Here at Hangman Hill

Our “Plan B” for summer vacation in the event that Nick and Pam were not able to visit (Plan A), was to join Michael and Janel and extended family in Montana at Lake Koocanusa. Lake Koocanusa was created in the 1970’s with a dam on the Kootenai River. This river extends to the US – Canada border, hence canusa. Since at the time of our trip the border between the two countries was closed, we were able to rent a cabin on the lake.

We flew to Spokane, WA, and traveled to Coer d’Alene ID, where we spent a night en route to Koocanusa. It was very hot, and a little smoky, but we stayed close to the lake and enjoyed exploring the downtown area of Coer d’Alene. We strolled along the shore, hiked to small vista and enjoyed live music at the water front. We stayed in a classic 50’s motel just on the edge of town which was perfect for our 1-night stay.

From Coer d’Alene we traveled east through Idaho and into Western Montana. We enjoyed passing through Sand Point, ID, a small resort town on Lake Pend d’Oreilles. We travelled near to several active fires just before arriving in Libby, MT the gateway town to Lake Koocanusa.

We arrived at Camp Koocanusa and settled into Cabin 3, just two doors down from Cabin 1 where DiAnn (Sheri’s Mom) and Mike were staying. The cabin was well equipped and surprisingly cool given the temperatures in the mid-90’s

Michael (Sheri’s brother) and Janel, Khloe and Grimmy camped nearby as did Janel’s brother Tony, his wife Kerensa and their three daughters. We really enjoyed spending time with everyone. We spend time swimming and paddling from the beach near the cabins. One day we rented a pontoon boat that allowed us to explore more of the lake and surrounding areas.

We completed our vacation with a trip to the Kootenai Falls and Swinging bridge before heading west, back to Spokane, WA. The falls were lovely, the river a stunning shade of aqua and the swinging bridge was an adventure.

The Hangman Hill gardens are thriving this year, albeit under the pressure of some very weird weather patterns. Currently, we are harvesting tomatoes, green beans, egg plants (aubergines), strawberries, fresh herbs and blueberries. This all makes for great salads and desserts on a daily basis.

We just had a very relaxing long weekend to celebrate the July 4th holiday. We hope that you had a great weekend too!

It started off wet and cool, so we began our celebration with a pancake breakfast and seasonal berries from the garden. Following that, we visited the new surf-themed coffee shop in Westerly (Stick-and-Fin) and made quick stop at the Cheese Shop and the liquor store to stock up on essential supplies for the weekend.

In the afternoon we worked in the garden, and got ready for a BBQ in the evening. Sheri cooked her famous salmon-burgers (with home-baked buns) and made a delicious berry cake for dessert. We were happy to have great company (Mark & Jen) for our evening meal and we finished the evening sitting around the fire, looking at the stars and observing a good number of fireflies.

To finish off the weekend we paddled on the Chipuxet River downstream from Taylors Landing. We were joined by Lynn, Denise, MIke, Spy and Shauna, and we celebrated Lynn’s birthday with carrot-cake cupcakes. We didn’t make it all the way to the lake, but we did see lots of turtles, a beaver, a heron, an egret and lots of smaller birds.

Hopefully you had a fun weekend too! Don’t forget that the most beautiful places are often right in your neighborhood, just waiting to be explored and enjoyed.

Celebrating US Independence Day with an all-American breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit from the garden. Have a great day everyone!

We have been eyeing the Kilkenny Ridge in New Hampshire for a while because it promises seclusion and an opportunity to immerse yourself in pristine nature. It is a 26-mile hike and we decided that it would make a great 3-day spring backpacking trip. Hopefully the snow would be melted and the bugs would not have woken up yet!

Day-1 started by meeting with our taxi-service at the destination trailhead and then being ferried to the starting trailhead with our packs and Zealand. With the most complicated logistics behind us, we set out on the trail at about 11.45am with a 7-mile hike ahead of us for the day. Our packs were at their heaviest (about 35lbs) and even Zealand noticed the difference from a normal day-hike.

We gradually ascended from South Pond to Rogers Ledge (52WAV), and then dropped down to a small pond before hiking up and over the ridge to Unknown Pond to reach our first campsite. We arrived at the campsite at about 5.30pm and enjoyed a level site with a distant view of Mount Washington (covered in snow). Sunset at Unknown Pond was sublime and we were asleep before 9pm.

It was a cold night and we awoke early on Day-2. This allowed us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and several cups of tea and coffee before hitting the trail. Our second day involved an ascent of the Horn (great views), the Bulge, and Mount Cabot (4K). We met quite a few day-hikers on Cabot and enjoyed lunch at the Cabot Cabin (which is maintained by the Forest Service). After lunch we descended quite a long way before heading back up to the more remote area of Terrace Mountain. This part of the trail is seldom hiked and is quite dry. We had to trust that there would be water at our destination for the day (Willard Notch). Total distance for the second day was approximately 9-miles.

We found the stream at Willard Notch quite easily and there was enough flow for 2-people and a pooch. We scouted around and soon found a very nice campsite set back from the trail. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner and went to bed early without seeing another soul. The next morning we were back on the trail before 9am. Our packs were much lighter having eaten most of our food and we made good time as we ascended the three summits of the Weeks range. There were many blow-downs on this section of the trail and this slowed our progress a little. Thankfully the understory had not really grown up yet, so following the seldom hiked path was much easier than we had expected.

We lunched on South Weeks, and made it to the summit of Mount Waumbek (4K) by 2pm. Here we met the first people that we had seen for more than 24-hours (quite a feat in the popular White Mountains). The trail was now all downhill back to the car, via the summit of Starr-King (52WAV). It was icy for the first half-mile (packed monorail) and we were glad to have carried our microspikes for the past 3-days. Beyond that the trees` were leafing-out and there were many wildflowers in bloom. Just as we arrived back at the car at 4pm we encountered 1 or 2 black-flies waking up for the season. Total distance for the day was about 10-miles.

Overall, this was a great trip. We carried just the right amount of gear (food, clothes, kibble, etc) and the weather stayed dry for the entire 3-days. Now we are off to figure out our next adventure…

On Saturday the weather was cold but sunny, so we ventured out for a hike to Green Falls Pond. It was warm enough in the sun for a picnic and the doodles enjoyed romping together in the woods.

2020 may have been an unusual year, but it didn’t disappoint when it came to Christmas cards. In this annual blog post highlighting our favorite Christmas cards you will find some great images. Square-shaped cards seem to have been quite popular, as were images of dogs and cats. And who could resist the card with an image of Bernie Sander’s mittens!

With a thinning snow cover and a prediction for clear and stable weather for the higher summits in the White Mountains, we decided to hike Franconia Ridge this past Sunday. It had been a while since we had been at higher elevations, so we were eager to stretch our legs and enjoy some views.

While the forecast was for clear skies and sun, the winds at higher elevations were predicted to be high (30-45 mph). Since there is “no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”, we packed plenty of protective clothing, and outfitted Zealand with a coat, boots and plenty of Musher’s Secret.

The route we would take is a classic one. Leaving from Lafayette Place, we would ascend via Falling Waters Trail to the summit Little Haystack. There we would take Franconia Ridge Trail over the summits of Lincoln and Lafayette, descend on the Greenleaf Ridge to the Greenleaf Hut, and take the Old Bridle Path back to the car.

It was a treat to see the many waterfalls along the Falling Water Trail frozen in time. There are many stream crossings and we were pleased to find ice bridges over most of them. The trail was covered in hard-packed snow and we made good progress with help of micro spikes. We met a few people, and a few dogs, but overall the trail was quiet.

As predicted we started hiking in low cloud but by the time we reached the ridge, we were standing in brilliant sunshine. An inversion could be seen in nearly all directions, and particularly to the north.

At the ridge we found very little snow, so we removed our “spikes”. The wind was gusty, but not as bad as we feared. The sun and warm temperatures offset the wind, and the views helped too.

As we approached the summit of Lafayette hikers coming towards us were looking pretty bundled up. Sure enough, just below the summit of Mt. Lafayette the winds were steady at 35-40 mph. We paused briefly at the summit to capture a few images, and then quickly descended down Greenleaf Ridge.

We arrived at the Greenleaf Hut at 12:30 pm and had a leisurely lunch on the back deck of the hut where we were sheltered from the wind. From there we took the Old Bridle Path back to the car. The afternoon sun was low in the ski but still was warm. The moderate descent through a mixture of pines and hardwoods made for a nice stroll back to the car.

A winter hike to Franconia Ridge has been on the “list” for a while. It was an enjoyable day and we were pleased to have made a successful day, and that Zealand did well in some challenging conditions. This is one worth repeating!

The traditional English Christmas Cake is a favorite or ours, in part because it is so long-lasting and makes an excellent treat on the trails in winter, especially with a thermos of tea.

A traditional Christmas Cake is a dried-fruit based cake soaked in brandy, covered with marzipan and then royal icing. Typically, the cakes are decorated with traditional iconic holiday decorations, holly, pine cones, Christmas trees…you get the idea.

This year, with the expectation we may not be able to ride our snowboards due to the restrictions related to COVID-19, we decorated our cake with two brash snowboarders shredding a little powder. A girl and boy can dream, can’t they?

Until the next post….we will be on the trail, eating cake.

One of Zealand’s Christmas presents this year was a piece of safety gear for when he takes long hikes in the mountains. It’s called an Airlift (made by Fido Pro) and it allows him to be carried off the mountain in the event that he gets injured far from the trailhead.

You may think this is rather unlikely, but we did have a close call with Kelsi in our younger days. We can attest that carrying a 60lb dog in your backpack isn’t very much fun!

We tested it out the Airlift in the house just to make sure that it works and fits Zealand’s long-legged physique. It seems like it is a good fit and he was happy to be carried around in style.

From now on this will be folded up and carried in our pack (along with our first aid kit, rain jackets and doggie treats) whenever we go for a long hike in the mountains. Better safe than sorry!