Here at Hangman Hill

At the end of September we enjoyed a weekend of camping and hiking with friends in the White Mountains. Our big hike of the weekend was to the summits of Mounts Parker, Resolution, Stairs and Crawford. We had perfect weather and great views in all directions.

On Sunday we explored another nearby 52WAV peak, Mt Potash. And to finish the weekend off perfectly, we enjoyed dinner on the veranda at the Eagle Mountain House on Sunday evening.

Our plans for a trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in September were cancelled leaving us some free vacation time. Our friends Mike and Denise graciously invited us to join them at Pine Island, ME for a camping trip.

Richardson Lake consists of two lakes, upper and lower, stretching over fourteen miles from north to south. It is largely undeveloped, has crystal clear water and is a habitat for all things Maine, i.e., moose, loons, eagles and mergansers (aka…ducks). There are a few islands in the lake that offer camping, including Pine Island.

We spend a long weekend camping on Metallak Island several years ago and were very happy to return. Pine Island is much bigger so we were able to keep safe distance, but enjoy outside activities together. In addition to Mike, Dee and Mesa, mutual friends Spy and Shauna and Scruffy also joined for the week. With six people, three dogs, 2 canoes, 2 kayaks, 2 kites, a slack line, a library of books, and plenty of food and drink, we were well situated for 5 days of fun!

The weather was superb, we had abundant sunshine and warm days with cool nights. We had a little rain one day, but otherwise were able to swim, paddle, relax on the beach, enjoy sunsets and after-dinner campfires. One day was every calm enough, and warm enough for a little waterskiing!

Afternoons were spent paddling, reading and eventually gathering for happy hour and sunsets. Once the colors faded and the temperatures on the beach cooked dinner over the fire on stove-top.

After dinner we gathered on the beach for a “dry-ki”, drift wood collected from the island or nearby shores of the mainland, for a bonfire.

By the end of the week the temperatures started to drop, and hints of color could be seen on the trees. The last morning before departing back to South Arm to our cars, Sheri and Dee paddled one last time, in spite of 36 Fahrenheit temperatures!

At the beginning of the year we bought season tickets to the Goodspeed Opera House in Haddam, CT. Sitting just above the banks of the Connecticut River, the Goodspeed is a lovely theater that never fails to impress. It is famous for many reasons, including its Victorian architecture, a lovely setting by the river and for being the theater where the musical “Annie” and “Man of La Mancha” made their debut.

Sadly the theater season was cancelled this year. But, this summer the Goodspeed offered a series of outdoor concerts. We jumped at the chance to see live music in an outdoor setting that was set up to socially distance the audience. Thanks to our friend Denise, we got a spot along the river with plenty of space between other parties.

The band featured was the Playbillies, a group of Broadway actors and musicians who perform Broadway showtunes ….performed in bluegrass style. We know what you are thinking… but it was excellent. Check out this video cover of Dancin’ in the Dark from the musical based on Bruce Springsteen.

On Friday Sheri spent the afternoon sailing with Gene and Kathy. The weather was perfect for a sail. From the mooring they sailed past University of Connecticut, Avery Point, into Long Island Sound. The winds picked up and it was lovely to see Groton Long Point, Bluff Point and Mystic from a different perspective.

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Thanks Gene and Kathy for a perfect summer afternoon sail, and for helping Sheri who was a little rusty on tiller and the gib!

We have been enjoying a more relaxed summer with Friday vacation days and the absence of work travel.

One Sunday we met Mike and Denise for a paddle from the Alton Pond at the dam north to the Wood River. We had a swim, paddled along a tributary to a lovely set of falls and ended with a picnic. Oh, and the rope swing… like being a kid again!

We awoke on Sunday morning after a comfortable night sleeping in the back of our Ford Flex. Who knew that we could both stretch out easily and also accommodate Zealand down by our feet!

We set up the stove and brewed a pot of tea, and got organized for the very short hike up Mount Magalloway. This was to be our last peak on the “52 with a view” list and we had come a long way to reach this point.

The hiking was short and easy, and we were at the summit just half an hour after leaving the parking lot. We explored the viewpoints/ledges, the fire tower and the somewhat dilapidated buildings at the summit. We also had a celebratory cold-drink to mark the occasion.

The hike back to the car was fun, but the trail was quite difficult to follow because of many fallen trees along the way. Despite this we were back at the car before lunchtime.

Our adventure in the northern part of New Hampshire continued with a drive from Dixville Notch to the town of Pittsburg. We drove alonside the Connecticut River that marks the border between Vermont and New Hampshire, and eventually reached the location where the river peters out. This area is known as the Connecticut Lakes region and by this time we were only a few miles from the border with Canada. Our destination for the next day was Mount Magalloway. To reach the trailhead we had to drive along another 8-miles of dirt road, the last half of which was very steep, rocky and uneven. Needless to say we took it slowly and arrived after darkness had fallen. We quickly set up camp in the parking lot (sleeping in the back of our Ford Flex) and crossed our fingers that there weren’t too many bears around.

The second part of our overnight adventure in northern New Hampshire took us to Dixville Notch. This secluded mountain pass is home to the Balsalms Resort (now abandoned) and Table Rock (destination of one of the Terrifying-25 trails).

The trail to Table Rock is short but very steep. And the view from the 10-ft wide rock ledge is breathtaking. It juts out into the valley about 700-feet above the road and there is space all around you. A great spot for a photo, but be sure not to lose your footing!

We had planned to spend a week in New Hampshire this summer to enjoy a few more challenging hikes and to access some more distant hiking destinations. To start off with, we thought that an overnight trip to the northern part of the state would be fun.

On Day-1 we drove north of Gorham and Berlin to the Nash Stream area. We still had one 52-with-a-view hike to do in this area (Sugarloaf), and it involved an 8-mile drive along a dirt road to get to the trailhead. Welcome to the north country!

The drive wasn’t too bad if taken slowly and we were on the trail before it got too hot. The hike was short (about 4 miles), but quite steep. Zealand enjoyed running around in the woods and we enjoyed the distant views southward to the northern Presidential Peaks.

Earlier this month we took advantage of the long summer days and warm, dry weather to hike the Great Gully trail in King Ravine.

After checking Zealand in at the Pet Rendezvous to hang out with his doggy pals, we made an alpine start from the Lowes Store near Randolph NH. We hiked up the King Ravine Trail in the cool part of the day to reach the foot of the head wall before 10am.

The first part of the hike was a trip through the SubWay. This is a collection of house-sized boulders stacked randomly with a path that goes under, over and between them. Be careful to follow the blazes because it is very easy to get lost in there!

Then, onto the Great Gully train which climbs very steeply up the head wall following the line of a waterfall and a rock rib that runs beside it. As expected it was very steep, but the views were spectacular and the waterfall setting was serene. We reached the top by 11am, and hiked up to the summit of Mount Adams for lunch. Soon the crowds were starting to form, so we didn’t linger too long on the summit.

We followed the Spur Trail back down and enjoyed lots of time above tree line before dropping down to Crag Camp (a hut run by the Randolph Mountain Club). After a stop to admire the view and refuel we continued back down the ridge to rejoin the lower section of the King Ravine Trail at the 5-path intersection known as the Pentadoi. From there it was an easy walk back to the car, and then a quick drive to pick up Zealand from the kennel.

Overall, it was a great day in the mountains and we got another “Terrifying 25” trail under our belts.