Here at Hangman Hill

Last weekend we joined forces with Don, Anne, Denise and Mike for a hut-to-hut ski tour in Maine’s hundred mile wilderness.

The drive to Maine from Connecticut on Thursday night was very exciting, with 6-8-inches of snow falling during the drive. Thankfully we arrived unscathed and enjoyed a comfortable night at the Kineo View Motel near Greenville.

On day-1 we shouldered our overnight packs and skied to the AMC’s Gorman-Chairback cabin. On the way we experienced perfect winter conditions. At the end of the day the sun came out and we enjoyed a glorious sunset.

Day-2 involved a ski with our packs to the Little Lyford Camp. We arrived just in time for lunch, and then set out for a ski around Indian Mountain. We arrived back at the camp in time for a hearty dinner of corn beef hash and avocado torte (better than it sounds).

On the third day we skied back to our car via the beautiful Hedgehog trail and enjoyed sunshine and flurries all of the way.

Overall, we really enjoyed the hospitality of the AMC Maine hut system and their wonderful staff. The trails were quiet and very well maintained. We felt that we were away from it all and yet the log cabins we stayed in had everything we needed (including dry firewood). We will definitely be back in the future.

After a relaxing week in Perigord we returned the city of Bordeaux with M&J and caught a train back to Paris. From Gare du Nord we found a taxi to take us to the apartment near the Luxembourg Gardens, which would be home-base for the next week.

The apartment we rented was light and airy, and centrally located , which was helpful given the transportation strikes that limited public transportation. We spent out first evening in Paris exploring the local markets, walked to the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed a simple dinner at a classic bistro.

The next day Nick and Pam arrived. Once they were settled we set off on foot for lunch and further explored the local sites and sounds. We visited Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville. Along the way we explored Christmas Markets, sampling vin chaud and visiting booths selling leather goods, knitted scarves and hats, and handmade jewelry and art.

On Christmas Eve we took a train from Paris to the village of Mariell le Guyon to the home of Michael, Bruno’s cousin, his wife Margaret and their children, Charlotte and Alex. The Hancocks were very brave to host the four us, as well as Katherine, Michael’s sister for a Christmas celebration.

It was a lovely Christmas, and Michael and Margaret managed to keep three generations well entertained and fed for three days! We had some lovely walks to local villages, exploring shops, castles and ancient ruins. Charlotte and Alex took us for a lovely walk on Christmas Day, exploring fields, the local cemetery (which had some interesting “residents” and a few surprises) and let us try a scooter! We had a traditional Christmas dinner and there plenty of gifts for everyone!

As a grand finale, Michael and Margaret treated as all to an afternoon at The Festival du Merveilleux. A museum of sorts, the Pavillons de Bercy – Musée des Arts Forains offers an array of festive shows and performances from sorytellers, magicians, aerial silk dancers, funambulists, musicians, puppeteers, tap dancers and other artists that create dreamlike stories. The performances also rely on imagery, sound and the latest in digital technology. 3D wonders, mechanised music performances, automatons shows and optical illusions succeed one another all day long.

The forecast was for clouds on the summits of the White Mountains, and the ski-ing conditions were not great. So, after careful thought, we decided to hike on a circular path that would take us to each of the four cabins run by the Randolph Mountain Club (RMC) in the northern part of the Presidential range.

We started from the Lowes store parking lot in Randolph and began hiking up to the first cabin (called the Log Cabin) via the Lowes trail. Soon we needed to put on our micro-spikes, and we found that one of Sheri’s had a tear in the rubber rand that holds it onto her boot. Thankfully we had several zip-ties with us and we were able to fashion a quick repair.

After several miles the trail got steeper, the snow became deeper and we needed to put our snowshoes on. It was a good thing that we didn’t leave them in the car like several of the other people that we met on the trail that day! Apparently it had snowed about 6-8 inches the previous night at the higher elevations and we really did need our snowshoes to make progress. At about mid-morning we made it to the Log Cabin and stopped for elevenses (hot tea, GORP and dried fruit).

From here we were headed to “The Perch” – a three sided lean-to and our planned lunch stop. Very quickly we reached a trail junction and to our dismay the trail to The Perch had not be recently hiked. This meant that we had to break trail on a narrow path that sloped 45-degrees from right to left and with very limited headroom. We slid and stumbled our way along the trail for well over an hour (and about 1 mile in distance), and on several occasions fought with trees and sank into large snow drifts. Eventually we made it to “The Perch” for lunch, and enjoyed taking some shelter from the elements. It was also a welcome respite from the exhausting work of trail-breaking.

After gulping down a very welcome lunch of hot soup (from our thermos flasks) we headed back out onto the trail. Thankfully the path to the Grey Knob cabin had been tracked by other winter adventurers and the hiking was a lot easier. We soon reached the height of land for the day, and started to descend to the cabin. Grey Knob cabin has a year round caretaker and is fully enclosed with proper bunks and an indoor cooking area. By the time we reached the cabin at around 3pm it was already full for the night and the caretaker was turning people away. We enjoyed some more hot tea and quickly set off for Crag Camp along a well trodden trail.

Crag Camp was only 0.4 miles away and we reached it within 20 minutes. No one was staying there that night – it doesn’t have a wood stove, so it wasn’t very inviting compared to the Grey Knob cabin. It does have a fantastic view and would be a wonderful place to spend a few nights in the summer time. After checking out the cabin we retraced our steps back to Grey Knob cabin, walking quickly to try to take advantage of the last hour or so of daylight.

From Grey Knob we had to make a steep descent back to the Log Cabin, and then we would be on a familiar trail, We hiked as quickly as we could and slid around a lot on the steeper sections. The conditions were quite challenging, but we were at least following someone else’s footsteps. We reached the Log Cabin for the second time that day at around 4pm, just as it was getting dark. We stopped for a final cup of tea and a cinnamon role (pre-purchased from the Vintage Bakery in Glen NH) to give us the energy to descend the final 2.8 miles by headlamp in the dark. It seemed to take forever to get back to the car at Lowes store, and we both managed to fall over in the snow several times along the way.

Overall, we had a great time hiking in the snow and we were able to scope out some interesting and dog friendly places to stay in the future in the White Mountains. On the drive back to our chalet we stopped for dinner and drinks at the new Glen House hotel and were very pleased to enjoy their hospitality

It was fitting that the last day spent with M&J was a visit to Chateau de Castlenaud-la-Chapelle, since this impressive castle was a frequent focal point during our outings in the region.

The community of Castlenaud-la-Chapelle sits above the confluence o the Dordogne and Ceou Rivers. The medieval fortress is estimated to have been constructed in the 13th century in defense of the rival Chateau de Beynac. The long and sordid history of the Chateau includes being nearly destroyed taken by rivals, reclaimed and the reconstructed. This history repeats over many years! Thankfully what is still standing has been preserved and restored for our enjoyment.

We spent nearly two hours in Castlenaud and took a tour of the Chateau – now a museum of sorts, filled with the kinds of artifacts one expects from a medieval castle, i.e., weapons, arrows, suits of armor, as well as interesting furnishing and even textiles. It was inside the castle where we learned about the long history of Castlenaud through visual re-enactments of battles between the commune and local rivals

One of the most interesting parts of the museum was the reconstruction of a trebuchet, a sort of catapult was used to wage war in medieval times. The displays included videos that demonstrated how the trebuchets were used to attach and break down the fortresses surround Chateaus such as Castlenaud and Beynac.

We wandered around the outside of the Chateau which gave lovely views of the valley and an appreciation for the scope of Castlenaud.

We are still catching up on highlights from our December trip to France! Most certainly, the long walk around la Roque Gegeac that included a trip to Marqueyssac was a favorite.

We set off on foot from the apartment where we stayed with M&J along a route Jen had designed. We left the village and walked through farmlands, past a lovely church and ultimately to the Marqueyssac gardens. The gardens were enchanting, with varied landscape, topiary, cliffs, sculpture and even a via Ferrata! The photos speak for themselves!

From the highest point in the Marqueyssac (photo above) we were able to look back to the village of la Roque Gegeac and the apartment where we were staying. From there we dropped back onto the valley and walked through fields along the Dordogne River to return to where we began. It was a lovely day! Great hike Jen!

This years selection of Christmas cards was very diverse, with a mixture of traditional, modern, and exotic images to adorn them. We appreciated every one, especially those that were home-crafted or included a personal note. As in previous years we’d like to use our blog to share our favorite designs and in doing so we hope to inspire you to keep this festive ritual alive for years to come.

Very near to the town of La Roque Gegeac is Sarlat, a medieval town that grew around a Benedictine Abby of Carolingian origin. Our plan was to arrive mid-morning so that we could explore the Christmas Market and “ice rink” before lunch. M&J were eager to take us to a favorite restaurant for lunch. It turned out we also had time before our 12:30 pm lunch reservation for a stroll through along a main thoroughfare that was lined with shops and cafes.

One of our favorite things in Sarlat were the Christmas bears perched on ledges, window sills and clinging to lampposts.

While shopping in Sarlat we sampled several walnut liquors, choosing two to bring home. After a very lovely lunch, we went grocery shopping at one of the local markets and also the Bio Marche (Organic Market). It is always fun to see the produce offered in different countries and in France, the number of aisles dedicated to wine.

One of the reasons we selected December as timing to visit our friends M & J in France was that they would be staying in the Dordogne region. It was their recollections of lovely walks from their previous trips to the Dordogne that tempted us. Oh, and the walnut liquors they shared when the returned!

It turns out the two go together! We experienced this with several walks during our stay. We rambled through the river valleys, in and out of small villages and hamlets, across farmlands, and beside ruins, castles and churches. Along, the way there were walnut groves, everywhere. The photos below were taken during our fist walk, on the day after we arrived.

You can also see more about this walk here.

A week before Christmas we flew to Paris to celebrate the season with friends and family. In spite of strikes that have impacted public transportation throughout France since early December, we arrived in Paris and took a train to the city of Bordeaux as planned. We were met at the train station by our friends Mark and Jen who are currently living in France.

From the station we took a short journey on a local bus to a Christmas Market near the center of the city. The stroll through the market gave us the chance to stretch our legs. It was also a good introduction to holiday markets that we would explore for the next two weeks. The wooden booths offered hand-crafted jewelry, clothing, leather goods, art work, and of course, cheeses, sausage and vin chaud (hot wine). After making a few purchases and sampling some savory pastries we made our way to the Dordogne Region where Mark and Jen were spending the Christmas Holidays.

After an hour on the motorway and another hour of driving through rural villages, we arrived at La Roque Gegeac, a small village that sits below rock ledges and cliffs that rise from the banks of the Dordogne River. La Roque Gegeac is a lively, tourist town in the summer, but in mid-December it is a sleepy town with very few residents making it a peaceful and relaxing place to stay.

Mark and Jen welcomed us to stay with them in a two-bedroom apartment that looked over the Dordogne River. Heavy rains in the region prior to our visit caused the river flood the main road through the village. The river was nearly at the doorstep to the apartment!

After a long journey, we were grateful to settle into a cozy space and enjoy some of Jen’s cooking which we have missed over the last few months. We relaxed into the evening, and while we were tempted to walk through town under the lighted cliffs, we were happy to make our first night in France an early one. Evening walks by the cliffs could wait…

Following our hike up to the summit of Mount Chocorua, we were emboldened to try a second winter hike with Mike and Denise. We chose Mount Cube because it appeared to be on our way home to Connecticut (sort of) and it was on the 52WAV list.

After a lengthy drive we made it to the trailhead about an hour later than planned. Not deterred, we set off and started walking briskly up the path. Both Zealand and Mesa were excited to be back on the trail and we made good progress. As we climbed up the snow got gradually deeper, and the temperature started to fall. By the time we were drawing near to the summit it was full-on winter conditions. We paused briefly below the peak to put on our mittens, hats, buffs, etc and spent just a few minutes at the summit admiring the view of the setting sun.

We quickly turned around and headed back to the car, hoping to get back before darkness fell. Once we were off the summit we took a short break to inhale our lunch and cram in some calories before our hands got too cold. Then we hot-footed it back to the car.

We all agreed that Mount Cube was a beautiful summit, and well worthy of a return visit in the summer time when we could linger and really enjoy the views.