Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 2

I knew day 2 would be the hardest of my hike, and I was a little nervous. The plan was to hike up Zealand, take a break on Zeacliff for snack, tag Zealand (which is viewless), and go to Guyot for lunch. Guyot is actually higher than Zealand, but it's a sub peak of something; no 200 foot decent. After Guyot, I would go to the campground, snag a spot in the shelter, and then hike with my daypack  at least to Bond and Bondcliff and maybe to West Bond as well. Then I would return for dinner and go to bed early. And that's exactly what I did!

I had built up the hike from the hut to Zeacliff in my mind as a Big Hard Deal because it was the big elevation climb and I would have a pretty full pack still. What I didn't count on was having fresh legs from sleeping in the hut, and a huge and delicious breakfast featuring oatmeal, coffee, and this egg thing that was quite yummy!  I was so full and had so much energy, the hike was totally fine. Yes, it was uphill, but the pack was actually well distributed in terms of weight, and I was excited about my day! Before I knew it, I was at Zeacliff, which had amazing views!  I had the place to myself for about 10 minutes before these two guys showed up, and I sat and had a snack and enjoyed the view. Soon I was off, though, because I had a lot more to do - it was 5 miles with the heavy pack, and I wanted to get going.

Zealand is one of those peaks where there is no view, just a pile of rocks, there's a spur off the path that's about .2 miles, but it's almost flat. I went and tapped the top - there were two people there eating, and we joked about the silliness of it all. I moved on to Guyot which I saw had a view.  It was amazing!  I sat on some rocks and enjoyed the scenery, and knowing that I was just .8 miles from the campground.  I was getting a little nervous about the campground because I didn't bring my tent and was planning to stay in the Guyot shelter - some people who I talked to on the trail said that there had been a group there the night before.  That  night, though, I was the first one!  I tried lying in all the spots to see which made me least claustrophobic, and eventually decided on the side on the bottom. I spent a few minutes resting my feet, eating, and moving things to my day pack, then I was off to the Bonds!

The Bonds are super remote - from the top of Bond you can only see two manmade things - the tower on Mt. Washington, and the Loon Mt ski trails.  It's beautiful.  The way the path works, you go to the top of Bond, over and down the other side to get to Bondcliff.  Getting to the top of Bond was pretty easy, but it was a long way down to Bondcliff!  There was a long ridgeline between Bond and Bondcliff, and I thought it would be a nice hike, but it was super rocky.  Bondcliff was beautiful (but buggy). There was a guy on the mountain doing Tae Chi, and I thought what a perfect place it was for it! It was serene and completely away from civilization. The bugs drove me back to Bond after only about 15 minutes, though.

The hike back up was killer!  That was definitely the hardest hike I did during the trip, it was long, rocky, and above the tree line - so exposed to the sun.  I was so happy to get to the top of Bond again.  I borrowed bug spray from some guy up there, and had a good rest and ate a peanut butter sandwich.  On the way up Bond, I actually passed someone!  I was a little nervous for him, because I don't pass people, but he soon made it to the top. Once he got there, he came next to me and just lay down. It was a little unconventional, but we had a nice chat - he was hiking the Pemi Loop with a friend, he retired 10 years ago, and he prefers retirement to working. I hope when I'm retired I'm still out hiking the Pemi!  I spent about 30 minutes on top of Bond, but eventually had to head out.

I wasn't sure if I should do West Bond that day too, I stupidly didn't bring enough water. But, as I got close I thought it didn't look that hard, and it would be good to get done on the first day. And, I was right.  West Bond was so nice with a wonderful view of the other Bonds, and not very difficult at all!  I was so glad that I went up there that day. I sat around and ate for a bit, before a group came up - there was one woman who was finishing her 48 the next day on the Bonds.  I was getting hungry and thirsty, so I headed down.

I had an MRE that I got from my visit to USU, and the ravioli was supposed to heat with a chemical reaction. but at the last minute I got nervous, because I wasn't sure how I would cool the heater down way out there, and you have to pack everything out.  So, I ate the ravioli cold, and it was so disgusting. Then I read for about 15 minutes and went to bed at like 9:00!

Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 1

I've been putting off The Bonds because there was no way for me to do them without camping out at Guyot backcountry campground by myself (OK, or I guess with someone else, but then it wouldn't be solo), but it was time. I was down to just seven hikes, no more putting it off. So, I for my vacation I went for an overnight in the Pemigewasset Wilderness (also called The Pemi). I decided that since I was going there overnight I might as well get North Twin as well, and stay at a couple of the huts. So, I parked at Gale trail, took the AMC hiker shuttle to Zealand, and stayed at Zealand falls for the first night.

I have to say that I was nervous as I waited for the shuttle. It was my first solo camping, it was a long hike, and the area was very remote. My pack weighted in at about 30 pounds with food and water - I knew it would get lighter as I ate, but the big uphill from Zealand was going to be heavy. I was the only one on the hiker shuttle and the driver was super chatty. Usually I'm not the chatty type, but it was good to have someone to talk to and calm my nerves, and by the time I got to the trailhead, I was feeling a little better.

There was no reason that I needed to stay at Zealand Falls at all, it's just three miles in, pretty much all of which is flat.  But, I was so glad I did!  The hiker shuttle was at 12:20, so it gave me a chance to sleep a little (not too much, I was so paranoid I would get caught in traffic I was an hour early for the shuttle), and it gave me a chance to stay at the hut which was beautiful and amazing!  The waterfalls were wonderful. One of the naturalists told me that if you hike upstream there are some slightly bigger pools, so I went up there, stripped down to my undies, and took a dip. It was so cold, it lasted about 30 seconds, but it felt great!

I slept on the third bunk up, which is really high, and I was a little nervous that I would fall out of bed, but I reasoned that I never have before. Also, I put my left hand on the side of the bed as I was falling asleep, to remind me that there was an edge. It was kind of fun being up in a perch!

Zealand Hut is home to some creatures, like a snake colony and a wasps nest.  The snakes they are keeping, the wasps are living under the front porch, and I think it's headed out! One woman told me that as she was going up to the hut and me a little kid who told her "there are snakes and wasps and spiders." And there were. There was also an almost full moon. For dinner we had "Mexican Lasagne" which is to say that there were lasagne noodles and corn and veggies but no pasta sauce or cheese, so the cru made due. It was a different cru than usual - the summer one had just gone back to school and the fall one wasn't out yet, so it was all regular people, none of them under 40 I bet! They were good cooks though - there was also a delicious brown bread and tomato rice soup (this will sound very much like the menu at Galehead, but I didn't care).

Rowing

Today I went for the third time to this rowing place in Brookline. It's so good - so much better than the one in Arlington that I will drive across the city for it. The owner is clearly passionate about rowing and he's really into technique and cheering people on and pushing you to do your best. Which I often find annoying, but he's super genuine, and like the crossfit coaches who used to call me an athlete.  Anyhow, I had to write about it because at the end of the workout I kind of felt like throwing up, a sign of a good aerobic workout!

The class was abs and rowing - you do 5 sets of rowing and then abs, with three different ab exercises for each set. They start with a medicine ball, and this time I didn't use the smallest! After the "warm up" of 5 sets, you choose a rowing program, I usually pick the middle of 5 choices which this time was 400 meters/45 sec rest/600 meters/1 min rest/300 meters/35 sec rest/200 meters/15 sec rest/100 meters.  It was somewhere around 200 meters that I wanted to puke. But I didn't.

I booked a hike in the White Mountains - I'm going to stay at Zealand Falls Hut, then hike to Guyot campground, set up my tent, and then hike the Bonds. There are 3 Bonds, I'm hoping I can do 2 one day and then 1 the next, then head to South Twin and North Twin, and then I'm staying at Galehead Hut. Then down the next day and home. I've done South Twin already, but that's five of my remaining seven 4000 footers :)  I hope it doesn't rain.  It seems kind of silly to stay at the huts when I have my tent, but then I don't have to carry food, and it's easier if it does rain, and also I just like the huts, so there. And, it will be my first solo night sleeping out in the tent, so I decided one night was good for starters.  If I like it, I may do some more next year, since I will hopefully be done with lists.  Super excited, and a little nervous! It's a lot to do.

PS. Don't try to rob the house when I'm gone, there's nothing to take.

Cabot

Another good hike! Two thumbs up for sure on this one. Cabot is the northern-most mountain in the 48, it seems very far away. And it's down this long road that has a fish hatchery on it, with a gate. That's supposedly only unlocked 8-4, limiting your hiking time.

I stayed at my friend's in NH again. Just me this time, no surprise guests. The sun woke me up at dawn, and I was thinking about going back to sleep, but I had a long day ahead, and 5:45 was a good time to start!  I left the cabin at about 6:15 - it's over an hour to the trail even from N. Conway. I had to stop for coffee on the way there, and I ate a huge jar of oatmeal that I made on Wed night - awesome morning food for hiking (also, I ate coffee beans from Trader Joes that are the bomb! That store knows how to make good products.)  Anyhow, I got to the Fish Gate at 7:40 ish, and it wasn't locked, plus there was a summer camp inside the gate, so I thought it might be opened after 4. Trailhead at just before 8.

There are two ways to do Cabot - out and back or a loop that goes up two more 4000 foot mountains (not official 4000 footers because they don't go up and down enough - they are considered sub peaks.) It's 4.7 miles to the top of Cabot, so 9.4 if you do an out and back. The loop goes down the other side of Cabot, over "The Buldge," up and down "The Horn," then to Unknown Pond, and then back to a different trailhead - it's 6.9 miles after the summit, totaling 11.6 for the loop (The Horn is an out an back .3 mile extension, but it's the only place with a good view.) I wasn't sure if I would be up for 11.6 miles, so I parked at the trailhead for the out and back, but it turned out that Cabot had switchbacks on the way up, plus there was a view rock about 3.5 miles in where I stopped to take a rest, so I was feeling pretty good at the top and decided to do the whole thing!

Cabot is a nice little mountain - for all its 4000+ feet, it didn't seem that tough. I mean it was hard going up, but not exhausting. About 3/4 mile after the viewpoint, there is this little cabin that I stopped at - there used to be a fire tower, and I guess that's where the fire tower people lived, now hikers can just stay there! And, there's an outhouse!  It's so weird to get almost to the top of a mountain and find an outhouse :)  I was a little sad because I didn't need it at the moment.  The top of Cabot is viewless, and there's a little trick because there's a trail junction, but the top is probably 10 feet away at a cairn - I'd read up on it so I knew to tag the cairn.

The way down Cabot was surprisingly steep. No switchbacks on the other side. I practiced using gravity and trusting my feet. The tail then went over The Buldge, which had no view. I got to the sign for The Horn faster than expected, and decided I had to go up, otherwise it would be 11 miles with only the one partial view at 3.5 miles.  I was so glad I did!  It wasn't that hard a mountain to climb, and the view was amazing. I ate two cheese sandwiches on challah (so good) and basked in the sun (no helicopter came to rescue me, phew). The top of The Buldge is a big rock which was pretty fun to climb up!

Next was Unknown Pond.  It was really woodsy and remote feeling heading over. Tons of moose droppings, but I didn't see any moose. I bumped into a woman (OK, she passed me) who was a little freaked out by the remoteness - she was chatty. mmm. The pond was so nice!  At first, the woman was eating carrots behind me and it was so annoying, because I walked all this way to this remote pond - and it was all crunch crunch. And so I was rude and just sat by myself, and I was so glad I did because the spot I found was so much nicer. I counted 8 frogs around me. Imagine living your entire life at that perfect, serene pond? There's a camp ground there, I bet it would be amazing to stay.

After the pond it was 3.3 miles out. It was mostly downhill, not too exciting. For a little while I had dark thoughts. But it actually only took me like two hours, and that was partly because it was so overgrown.  I got back to the other parking lot, and fortunately it was only a short walk to my car. There was no one around, one car in the lot and I was sure that it belonged to this guy I bumped into who was camping by the pond. I've never done this before, but I changed outside, next to my car! I had some wipes to clean off, it felt amazing!

In the entire hike I saw about a dozen people. Almost everyone was hiking solo, just one group of three running. I scared a guy because he thought I was a moose. It is Friday - summer hiking Friday, I love it!

Middle Carter and South Carter

Today made me revise my opinion of the Carters completely!  I might even do Carter Dome and the Hut again, but with no snow. I did two 4000 footers, hiked 11 miles, and it was lovely! (mostly)

I went from work to my friends cabin in NH on Thursday after work - it took an extra 45 min to get there because of traffic, but it was well worth it!  My friend told me no one would be there, but I was welcomed to crash.  I got to the place and the ceiling fan was going and the water was on, which was weird. I was suspicious that someone else was there, and they were!  My friend's husband's parent's were staying - they are so much cooler than my parents. Anyhow, we chatted for a while, but I went to bed at 10 pm.  I woke up at my usual time, 6:30, and got to the trail head by 7:30. My plan was to do a loop, parking my car at 19 Mile Brook trailhead, walk to Camp Dodge, cut through, and take the trail there to the Imp trail. Then, take the Imp trail to North Carter trail, Carter Moriah trail over Middle and South Carter, and then turn down at the Zeta pass, taking Carter Dome Trail to 19 Mile Brook trail.  The advantage of doing the loop in this direction was that I knew I would be able to find Camp Dodge from this way, and wasn't sure I would be able to in the other direction, which would mean a long road walk, either at the start or end of the hike. Also, I knew that the trail down has switchbacks, and that it 19 Mile Brook is lovely, and I thought that would be good at the end. And, I would climb the taller mountain first, with stronger legs. The downside was that there aren't a ton of views on this hike, and they were earlier on going in this direction.

Well, I'm very sure I wouldn't have found the cut through from Camp Dodge from the woods, because I missed it the first time from Camp Dodge, and wound up bushwalking to where I thought the trail was. For 30 minutes before I decided I was being stupid, could get lost out there and die, and should go back. And then I tried again and found the trail.  So I started on the hike at 8:30.  The killer was that I was like 6 feet away.  Lesson for self: I am not a person who bushwhacks. This is something I already knew, but I am re-reminded. The first half hour or so up the trail I stewed at myself, before deciding that I had to let it go, I couldn't believe that I wasted so much time, when I was at the trail early!

Because of the bushwhack I'm not totally sure how long the hike was, but I think the uphill was about 3.5 miles or so. It was all a steady uphill, but none of it was super steep. I stopped a few times to breathe and let my heart slow dow, but for the most part it was fine.  I kind of like hikes where it's not directly uphill, but more a gradual thing. I stopped at a trail junction because I remembered I had coffee jelly beans, and to eat a cheese sandwich.  I don't remember when I stopped with the cheese sandwiches on egg bread and started taking healthy bread with peanut butter, but I was so glad I went back to cheese. It was so good!  I felt reenergized and headed up!  There where some nice views going up Middle Carter, the top was more one of those mountains where you are like, "ok, it's going down, that must have been it."  Maybe somewhere there's a cairn, but I could it if I walk over.

I particularly loved the fact that there was a 2.7 mile ridgeline!  It was so nice. There was some bog, and a nice view where I ate the rest of my cheese sandwiches. There are these birds called Grey Jays that will eat out of your hand - I'm not really into feeding the birds like that, but a couple of them came by to see if I would give them some treats. One puffed up his chest at me - I think he was flirting! After my rest, I headed on to South Carter, which wasn't that much elevation gain, and had one limited view. As I was walking, I thought about doing Mount Hight as well, just so I could get the view, and have a perfect hike - I was really feeling good, nothing hurt and I had a lot of energy!

I got to the Zeta Pass and there were several through hikers there!  The are so cool.  One of them told me it took him 30 minutes to get down from Hight, and I decided I should just finish so I could shower and head home.  It was still 3.8 miles down, even if there were switchback.  It was again a really nice hike down, a little buggy in parts, but not too bad. A lot of the hike was pretty overgrown, and I did extra scrubbing for ticks in my shower.

All in all, a good day!

Wildcats Redux

I don't know why, but I was bothered by Wildcat.  I really wanted to climb it. I've been thinking about it for two weeks! I did not have that problem with Cannon, or with Monadnock the time I twisted my ankle and decided to go down. But, it was bugging me.  So, today, off I went for my second attempt, and success!

I decided that since I already climbed the steep trail, I wasn't going to do it again. I would just go up and down the ski trail. Which was a very good idea. No walking on the road, and way easier on the way up. It was hot, I even wore a hat!  Wildcat ski resort has a gondola that takes people up to the top, so of course I hiked up there, and there were all these people sitting around, picnicking. In my head, I judged a little, and then judged myself for judging.

Looking at the map, going from Wildcat D to A looks like a nice ridgeline, with a little up and down. I can assure you, it is not. I got up Wildcat D again, and then from there it just went down down down.  I was scared, because I had to come up again at the end-ish of my hike. And then there was a lot of up. Because, of course, there's Wildcat B and C to go over. And A to climb. Once again, I had some Dark Trail Thoughts and thought about turning around because it was hot and humid and I was sweating like a pig, and I was a little nervous about the whole thing of walking away from my car still, when so tired.  I decided to get to the top of Wildcat C and assess.  On C, I ran into two nice women who said that it was easier from there.  I decided I should push on because #1 I never want to go on the Wildcats again and #2 I had already come down D, and was going to have to go back up.  I'm so glad that I went for it because the two women were right, it got easier, and before I knew it I was on top of Wildcat!

There's a really pretty view spot from the top of Wildcat, which probably gets crowded and not-view-y on some days, but I actually had the place to myself!  There was a tree with a nice curve to sit in and two nice spots in the rock that were almost like chairs.  With a sharp fall off them, because the view point was at the edge of a cliff.  The view of Carter Notch and the hut was gorgeous!  It's a long way down, and you definitely wouldn't want to step wrong from the view spot, that's for sure.  I sat and ate for a little, but there were a ton of black flies, so after a bit I had to leave.

The hike back was much easier - I realized just how uphill the hike there had been.  By the time I got back to the gondola it was closed for the night, and I had the top of the ski slope to myself.  There was a sign that said it took about 45 minutes to hike down, but I want to correct that - it took me over an hour, and I think I was making pretty good speed.  After I finished, I went to Joe Dodge Lodge and took a shower - I love that place!

Mystic River Kayak

I was thinking about going back up to the Wildcats today and hiking up the ski slope and to Wildcat A, and then back down. That's about 9.6 miles and 6 hours of driving (I saw someone recently say it took them 6 hrs and 15 min, which I guess would take me about 7 hours?) But, I got a bone to pick with that mountain! In the end, though, I decided I don't have to drive to NH every weekend. Also, I have some friends coming tomorrow, and I needed to do some food shopping and such. And, I didn't want to be exhausted.  So, I decided to go kayaking!

I was going to go for a short kayak, because it's really hot out!  But, on the Mystic River there was a breeze, and water, and it was really nice, even though it was the Mystic River.  I got going and just kept going. In the end, I went further on this route than before, about 4 and 2/3 miles I think, so around 9 and 1/3 miles in total!  It took me 3 hours, so I was not making record speeds.  It was nice, though, there were some bands playing music, for some reason, water birds, and I went through the pond at the end to the fish steps.  It was really hot!

For July 4, I went with a friend to a barbecue which was really nice. There were a lot of fruity drinks, a really really good burger, and all kinds of delicious salads. And, this one guy there is in the midst of hiking the AT!!  He had to get off because he was sick, and then hurt his leg, but he was headed back today.  He said that if you hike like 15 miles a day, with one rest day a week, then you can do it in 6 months..?  And, that the bugs haven't been that bad (like in NH).  Hmmm.  He started by doing like three miles a day, and worked up to 20, you don't have to be all gang buster on the first day.

I went home and was thinking about watching the fireworks on TV, but the Boston ones were only on Bloomberg TV, and you had to pay for more than 30 minutes.  The only ones that I could watch were the DC ones, and I refuse to be a part of the Trump Show.  So, I made a last minute decision and went.  I went a new way - I parked in the same parking lot as usual, but walked to a different spot so it was only a mile walk. After, though, the police wouldn't let me turn left, and so it took a while to get home, even with my close parking.  The fireworks were amazing, totally worth it, and I needed the walk after so much eating.