World's end and nantasket

I had the day off today, and was thinking about a nice hike in NH, but the weather was calling for rain and it wasn't appealing. I've been wanting to go swimming at nantasket beach on the South Shore for a while, because I've heard that the water is really cold. Looking at a map, I saw it was right by world's end, which is sort of part of the Boston Harbor Islands, though I guess it's really a peninsula. Anyhow, someone I used to work with was always talking about going there for walks, and checking it out it looked nice, so I did a little south shore day trip.

World's End was really nice - much more chill than a hike in NH for sure, and easier to get to. I pretty much walked around the entire trail system; according to all trails I walked 4.76 miles, but it only took a little over 2 hours of walking. And I was strolling. It doesn't always have to be a 4000 footer! Towards the end I sat on a rock by the water and watched the boats go by - it's so pretty there. 

After, I drove over to Hull and went for a nice dip in the ocean and sat on the beach. The water was chilly, but not so cold that I had any after drop. 

Last night was slightly past the full moon, but a group of us swimmers met by the dock at 9:45 and went for a dip in the lake and watched the moon for a bit. One of the guys brought this propane fire thing that he has, and we roasted marshmallows and had smores after. The water was warmer than the air. I feel like it's going to start getting cooler soon.

 

Wild Fish

I did a third swim "race" today - the Wild Fish which is in Salem harbor. I've been feeling sick with a cold all week, so I decided to do the half mile instead of the mile - good choice! I did it in 23 minutes, which is a 46 minute pace! Which is faster than what I've swum before. Of course, it was only half the distance, but I was also recovering from basically lying on the couch all week, so I counting it!

After my friends and I went to Gloucester for a little town fair, and then ice cream. Wouldn't want these things to be calorie negative events :) 

Perseids on Mt Kearsarge North

My first 4000 footer was hiking Mt. Osceola, camping overnight and watching the meteor shower. At the time I was pretty unprepared, didn't have enough layers and was freezing all night. I went with a meetup because I wasn't experienced enough to go alone. It was nice, but I didn't see a lot of meteors and I've always thought it would be good to try a do-over. This year I thought I would give it a shot!

I invited some friends to come with me. A few of them found other meteor shower things to do, and one said she would come, but then bailed. So, I did it solo - IDK why I try otherwise. I was kind of glad I did it solo because for some reason I overpacked (probably remembering the last time) and my pack was really heavy, and therefore I was pretty slow. I decided on Kearsarge North because there's a fire tower up top where you can sleep and there's a good view from the top - you really aren't meant to camp out on a lot of the open peaks. I had done Kearsarge N a number of years ago and remember it being hard but really nice views from the top. And, that's how it was.

I got to sleep in and leave a bit late because it's only a 3 mile hike up. Because of this I packed the day of, which I think was a mistake. I didn't need a tent, and I decided not to bring my jetboil, so I took a canned coffee drink and premade oatmeal. Plus an apple and a banana - all heavy! And my sleeping bag liner that I didn't use. plus two sleep pads where I only used one. And, I forgot that one of my sleep pads (the one I didn't use) has a pillow, and brought an extra. I did use my smartwool long underware, ninja hoodie, athleta pants, big puff, wool hat, gloves and two pairs of wool socks. And my kindle (though I didn't need the case, which I brought.) I also brought a change of underware which is kind of a luxury. I was a little worried about water on the way up, which I didn't need to be because there was a huge puddle under the fire tower (though it had just rained).

Anyhow, the hike up was slow and steady. The entire way up was pretty unrelenting up hill, with almost no spots where it was flat. The only really bad part, though, was when I got to the sign that shows that you are a quarter mile from the top - I thought I would hit the top in the next 15 minutes, but the trail actually didn't go as the crow flies, and it took forever! I was so glad to see the tower up top - I really wanted to stop hiking and eat something. Of course, as I got up there I saw 4 little kids, one who looked like she was about 4 and was wearing those light up velcro shoes. Ha! Keeps you humble.

I went to the tower to find a spot to lay out my stuff, and it was pretty full. Fortunately everyone was thoughtful in laying out their bags, so I was able to squish in, but I wasn't so psyched. Then I went to the "toilet" (two walls and then a box with a hole in it and a seat cover. Not glam, but I used it anyhow). Then I cleaned up a little, changed my clothes, and found a place to eat. I'd stopped on the drive up and got pretzels and hummus (also heavy) and chowed down. It was the best hummus ever. The view there is so nice, and I enjoyed looking at all the high peeks, and remembering that I had hiked the tallest ones. 

As it started getting dark I went back and gathered all my stuff together and got set for the meteor shower. The kids fell asleep, but everyone else was sitting out watching - I saw about a half dozen, but then the clouds came in. I wasn't really tired, so I wrapped up in my sleeping bag and read on my kindle, stopping to see if the clouds parted every now and then. Then for a while I just lay out and looked at the sky, seeing an occasional meteor. There were also these weird flashes of white and red, that I learned after were part of the Northern Lights! But, I couldn't see them in their entirety because of the clouds. In the end I saw about a dozen meteors and slept for less than two hours. I tried going inside at about 430 am, but couldn't really sleep so gave up after about a half hour and went outside to watch the sunrise - that was amazing - there were clouds below and a beautiful sunrise. There were 4 of us watching the sun come up, and I ate all my remaining heavy food - it was really nice. 

I had to work at 2, and I was a little worried that it would be hard to get back, but it was no problem. I left the top around 6:30 am after spending plenty of time appreciating the view and the fire tower. The hike down was much easier because my pack was lighter and, though there were a few steep and rocky spots, it was mostly just a steady downhill. I got down, bought a big coffee and a bagel with cream cheese in North Conway, and drove home. I had enough time to unpack, take a shower, and eat some real food before I had to start working. All and all, nice hike, tough and unrelenting but no killer stretches. Would do again.

Oh, yes, and when I got home I started noticing that my throat was a little scratchy and I felt sniffly. Turns out I have a cold - glad I didn't sleep inside because I don't think I will have given it to anyone, but also may explain my slow progress uphill in part.

Table Rock, Pisgah and kayaking

Over the weekend I had a fun adventure with my swim friends and doing some solo hiking! There's a summer swim fest at the same place as the winter one and a group of us went for the event. I didn't swim, instead I kayaked for a friend who did a 5K and for the 1 mile swimmers, which was so fun!

On the drive up I took a little detour to do Table Rock, which is on the terrifying 25 hikes of the White Mountains list. I did a short route up - just 1.5 miles, and only 750 feet elevation gain. It actually wasn't too hard, though of course I was still breathing hard and glad to get to the top. The big thing with this hike is the rock at the top - it's maybe 4 feet wide, maybe 20 feet long, and about 100 feet straight down on both sides. I got about 10 feet from the end before I started thinking too much, and crouching lower and lower to the ground. I didn't completely think I was going to make it to the end, so I wasn't too disappointed, though I did give it like 3 tries. Then I had a delicious cheese sandwich at the top and hiked on down. By doing the hike on the way up to the swim, I didn't drive 3.5 hours for a 1.5 hour hike (good choice me) and I got to take some of the back roads to get to Lake Memphremagog, which I also liked. It's so nice out there!

We camped at a really nice place in Vermont, which turned out to be where the races left from. Two thumbs up, would definitely do again. I just got a new inflatable mattress, and it was so lux. We stayed for three nights, and had a fire each night. Really fun!

On the second day I hiked Mt. Pisgah, which is about 30 minutes from the campground. I took the North Trail because the trailhead was closer to the campground. Very random reason, but they both sounded good. Also enjoyed this hike - the trail up was steady uphill, but there were switchbacks for some of it, and only a couple really uphill bits. On the way up they seemed to take forever, but on the way down they weren't so bad. There were 4 viewpoints at the top, all of them really nice, but the first two were the best. I was so hungry when I got to the first one that I ate my sandwich (white bread, cheese and avocado. So good!)  The hike down was pretty easy - in fact I did both of the hikes in book time. 

That evening we went to the pasta dinner at the race place. Honestly, I don't love their favorite restaurant and my stomach was a little upset after eating. Then, I must have walked through some kind of bug's nest or something, because after we got back to the campsite my feet were itching so badly I didn't know what to do. When we looked at them, they had swollen up like crazy and someone had to go get me Benadryl to make them stop. Fortunately by the time we went to bed they were only a little itchy, and they were fine the next day.

Race day was so fun - I loved being the kayaker. My friend had rented a kayak for me to use, and I have to say it did work better than my folding one. It was pretty fun to zip around in the water, though mostly I lazed along because my job was to guide her along the route and swimming is just going to be slower than kayaking. She did so well - she didn't even train and swam 5K in 2 hours and 10 minutes. After we had to stand in line for over a half hour for the race lunch, and it wasn't that good. Note to self - bring a sandwich next time. The other two people I went with did the 1 mile race, and I kayaked for that. It was so fun being the person in the yak being supportive of others. There was one woman who was really the slowest, and so after everyone else finished I went back and met with her and another kayaker and cheered her on. I would totally do that again.

Definitely a fun weekend, would do again for sure! Except for the bugs...

Swim Stroke Changes

I've had two really helpful swim lessons in a row - the first one last week Coach said that I was looking too far down and that was causing drag. And, I was moving my head too much - it should just go into the water and out, not move around. Also my left arm was dipping and not getting as much power as it could. Today he said that I was only swimming with one arm at a time - so, I am doing stroke and back, then stroke and back, like that catch-up arms drill. But, really both arms should be going at once, like on a bike. When one arm is pulling, the other is recovering and going into the water. Once I started doing that I swam faster! I even caught up with some of the "fast" swimmers :) I'm going to have to do some practice with that. I will also say it's much more of a workout.

Speaking of workouts, I switched my YMCA membership to a larger network where I could register for classes online and don't have to be Julie. I've been thinking I should do this for a while, but haven't because it's so hard to cancel a gym membership, but the woman was really nice about it and didn't give me any hassle. Anyhow, the new gym gives me 2 free personal training sessions, so I did my first one last week and have my next one this week. It was kind of fun, the guy who was teaching me was nice and he set up a couple of good circuits for me to do. I think he saw me and kind of underestimated me (not sure how I feel about that) because he kept giving me things to do and looking surprised when I could do them. I mean, super easy things like the world's greatest stretch. The two things that were the weirdest were that he just kept watching me all the time, and instead of telling me to go during a timed exercise he started the timer when I started. I'll do the second session, but I don't think I'm going to pay for more.

I did do my first zumba class last week also. It was super fun, not too hard but still got my heart rate up, and I didn't crash into anyone. I will definitely do that again. After I lifted some weights.

It's been so hot here, and I'm not a hot weather person. I've been hanging out at home in the AC a lot, but yesterday I went with a few swim friends to the beach on the north shore. It was over 90 out, but the air was a little cooler at the ocean and the water was 59. We stayed inside long enough to get a nice chill going, it was great! It took about 45 minutes to get there, definitely something I could do again.

Fireworks from the Charles

This year for July 4 a friend and I decided to watch the fireworks from kayaks in the river - so fun! Two thumbs up. Would do again.

We strategized about our paddle and decided that it might be easier to get parking if we went earlier in the day - so we drove over there, parked my friend's car with all the heavier stuff in it, and then biked home. We both biked back to meet at 8. Biking home I took a blue bike and went over the river to check out the action while people were waiting. They had already closed Storrow, so I was able to bike down the road, which was pretty cool, and I watched everyone walk around and get set up for later in the day. There was such a huge police presence, it was pretty crazy. I saw one of the police dogs eating a stick, so not everything was serious. I took a regular bike at first, but then about half way home I switched to an ebike - they are just so much easier. For the ride back I took my own bike and went down Mem Drive, it was starting to get a little crazy by that point.

My friend has an inflatable kayak so we took her kayak and most of the other stuff down to the river in a wagon she has. Then I went back and got my kayak, because the foldable is easier to set up. There was a picnic happening, and a lot of bollywood music, which was kind of funny for July 4, but it was a fun atmosphere. We launched around 9 ish and paddled from BU bridge almost to Mass Ave bridge, and then dropped anchor near the MIT boathouse. We used an old cinderblock and a dog leash for the anchor - it took a while to come up with that, and unfortunately the cinder block was too heavy to pull back up, so it had to stay in the river at the end.

Once we dropped anchor and tied together we just hung out chatting for a while. I pulled the pops concert up on my phone and we enjoyed being out on the water. The fireworks were amazing, as they always are! So big and they go on for so long. From right by the MIT boathouse we could see perfectly. It was a really good spot to watch from. 

As soon as the fireworks ended people raced off to try to beat the crowd. On the water that meant that there were kayakers zipping past us - it was pretty amazing. Then there was the crowd that was in less of a hurry - there were so many human powered boats on the water. You could see the lights everywhere, and it was all kinds. The most popular were the kayaks, but then there were also canoes, paddleboards, some funny looking rowboats, and someone had one of those boats that you move with bike peddles. My friend and I headed back and it was so fun to be a part of this huge crowd paddling down the river. 

I was a little worried that it would be hard to get out because the boat ramp wasn't that big, but it was totally fine, no issues at all. We packed up our stuff and headed back (which was much easier without the cinder block - we did it in one trip.) Even the ride home was no problem, we ran into a little traffic but honestly not much. Definitely the way to do the fireworks! We both agreed that we would love to go again next year. The one change that I would make is trying to bring two anchors because we kept turning during the fireworks and it was a little bit of a pain to have to keep the boat facing the right direction. 

4 mile kayak

It was a beautiful day today - sunny, cool and not humid. I was mostly feeling lazy from yesterday's exercise, and spent a good chunk of time lying in my chilbo shwagins in the back corner of our parking lot listening to a book on audible and doing sudoku, but after dinner I decided I had to stop being lazy, and get some exercise. I'm kayaking for a friend at a race in Vermont in July, so I wanted to be sure that I could do the whole thing. The race is a 5K, so I decided to go kayak 4 miles and make sure it was fine, which it was!

I decided to kayak up the mystic river to the lower lake. There's a spot on the Mystic that's really close to me, but it's not really that nice for kayaking. The highway goes right next to it, and it just looks like a river at the side of a highway. A little further up it's more residential and parks, and a lot of birds. I love the folding kayak that I have - it's really easy to unfold and get going, the only thing that's a pain is drying it off at the end, but really it's not that big a deal. I had no problem with parking, got set up in just a couple minutes, and was off.

It was a really nice night for a kayak - just a tiny breeze, but nothing that I would call a current or that I had to paddle against. I saw a bunch of guys fishing, people walking on the lake, birds and a few turtles. I'm kind of into the book I'm listening to, so for a change I brought my earbuds and phone, and listened as I paddled. 

According to my fitbit it took me and hour and 15 minutes to do the 4 miles, which I'm pretty happy with. At no point was I rushing, but I didn't really stop either. I feel like I should be fine for the length and duration of the swim, as long as the water isn't horrible. I'm going to try to get out at least once a week to prep for the event, just in case the weather is rough.