Here at Hangman Hill

Enjoying a warm September evening along the Connecticut River

During our trip to the White Mountains in July we found a number of hikes that looked interesting, so we returned to the Kancamangus on Thursday night for another long weekend.  While Friday was a bit of a wash, literally, it turned out to be nearly perfect weather on Saturday and Sunday.  

On Friday we dodged raindrops, made a brief stop at Echo Lake and the base of Cathedral Ledge, a famous climbing spot in the area. With hopes the weather would improve we located the Moat Mountain trail head with plans to return for a hike to the three summits of Moat Mountain on Saturday morning.  After a nice dinner under the tarp, we settled in early at our site at the Covered Bridge Campground.

Saturday morning we woke to crystal clear skies of blue and low humidity.  Typically this hike is done starting from the north, often as a through hike.  With only one car, we opted to start at the south side of Moat Mountain heading north,  to the south, middle then north summits.  The aim – to maximize the view for effort (VFE) ratio. This section was described as a “ridge hike with many rocky ledges and spectacular views” which would give us an 11 miles that was largely spent above tree line.   It turned out our planning was spot on!   This route was declared “one of the best hikes we have ever done” by days-end.  After only one hour of hiking we were above tree line, and within two hours we had 360 views looking north to Mount Washington, east to North Conway and to Mt Chocurau to the west.  As we continued to hike the north the views continued to amaze us, the weather remained cool and crisp and we met some fine folks along the way.

The weather Sunday was a repeat of Saturday and hiked to Mt. Stanton and on to Mt. Pickering.  This was short, but very steep hike, and also afforded really nice views from only the ~2100 ft summits.  With tired legs and big smiles, we hopped in the car and headed home.  We made a stop in Lincoln, NH on the way home and enjoyed the Maps and Books shop on Main Street (thanks to Paul Luner for another good tip!).  With a few maps in hand, we are planning our next adventure.

On Friday evening we had happy hour in the garden and harvested nearly two pounds of blueberries, several cabbages, beans, fennel, radish and carrots. It was  beautiful evening in the garden and so nice to harvest so much after a summer of watering, weeding and picking pests.

A fine evening for a walk on our street.

We spent the last weekend of July exploring the White Mountains of New Hampshire along the Kancamangus Highway.  We were treated to sunny skies and seasonable temperatures and plenty of fresh air.  We camped at the Jigger Johnson Campground which is located half-way between Lincoln and Conway.   After a little jockeying for position we settled into the best site, a open airy spot far enough away from “The Kanc” to feel like were were truly camping.

We explored several hikes, and really enjoyed the hike to Mt Chocorau via the Champney Falls trail which was recommended by our friend Paul.   The hike was a gradual ascent and opened onto a rocky ledge just below the base of Mt Chocorau which offered 360 views for the final push to the summit.  Kokee was a trooper, although reaching the summit via some blocky scrambles in the heat of the day made for a tired (but happy) dog.  We entertained the thoughts of a swim to celebrate a fine day, but found soaking sore feet in the Swift River followed by hot showers at the campground to be more civilized.  

We took a lazy path back to Connecticut on Sunday to give Kokee a recovery from her scramble up to Mt Chocurau with some short hikes, including a stroll along Sabbaday Falls.  We spent some time taking in local history and a made a stop in Lincoln for ice cream before heading south for home.

This weekend of Yoga Teacher Training was outstanding and rich with learning and new experiences.  My teaching team, the Fantastic Fiddleheads lead the Saturday morning class.  While Janet and Martin lead the class with the theme of “The Wizard of Oz”, Kristin and I provided assists and checked alignment.  Looking after our fellow teachers in training to ensure alignment and safety in the poses and helping them to make the most of each pose was more rewarding (and less scary) than I expected.

We wrapped up the weekend with slack line yoga, taught by Meaghen Minogue.  This was truly a blast!  I have tried slackline with my climbing friends, but yoga poses on the slackline was something I never actually imagined I could do myself.  You can learn more about it from Yogaslackers.  I think a slackline at Hangman Hill is inevitable.

Several years ago our black-currant bushes were killed off by a fungus that is rife in Connecticut. So today, after several years without enjoying these wonderful fruit, we made a trip to Maple Lane Farms in Preston, CT to “pick our own”.

It was a cool morning and we arrived just as they opened (8am) so we had the place to ourselves. The result: 10lbs of fruit ready for the freezer before lunchtime. This should keep us going in the cold days of winter as a tasty topping for our oatmeal.