in the microwave. That was a little sad. Oh, and my brother and his partner in London had a tofurkey earlier in the day. My other sister popped on for a while - it was her granddaughter's birthday, so we all made signs wishing her a happy birthday which she seemed to like. Mine had a unicorn pooping on it because, kids... It was fun zooming with everyone, we could still talk and such, my brother and nephew kept yelling things to order on my alexa (oh sigh), but not exactly the same. Well, next year hopefully.

I wanted to go for a nice post-Thanksgiving hike, as I've done so many other years, but given the covid rates, it didn't seem like a good idea. If you go to NH, you're supposed to isolate for two weeks (though I could drive further to Graylock and be fine, there is a certain randomness to this). I decided the mountains will still be there, and instead spent all day Friday doing a puzzle.

Today I was like "I have to get some exercise" so I went for a 45 minute walk, did a virtual yoga class (which actually got me sweating!) and then did some lifts. I did:

EMOM12:

First 6 minutes 3 front squats at 40 pounds

Second 6 minutes 3 presses - first three at 20 pounds, second three at 25.

I finally found some ninja material, so I made a ninja mask for parkour. And 3 for my instructors. I hope they like them :)

At home Monday WOD

I was going to cancel classpass because it seems silly to pay for it when you can't really go to studios, but then I did a streaming yoga class that was really good and I thought I should keep it. But, today when I signed up for a class the studio didn't send me a link, so I'm back to thinking I should cancel. I think I will keep for one more month, because if I don't I'll lose money, and I'm way to cheap for that. I can just buy passes for my local yoga studio after that, why spend money on a middle person if I'm just going to go there?

Covid cases are crazy here now. Over a million a week in the US; I feel like I should hide in my basement (if I had a basement). And a vaccine for regular people like me is still 6 months away. Definitely a time to try to eat well and get a lot of exercise! Which is why I signed up for a boot camp today, but didn't get a link. So, I decided to do a crossfit WOD from my old box. And, I did the entire class-ish.

WOD: 3 Rounds

20 Box Jumps

30 Kettlebell Swings

40 Sit ups

my time: 16 min 50 sec

I went to the school across the street to WOD, and was going to use the playground, but just as I was about to start, two kids came there to play. So, I had to go to another area. I did box jumps onto a tree stump that's about a foot high. For kettlebell swings I asked my neighbor slam chowder if I could borrow hers, but she was using it for a class (apparently we all exercise at the same time) so I just brought a 20 pound dumb bell and swung that (which was awkward, but my stomach is sore, so it was effective). And then I did sit ups on this plastic/fake wood platform. It was cool and windy out and I had to wear a light down puff, but it wasn't too bad for the middle of November. 

After I came back and did dumbell hang power cleans - EMOM12, starting with 15 pounds in each hand for the first 2 rounds and then moving up to 20.

Walking railings at 50th Parkour class!

It turns out that today was my 50th parkour class, which I learned via email at the end of class. It was a really good class, with a few breakthroughs for me! First, there's a metal handrailing that we walk on that I've wanted to be able to get up on by myself, and walk from end to end. It's about waist height, but it goes along a walkway that goes up to the school, so it goes up at an angle for about 15 feet, then flat for the same, then down and as it goes up the drop off on one side gets larger and larger. I did walk the entire thing once before, but someone had to spot me, and I was so slow, and it was painful. I've been practicing getting up for a while, and today I finally did it, and then walked the entire length! The first time I was about 5 feet from the end when the wind picked up and I got wobbly and came down. But then I tried again and did the whole thing! Then, coach was like "once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is real" so I had to do it again, and I did the whole thing even faster - the whole way. It was awesome. 

We also practiced kongs in class, which I struggle with. But, the coaches broke them down, and I was able to get them better. I was even able to kong from a standing position onto something about knee high. Lots of work left to do, but it was a good first step in actually being able to do them - before this class I didn't think that I would ever be able to, but now I think I can :) 

Mt Morgan and Percival Loop

I looked at the Terrifying 25 list to see if there are any that aren't a huge drive up in NH, and found that there's a nice loop near the Belknaps that has some ladders and some short caves, as well as a little bouldering. So fun! I decided that would be the perfect hike, and it was. 

It's a shorter hike with less elevation gain - 5.5 miles with 1500 feet elevation gain. So, a good solid hike, but not killer. Since the days are really short now, with the sun going down at 4:45 (yuck) I wanted something that wouldn't be too long and that I could get up at a reasonable hour, hike, and finish in the light. This seemed perfect, and with the ladders and caves, etc, it would still be interesting. 

I got everything set up last night so I could just pop out of bed, feed the cats, make coffee and go. Well, I didn't exactly pop, it was more a crawl at like 7:30, but really not so bad. I was on the road before 8 and planning to get there before 10. That's were things went wrong because I used all trails for driving directions and wound up going down this sketchy dirt road, scraping the bottom of my car on rocks and driving past all these Trump signs. I knew I was in the wrong place - this was supposed to be an easy one to get to! I had to turn around and do some map reading. Fortunately I taken a picture of directions before I left (would have been good to read them over before I wasted 45 minutes going to the wrong place, but whatever). In the end, I got to the trailhead.

Most of the hike up was actually quite normal, with some pretty uphill parts, some more chill parts; a typical 2000 footer. It was in the 30's, but I was able to hike in my athleta pants, ninja hoodie, and this t-shirt that I have that has a picture of a dinosaur on it that says "t-rex hates pushups." On the way up, no one passed me and I didn't pass anyone until I got to the ladders, which were both sketchy looking and super fun. So the way the ladders on Morgan work you go up the first ladder to the second - easy peasy, except that they are a little flimsy looking an you wonder a little how they are attached to the rocks. Then, from the top of the second you have to step over to the third. By this time you are pretty high up, the ladder is really just bolted to the rocks, and you are kind of out of rungs by the step part. Fortunately, though, there are some really nice holds on the rock to help you side step over. Then you climb the third ladder that gets wider at the top. After only like 3 rungs, the rungs stop and you have just wood blocks to step on, and then the blocks stop, and you have to use the rocks. There was one move that I was like "where do I put my foot?" which of course was the highest up, but it was fine. Then you get to the top, and you have to crawl though this short cave to get to an overlook. Then, there's a little bouldering that brings you to an awesome view.

Just as I finished going up the ladders, these two hikers came flying up them, and it was a little awkward to get a proper picture from the top of the ladder, but whatever, I did. I tagged the peek, but it was viewless, so I went back to the view and I sat and had a peanut butter sandwich and some nuts. 

There's a really nice ridgeline from Morgan to Percival, and I enjoyed the walk. At one point I really needed to stop and pee, and so I went off the trail and found this really cute campground and firepit. I wonder if someone is living up there - it looked well cared for, with a nice stone wall built around the pit.

There were a bunch of people at the top of Percival who were trying to figure out the paths down. There is a "cliff" trail and a "cave" trail. The Terrifying 25 had the cliff trail as a part of the list, so I decided to try that one. Also, this really noisy group of non-socially distant people was doing the cliff trail. I was so glad I did the cave trail - it was really fun. At first I was completely sketched out by it because I'm really claustrophobic, and I wasn't sure I could do it, but the caves were more bouldering, where you went through boulder caves for short bits and had to crawl out of some holes. I had my hiking poles in my pack, so I had to take my pack off and push it ahead of me a couple times. The last hole was the smallest - I wasn't sure I would make it out, and then there was a bit of a drop at the end. Standing on the outside, it makes a great picture (below)! It was some pretty big rocks - you can see the yellow arrow pointing into the cave. It would be kind of fun to try the loop in the other direction because I think the cave would be nice in that direction, but I'm not sure about going down the ladder; certainly it would need to be a dry day (which happily it was today, though there was some running water and I got to practice my parkour ninja jumping skills).

All and all, a really nice hike. Not too difficult, fun climbing and caves, good length, nice ridgeline, excellent views. Not even that long a drive (if you can manage to not take a wrong turn - note that it's 93 to exit 24 to Rt 3 east, left on 113, and then it's less than 6 miles to parking on the left - both Morgan and Percival have lots but Percival's is bigger, and it's nicer to park close to where you will come down from the mountain instead of having to walk to the trailhead, even though it was a nice walk). There are no dirt roads on the way to this trail! I did get a little lost on Mt. Percival looking for the cave trail (you go straight from where you came up to the top of Percival and down. I spent a while looking, which is probably why mile 3 took so long) - so glad I have all trails, really helped me find it! Definitely would do again.

46!

 It was a good weekend! We elected a new president, which it's taking a long time for some to come to grips with, but not me. There was an acceptance speech with full sentences that touched on COVID, the economy, social justice and climate change, as well as people to work together, and it made me want to cry. After the election was called on Saturday (finally), I slept for like 12 hours on Saturday night, and missed my geriatric parkour class - fortunately there was a no-show for the regular one, so I was able to take that. But it sounds like the geriatric class may have been more fun. In regular class we took off our shoes and jumped on things, then we did underbars (which I actually do enjoy) and then we crawled under low things on our backs. 

Today I met my parkour friend Anne at the park to practice and she told me that in the geriatric class they climbed things, and walked on rails. I love climbing things!

After we practiced today I came back and lifted. Doing underbars I realized I need to work on my core, so I did deadlifts. EMOM for 12 minutes lifting all my weights which is 70 pounds. 

I hope our government doesn't mess this up, they are already not getting much done. They gotta pull it together, we have a good thing going here. A little compromise people!!

Blue Hills Skyline Trail loop

For Halloween I was going to jam with a group of parkour ladies (that's what we parkour people do, we jam) but it snowed all day yesterday, and apparently we ladies don't jam the day after it snows? I was a little surprised, but they made the point that things would be wet and slippery, which I believe is true. We will jam next week. I thought about heading up to NH to hike instead, but it's getting dark earlier, Somerville is in the red zone again for COVID and I wasn't really psyched about the idea of a drive. Staying close to home seemed like a better idea. I decided for a change to do the Blue Hills, which was a really good choice!

I love that you can see the city from the hike, but also it does feel like you are away from things, and it's pretty woodsy and relaxing. I decided to go away from Great Blue Hill, and do a longer hike, and so I did a big figure 8 that went over 4 hills of various heights, crossed one busy street, was 8 miles long and had 1316 feet of elevation gain. There were some serious uphill spots, but since it was such a long hike, for the most part you don't really notice the hilliness except for the obvious areas, which were intense but not too long.

Because of the snow from yesterday and the leaves, it was really slippery and so a few times I slipped on some rocks, but managed to not fall. Also, at one point I was walking up a hill and a huge branch came crashing down right in front of me - like a foot in front of me. It was pretty sketch. There were some people coming in the other direction and they were even more freaked out than I was - they were like "holy shit" and I was like "wow"... If it had hit me I would probably be in the ER right now. I was really lucky. Halloween has been a bad day for me in the past, but maybe this is a sign that my luck has turned around!

After I went in to work last week on Thursday, I got an email from HR saying that I had potentially been exposed to COVID from one of the students I met with, and should work from home this week. My first though, of course, was "but I haven't voted!" Fortunately I feel completely fine. I thought about mailing in my vote, or early voting, but I just really like going on election day - it just seems like the right thing to do. I'm so nervous about this election. I hope people can get it together and think about what's right for our country, and that we can prevent outsiders from meddling. This next week is going to be a crazy one - I'm glad that I spent some time over the weekend chilling out.

More home crossfit + yoga

 I did a quick WOD today just to get in some exercise, which I followed with a 25 minute stretchy yoga class. I also walked a mile, so that counts as exercise as well.  When you combine it, it's real.

The WOD for two days ago was:

40 Kettle Bell Swings

30 Box Jumps

20 Shoulder to OverHead

30 Box Jumps

40 Kettle Bell Swings

I borrowed a kettle bell from my upstairs neighbor which was 35 pounds, and for the shoulder to overhead I used my 20 pound weight. For the box jumps, I used a tree stump in the park across the street - I would say it was about a foot high. It took me about 12 minutes and 20 seconds, with several long pauses in that time for me to breathe (totally allowed).

I was thinking about going for a run, but really didn't want to, and then realized that a WOD is probably just as good, and involves less running. After, I did a yoga with Adriene that was mostly stretching and felt really good.

Tomorrow I'm actually going into work! It will be my third day since March 13. I will go in one more time this semester, but I'm thinking I may not in the spring. I thought some of my coworkers might be there too, but they aren't. And, it's so hard getting up, showering, getting in the car.... How did I used to do that every day? And, how will I do it again??

Home Crossfit after Geriatric Parkour

I signed up for parkour too late this week, and my regular class was full so I had to do the geriatric one earlier in the day. I really like the seniors ( :) ) in the class, but it's earlier in the day, a half hour shorter, and it doesn't push me as much. Going to the class I was able to see that the other class (where I am consistency one of the slower, less balanced and less sure of myself people) has really helped me to improve a lot. Yay! After class I decided that I should get in some more exercise, and since I was already warmed up, I could just WOD.

I looked at my old gym, and their WOD from yesterday was:

3 rounds

14 SA Dumbell Snatch

300 m DB carry (35 pounds)

14 SA DB Hang clean and jerk

75 double unders

I did a little modifying - I lifted 20 pounds for the snatches and clean and jerks, and the first round I carried the 20 pounds around to the front of the building and back, which is may 200 meters? After that I decided just to do 75 single unders on the jumprope in place of the double unders and DB carry. I left the "hang" off hang clean and jerk when I wrote everything down, so I did regular clean and jerks. But I did the entire workout in about 34 minutes! And, I wanted to throw up a little at a couple points. I cant say that I particularly enjoyed it, but it wasn't that bad, it only took 34 minutes, and I do feel like I had a good workout. I really need to try to WOD more often and not be lazy!

Tomorrow there's a women's parkour workout that's a general thing, not a class, but just a bunch of women getting together to practice, and someone invited me to join up. Hopefully it will be fun!

Mt. Mansfield

                                         

Mt. Mansfield is definitely one of my favorite 4000 footers that I've done, 2 thumbs up, definitely recommend. As I drove to it, I wasn't completely sure. It rained all day the day before I hiked it, and the clouds were still clearing, the mountain looked beautiful, Vermont-like, but also a little intimidating. Don't let it scare you, it was a good one!

 I decided to do a loop hike - I got up and got there with plenty of time. So, I went up Halfway House trail, across the ridgeline on the Long Trail and then down the Sunset Ridge Trail. I was thinking about doing it the other way, but the Sunset Ridge is supposed to be the easiest way up (and therefore down) and Halfway House is steeper, and I was so glad I did Halfway House first. It was steep in a few places, with a slippery ladder, some rocky climbs, and a lot of switchbacking. I really liked the trail going up - it was full of little mossy glens and quiet spots where a moose or bear could (but at the moment happily wasn't) hang out. The trail was a little technical, a little challenging but not too difficult, and just really fun. When I got to the top where it intersected with the Long Trail I felt accomplished, and ate a cheese sandwich, some dried mango slices, and a banana. And then I got to walk about a mile of alpine ridgeline, which I just love so much! It was beautiful and the rocks were so interesting - they looked very scraped up by glaciers. 

The view from the top was really pretty with Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, and the fall foliage. It was really windy also, and I was pretty hungry, so I sat to eat some more cheese sandwich and some nuts and enjoy the view in the other direction of VT and into NH. 

As I was sitting and enjoying my lunch I noticed it getting colder and colder, and the clouds getting lower and darker. Everyone on top of the mountain started looking up, and then looking at this band of clouds and rain that was flying towards us. And then we all started packing up and jetting off the top of the mountain. 

Looking at the storm, it seemed fast moving and thin, like it would pass over and move on. There was this one couple that was so close to the summit and they were like "is it exposed up there?" Sorry folks, yes, it is. And, here is what was coming towards us:

I walked as fast as I could to get lower down until I could see the weather coming upon me, and then I found a nice rock ledge to hide under while the storm passed overhead. There was actually hail! As well as rain. Thankfully it continued to move fast, and it was gone in less than 5 minutes, and the sun was back out. Most of the mountain became beautiful again, though I did notice clouds hanging around parts of it:

Sunset ridge trail down was so nice. I definitely recommend it. For a long way it was exposed rock and ridgeline. It was all wet, unfortunately, so it was a little slippery. It was still fun, but would have been super fun on a dry day! I really enjoyed going down it, though at a certain point it had a lot of big steps and I dinged my knee, which started to hurt. Anyhow, the rest of the way down was fine, and actually the first and last mile were basically an access road - a steep access road, and some trail. I got back to my car, changed my shoes, and was so lame - I drove about 100 feet to get closer to the bathrooms! Ha! Highly recommend this hike for sure - the sources online say it's the best 4000 footer in VT, and I believe it.

Camel's Hump while [gl]camping in VT

I really really wanted to take a week off from work, and to get away from home and go somewhere not too covid-y, but I also didn't want to feel like I was being to near people while away, so glamping in VT seemed to fit the bill. The plan was to go on Sunday and return on Saturday, with hiking, day triping to Burlington and Stowe, maybe some mountain biking, chilling out at the glamp with a fire, and relaxing. Well, some of that happened. But, it was also not as glam as I had hoped/expected in that there was meant to be a propane heater in the tent that would "take the edge off" the cold, which was really all I needed since I had my down sleeping bag and wasn't there all day, but it ran out of propane after about 5 hours. And the tent was on a hill so I kept sliding downhill and waking up in a corner of the bed. And, the lights inside didn't work. And the advertised hot tub was more of a "warm tub", as was the shower... So I left early and now I have a cold. But, Vermont was beautiful and I did two really nice hikes!

My Monday hike was Camel's Hump which has a really cool name and is one of the five 4000 footers of Vermont. I had looked at several routes up the mountain, but by the time I woke up, packed everything, figured out directions and stopped for food, I knew it would be noon by the time I got to the mountain. The most direct route and easy route is Burrows trail which is 2.4 miles out and back, and I decided I better just do that since I didn't have a ton of time and was feeling a little nervous due to being in VT - like that's somehow different from NH? IDK, but still it was a good idea. It's getting dark earlier and earlier, and I didn't want to be out there after sunset.

I was a little nervous about the number of people, since it was a long weekend, but pulling into the parking lot it wasn't that bad, and on the mountain there were plenty of people, but not mobs. The hike was pretty much uphill from the start, right to the top where it was so windy that I took a few pictures of the view, and then descended to a lower elevation to get out of the wind, eat some cheese sandwiches and admire the view for real. It was pretty awesome to look from the top because I could see across Lake Champlain all the way to NY and the mountains in the Adirondacks! Definitely a different view than I'm used to, and the foliage was gorgeous - probably just a tiny bit passed peak but beautiful and so much color. 

Before the trip I bought some new hiking shoes from REI, and some orthotics that have a special morton's extension that makes it so my big toes don't bend as much. They also have this bump in them that goes under the ball of my foot and is supposed to distribute the weight from the joint to the whole foot. I was a little nervous about the new set-up, but it was awesome!  My feet were so much less sore on the hike, and at the top I thought about how much my toe didn't hurt.

The way down was kind of wet, and therefore slow going. In fact, some of my downhill splits are slower than the uphill ones - or about the same. I think mile 3 it was counting the time that I was wondering around up top, blowing around in the wind (it was so windy, a couple times I thought I would get blown over!) I was pretty happy with the hike - definitely a good day!

Mt. Moosilauke

I realized that I haven't really done a 4000 footer this year, which is OK, because mountains don't always have to be 4000 footers, but the only one I was on was a bust. So, I wanted to at least get in one this year. I've been wanting to rehike Moosilauke because it was the first 4000 footer that I did solo, it's been several years, and I remember liking it. But, because of Covid the lodge that overlooks the mountain is closed, and so there's an extra walk to get in, so I couldn't decide if I wanted to do it. And then I decided, fuck it, I'm going. And, I'm glad I did! Even though I had to park 1.6 miles from the trailhead! 

Once again I got a late start (around 7:30), but decided that was OK because it's not the longest hike. It's 3.7 miles each way, and even though it's one of the higher 4000 footers, it's not the most elevation gain. I think it starts pretty far up the mountain, and it's one that is uphill for most of the hike. In the end, I did 2913 feet of elevation gain and 10.42 miles in 7 hrs and 7 minutes, but only 6 hrs and 9 minutes of that was moving time. 

It's a really nice hike, except near the top there are A LOT of stairs that are pretty exhausting, and since I didn't get started until around 11 ish, I was really hungry. Which you can see from my splits, that I slowed down (or, that I need to take it slower from the start.) Anyhow, on the way up, a lot of people passed me, but I was in a bit of a bubble on the way down, and almost no one did. 

I wound up doing an out and back hike this time - I thought about the loop because I had liked it a lot the last time, but also the last time I was doing crossfit (and it better shape) and didn't have to hike an extra 3.2 miles, so I didn't. And, I really liked it this way too! The walk down was really nice, there were some steep spots where I had a hard time, but mostly stairs and rocks. My feet were really sore, and I was tired, but would definitely do again that way :)

At the top, it was a bit of a zoo, there were so many people up there. And, there were even people going up as I was heading back down. These two women asked me to take their picture, which I did, and then they offered to take one of me. I think it was a bit windy...

It's not quite prime foliage, but we are getting close, and it was so pretty up in NH. The trees are beautiful and there was a mist coming over the mountains. I was kind of tired and thinking about not going for a hike, but so glad I did, definitely a good way to spend the day!

Holt, Mowglis and Manning trails

 

I couldn't decide what to do today, and was sitting on the couch drinking coffee and thinking that it was perfect hiking weather, and where should I go? When I saw a facebook posting about the Holt Trail up Carrigan, with a couple pictures, and of course decided to go! Glad I did, it was super fun, though hard on the feet.

The trail starts out pretty chill and relaxing, it's even got a long stretch that's on an old logging road. As I was walking, this guy wearing loose jeans and trainers passed me. First I though "I'm so slow, newbie guy passed me." Then I imagined if the egg salad sandwich people had been there, because they are pretty "cotton=death." Anyway, when I got to the sign above, he was standing looking at it and asked if I was going up that way. I was pretty impressed with myself that I was, and a little nervous. He decided to follow me for a little bit, but then realized that it wasn't going to work and turned back. So, I was feeling pretty good about myself when I got to the first really hard climby part - a nice slabby crack. Of course, at that moment a group of three 20 somethings came along and this guy practically climbed over me (it was pretty rude, actually) and then offered me a hand to help me up. I gave him a look. Seriously. 

Anyhow, there were a few really sketchy parts on the hike, most weren't really that bad, though there was one point at the top that was actually probably about a 5.2 climb, no rope, bit of a fall, pretty far up.  I didn't take a picture because I didn't want to look down. It may not have been a long fall, not sure. I was thinking about going back, but decided I would maybe get a photo the next time. (The photo above and below were fun and not too hard - there were good holds and the rock was pretty grippy and had nice holds and foot spots)

Once I got to the top, it was really nice to sit and eat a sandwich - I had to buy one at the rest area, so turkey and cheese on white bread and cheese pringles. Even though the sun was out, it was pretty windy and I was kind of cold. I can't believe it's that time of year already.

After my sandwich and a short rest I went over to a second mountain called firescrew, which is a funny name for a mountain, but a very pleasant location. I sat up there and ate an apple and the last chips and looked at the fire tower on cardigan. I love the sign up there, it's so weathered. Reluctantly I had to head down since it gets dark around 7 now. And, I didn't write down directions to get back to the highway, so I was going to have to figure that out too - the lodge where the trail starts is about 20 minutes off the highway, on a dirt road. 

My pace on mile three was very slow, though I believe it's counting the time I was walking around up top looking for a warm spot. The way down was slower than the way up, which is a little lame. My excuse is that my foot was killing me by that time, and I was a little hobbly. I got new boots hoping that they would help my feet, but they clearly didn't (though they were quite nice with the treads and stickyness). Anyhow, that made me way slower - that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I got to the parking lot, changed my shoes, and was doing my post-hike things when I saw a car with NJ plates leaving. So, I threw everything in, jumped into my car, and followed it! And, I was right to do so (I think that's a definition of white privilege right there). It definitely seemed that the car was headed back to the highway. At one point it turned into an old church and I kept going, and then I was like "this doesn't seem right." And I went back and realized that NJ had passed a turn - and I went that way too! Anyhow, I'm obviously home, it worked and I need to write down the directions home before I leave.

Two thumbs up, but hard if you don't climb!

Belknap and Gunstock

 

I'm actually writing well after the fact, I forgot to blog about my Mt. Belknap hike, which I realized was a mistake, because it was an awesome hike, one that I would definitely do again. I went on Saturday of Labor Day weekend - I can't believe that Labor Day has passed - and it was a great improvement over Owl's Head! I was thinking about different routes for the hike, and thought about trying to park in the same little lot as last time, but it was so small, I figured it would be full. Looking at a map, I realized that Gunstock ski resort wasn't far away at all, and of course they would have a ton of parking, so I planned my hike around that. There were a million people and a bunch of tents when I got there. It could have been a ski sale - maybe should have checked it out, but I just got new skis last year, and I don't think I need cross country. 

Anyhow, the plan was to do Belknap, which is the tallest mountain in the Belknaps, and then Gunstock. I had a cheese sandwich, pringles, and some nuts, and GPS with all trails. I did get a little carried away with my GPS, and went up this snowshoe trail, that I soon realized wasn't what I wanted to be on. Eventually I bushwacked to the actual trail. I managed to make a flat even walk in the woods into something difficult - good job me.

Some of the hike covered the same area as Klem and Mack, but then I turned off at a different trail to head up. I really liked the trail I took up, I took Birch to East Gilford which was the trail with a lot of elevation gain - E Gilford was not too steep, and was really slabby with opened sections and a few nice view points. I sat at one of the view spots and ate, and then went to the top and climbed the fire tower. While I was in the fire tower, these three guys came up, driving remote operated trucks. I was both impressed that their trucks made it all the way up, and annoyed at all the noise. Anyhow, I then took Blue trail to saddle to the top of Gunstock, where I sat at the top of the ski resort and finished my food. 

From there, I backtracked on saddle and headed down. There was a sign near the top of the ski mountain that said 1.4 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes walk, which I thought was a little excessive, but it messed with my head a little. In the end, it took me about 50 minutes, so the sign was wrong. 

According to alltrails, I did 7.37 miles with 1821 feet elevation gain and an average pace of 33:43 mph. Total hiking time was 5 hrs 2 min, with 4 hr 9 minutes of moving time, the rest was sandwich eating time! It gives you splits, which is nice - you can see where my first mile I was silly and got off trail and was pokey. And, you can see the uphill bits where things got slower. I'm looking forward to doing a longer/harder hike with alltrails to see what my splits look like!

Monday of Labor Day weekend I took the ferry to Provincetown. A friend of mine was staying there for a week and I'd never really been there. It was so nice! We walked around the cute shops, and then I went for a swim in the ocean (which was cold but not freezing). After, I walked on a jetty there, that's about a mile each way - it was a lot of fun, and very parkour. I was kind of dumb because I didn't bring water or a camera, but on the other hand, I wasn't distracted by getting the best photo. Definitely something to repeat, it was so nice, and taking the ferry made it very easy (except that I overslept and woke up at 8:10 for the 8:30 ferry - it was kind of a miracle that I made it). It would be really fun to walk out on the jetty and hang out on the beach for the day, there was really almost no one out there!