Huntington Ravine!!

Success! Yesterday I hiked Huntington Ravine with a friend, it was a lot of fun, a beast, and a little bit scary. But not too scary because I didn't look down :)

My friend is working on the Terrifying 25 list - she's pretty gung ho about then and has done most of them over the last year or two. She usually solo hikes, like me, but neither of us wanted to do Huntington alone, so we decided to pair up for it. We went up to the Joe Dodge Lodge on Tuesday night and actually stayed in the same room as I was in the week before! This time with a woman from Illinois who was planning a prezi traverse. We definitely wanted to do Huntington, but weren't particular about summiting or hiking back down. The challenge was really the trail. So, we were able to sleep in a little - we got up at 7 ish, had breakfast at the lodge (including bacon, because, bacon). With packing up, organizing and checking out it was about 8:45 when we hit the trail - we could have just driven up that morning and arrived at the same time, but it was much better to get a little more sleep and not have to do the driving on the hiking day. 

The first mile or so is just a jaunt on a rocky path in the woods. It's all a steady uphill, but nothing intense. It starts getting steeper and steeper, and rockier and you know it's about to get real. You really hit the boulder field at about 2.5 miles, and then it just gets rockier and the boulders get bigger as you go. There is one spot where you have to step from one massive boulder to another and when you look down it's a really long way to the bottom (it's only about a foot or so between the boulders, not a hard step) and I feel like that was the start of the main hike. The main boulder field is full of really large boulders to go over, some with a really long way down if you fall. At one point we could hear a stream beneath the boulders, and cold air came out of the holes - it was pretty cool. There was one boulder in particular that was hard to climb because there weren't any good hand holds that we could reach and if you fell there was some consequence (not huge, but enough that you wouldn't want to fall). My friend gave me a boost by holding my foot, and then I tried to give her a pull from the top, but she was worried that she would pull me off, and we would both fall. And so she found a way around. Which was a pretty simple solution. We worked our way through the boulder field, slow and steady, and other than that one spot it wasn't too hard - the trail was well marked and as long as you took your time with each of the boulders, came up with a plan and didn't panic it went well.

I've never gotten so many pics from a hike - spoiler alert, the pics are mostly in order but don't necessarily line up exactly with the text:

Finally we got to the headwall, which was both exciting and nerve wracking. One thing that was really awesome was that there was a search and rescue team there doing some training! Perfect! If we had an accident it wouldn't be an hours long wait :) 

My friend is definitely a faster hiker than me, and when I was puffing away she was just breathing a little hard. So I guess she is also a more in shape hiker than me. Also, she's 8 years younger, so that may be a thing as well. Anyhow, she led the way up the slabs and I followed, which I think both of us felt fine about (except she was sad that most of my pics of her were butt shots). 

Anyhow, one of the hardest moves was on the first section of slab - there is a beautiful looking crack there, but it actually didn't have amazing hand holds. You sort of had to go to the left first and then up. At the bottom there was a lot of slab climbing, and I was glad that I am someone who climbs because I think it really helped. I felt like taking it slow and steady, backing up if there was nothing to hold onto, and trusting you feet (and I had my nice new la sportiva boots with vibrum soles) made a huge difference. One thing that also helped was that I didn't look down at all, which I think made me feel much calmer, because a few times I got to the top of some moves and realized how exposed the climb had been. I think if I had looked down I would have been much more anxious. 

There were definitely spots on the headwall that were paths as opposed to slabs, and it was nice to have a little break from climbing. 

We knew that there was a chimney up  higher, and at one point we thought we went up it, only to discover the real chimney later. I do love me a good chimney, but this one was no joke. 

If you had slipped out of it there was a long fall. We tried going from the bottom of the chimney, but the way the rocks stuck out it was hard to get the girls through, so that didn't work. Looking at it I realized that you could climb over the side and get into the chimney a little further up, after the point where the rocks jutted out, and so that's what we did. It was a little tricky climbing over it, and I got a picture of my friend with her head on one side, her feet on the other and her butt sticking out, that she really loved. 

After the chimney it was just a little further to get to more solid ground and a point where we could walk. We were so excited to have done the trail! And hungry. We sat down on some really nice rocks and had a snack, enjoyed the view and felt like bad asses. 

Soon we had to figure out if we were going to the top and how we were going to get down. I was feeling physically and emotionally pooped, and so wasn't particularly excited about going to the top, which is just a parking lot. By the time we finished eating it was 2:30, and the last shuttle down from the top is at 3, so my friend wanted to get going and try to make the last shuttle - I would have preferred to sit on my rock and eat for a little longer, but I agreed and we headed off to the end of the trail. Looking at the top, I was like "there is no way we are going to make it up there, buy tickets, and then get on the shuttle in a half hour." So, our options were to hike down, walk down the road, or find a ride. Given that we were tired and still had to drive home we decided against hiking, and eventually started walking down the auto road. My friend was all "come on, we can walk it" and I was like "we can, but..." and I stuck out my thumb and the first car coming down stopped for us! The second time that I have hitchhiked and it was amazing!! The couple that picked us up was from fire island off long island, they were very nice and moved all their stuff to let us sit in their back seat. It was so easy going down, and we chatted with them about our hike and they told us about their trip. 

My friend wanted to get a "cooling down" hike in, so we asked them to let us off at Old Jackson Road (and by "we" I mean my friend, I would have been happy with a ride back) and we walked the last two miles back. But it was pretty much all downhill, and a chill trail. Still, I was so happy to see the lodge. I felt so grose and was really excited about the pay showers downstairs, but when I got to them they were being cleaned, and out of service. Tragic! My friend was like "we can have a snack and wait until they are done," but I was not having any of that, so we went back into the lodge and snuck into the showers there. Well, there wasn't really that much sneaking because there wasn't anyone at the front desk, or anyone who worked there to stop us. Anyhow, that was the Best Shower Ever. It felt so good to be clean. After we sat outside and ate some food we had with us and enjoyed the lodge. Soon it was time to go, sadly. My friend had driven because she doesn't mind driving in the dark (I get nervous about all the animals) so I got to just sit and chat with her the whole way home, which was lovely. 

All and all a really great experience. I will say that it's probably a "one and done" for me, though never say never. Today I have a little hiker hangover, but not too bad. It was nice hiking with a friend, and maybe I should try to hike with others again from time to time. 

Somehow I paused my all trails for part of the hike, and I didn't pause it when in the car, but here is what I did record:

Arethusa Falls and King Ravine

Since I'm on vacation this week I decided to do a couple days of hiking in the Whites, with an overnight at the Joe Dodge Lodge. Spoiler alert, King Ravine was a bit of a bust for me, but the rest of the midweek weekend went pretty well.

I decided that I would do a shorter hike for the first day so that I could take my time in the morning and go up whenever. I was going back and forth about what to hike, when I remembered that I had a book of waterfalls of NE, and hadn't done a single hike from it - seemed like a perfect waterfall day, and I chose Arethusa falls because it's the largest single drop waterfall in NH, is a 3 mile out and back hike, and is pretty close to the lodge. It wound up being the perfect hike for the day - I got there around 1:00 and was done by 3:30. The out-and-back hike has 869 feet of elevation gain, which isn't that much, but over a 3 mile hike that means it's pretty consistently uphill on the way in and downhill on the way out. The falls were really nice. I am pretty sure it's where I went ice climbing the one time I went ice climbing. The one bad thing that happened is somehow my iphone locked me out for excessive attempts at logging in, and I couldn't access it for an hour, which isn't really helpful when you are relying on it for the maps - trail and road. Fortunately there was only one trail that was easy to follow and I knew where I was going to get to the lodge - there was only one turn to make.

I decided the easiest thing would be to get both dinner and breakfast at the lodge, and I was pleased that it was salmon night there, with a really tasty dill sauce and some rosemary honey bread. I was a little surprised when I got into my bunk room and there was a guy in it, but I guess they don't sort by gender. It was fine, he seemed like a nice kid. But the room was a little smelly. I kind of wanted to open the window, but wound up not doing so, which I regretted at night because it was stuffy and I didn't sleep well.

The next day was the big hike - King Ravine, one of the terrifying 25 up Adams. The plan was to go up King Ravine to the AT, go over to the hut, and then go down via Valley Way with a bike spot between the two trailheads. I wasn't planning to summit because I didn't really see the need, I've summited before and didn't love it. I couldn't figure out the parking at King Ravine (turns out that you park at the store across the street) so I parked at the end of the Valley Way and started with the two mile bike ride, and then folded my bike and locked it to a tree. The start of the hike was quite lovely - a little jaunt through the woods. I really enjoyed it - especially the mossy waterfall. There was one water crossing that was a little high, and I dropped one of my hiking poles while going over it. I was so sad watching it zip downstream, but fortunately it got caught on some rocks and I was able to recover it. Soon I got to the really uphill bit, and things got real.

It was a pretty cool (but humid) day out. It had rained the day before and the rocks were still a little slippery and wet. Because of the dampness I decided to skip the subway and just focus on the main trail. I was very glad I did because I could hear people in the subway trying to figure out where to go, and they all sounded pretty stressed. Even not in the subway there were a lot of big boulders to go over, and very little in the way of markings. I had a really hard time finding the path a couple of times, which really stressed me out. Also, I could see clouds coming over the top of the ridgeline. The final nail in the coffin, though was that my phone locked me out again! So, I couldn't access it for an hour to make sure I was on the route. I did have a paper map, but that doesn't tell you if you are on the trail... Each time I couldn't find the trail I got anxious, and then I talked myself down, and then it happened again. Eventually I decided that there was some serious potential to get myself into a bad place, and made the difficult decision to turn around about a third of a mile from the top. Here is the recording from my hike at that point (phone still kept track even if it didn't open!):

I really did not want to have to climb down all of those huge boulders again. I sat and ate some chips and a peanut butter sandwich (no jam, sad), looked at the view and psyched myself up for it. It was pretty rough going down the rocks, and I scraped up my legs. To keep my spirits up I sang the King George song "I know him" from Hamilton - stupid mountain. Eventually, though, I made it down and took the short line path out. I got to my car, stopped for my bike, and then drove straight home where I took a really long shower and ate a huge amount of watermelon.

Today I have a little bit of a hiker hangover. I ate some salty chips, eggs, and had a protein drink and am feeling a little better. Tomorrow I'm getting a new phone - mine is over 6.5 years old - I was hoping to keep it a little longer, but the battery needs replacing and the phone locking thing is a real issue. I'm not having it do that again!

Fun day of rowing

I guess a lot of people are on vacation, so there were only 12 rowers there tonight - an 8 and a 4. I was in the 8 (rowing port again) and there were some of the good rowers with us. It was delightful! We've been really struggling with getting the boat set in our practices - on Monday I was rowing starboard and my oar was dragging on the water so bad, it wasn't very fun. And, it's really hard to get better when you can't really practice. It's been frustrating. But today we weren't perfect but we weren't totally off, and so it was a delightful row!

We started with some drills, but the big thing was the workout - we did 4 minutes on, 4 minutes off for 5 rounds of rowing. We started at 24 strokes per minute and got up to doing race starts and 30 strokes a minutes. It was really hard and I have a massive blister on my hand, but I was so happy to row and not drag my oar on the water. I feel like I have to work harder to get into the better boat, but there is no possible way to get the hours of experience that the experienced rowers have because they've spent so much time rowing. Anyhow, it looks like the next two weeks might be quiet, and I'm going to try to go as much as possible.

Weekend in the Birkshires

In March I was thinking that I had never seen YoYo Ma live, which is kind of silly because he lives in the Boston area, is amazing and seems like such a kind person. So I decided I would have a long weekend over the summer in the Berkshires and hear him play when he was at Tanglewood. Which was over this weekend, and was amazing!

He had a special concert celebrating 250 years of America that was YoYo Ma and friends, and his friends included James Taylor and Jon Batiste, and others - like Bryan Stevenson and Heather Cox Richardson. After I bought the ticket I decided that staying at Kripalu might be nice since they are right next to each other, and then it turned out that they were having a program on mindfulness and classical music, where we all went to the concert - perfect!

I decided to go a little splurgy, and bought a ticket inside the shed - second row! Which I have never done before and probably won't again, but wow! So worth it. I've been to a few orchestra performances, and it always surprises me how the musicians all just wander on and turn up their instruments, set up their music, ect, like they are there for a practice. At one point they were all standing around for a bit, and then the oboe section just kind of wandered back in and then they could start. 

Anyhow, the concert started out with Fanfare for the Common Man, which we listened to at Kripalu, and so I heard a lot more from it that I would have otherwise. Next, YoYo Ma came out and the first thing he said was "I am an immigrant" which set the tone for the night, which was really magical. He left the stage and there was more music, but soon he was back playing. Because I was so close I could see his hands moving and the expression on his face. The conductor for much of the evening was Ken-David Masur and I loved watching his dramatic flair. At one point YoYo Ma came out with a special violin that the first violinist played - apparently it belonged to one of the performers and had been owned by a freed slave many years ago.

For me the best part of the evening was when James Taylor came out - there was Jon Batiste, YoYo Ma and James Taylor on stage, and James Taylor was right in front of me. They started with Hard Times Come Again No More, and then You've Got a Friend. During You've Got a Friend James Taylor was like "sing along" and since he was right there it was like we were singing together. There was a planned encore which was We Shall Overcome, with everyone but YoYo (who I think snuck out early) that was just incredible. And, the musicians were like "shine your light" which of course everyone did with their phones, while recording. Because of course you would record that. I tried to post the video, but no dice.

After the concert I walked back to Kripalu, chatting with some other people who had gone to the concert and thinking what a special evening it had been. I really liked the Kripalu time as well. I got really lucky with my room, because I stayed in a dorm and wound up in a room with 3 beds - 2 bunk beds and a single, and only 2 other people. So it wasn't as crowded as the other bunks I was in. And, the two women turned out to be totally cool. I did a yoga class on Friday when I got there, and then I didn't sleep well on Friday night so I got up and did the 6:30 am class on Saturday, and then Yoga Dance on Sunday before I left. The program was really nice too. We did a lot of listening to the music that we would hear at the concert, and some gentle yoga. The instructor was really good - one thing she had us do was label our emotions. She said "labeling things can take away the intensity," so she recommended labeling things "pleasant" and "unpleasant" which I thought was weird hippy freak woo woo goo, but then today I was in a boring meeting and I thought "unpleasant" and she was right, I felt so much better. So, I'm going to keep that habit I think.