Hiked On: September 24, 2022,

Normally we hit the "usual" route, whatever that is.  We have books and there are recommended ways to do these things.  This trip, however, we chose a different approach.  That happens sometimes when off-hike schedules and other issues conspire to require something different.  This time there was also a less-used trail we had heard good things about. 

There was strange weather predicted for the weekend, too. Early fall in the Whites can mean some fairly eccentric moments.  We had planned to hit Little Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette but there was a cold wind coming through. With that in mind, we didn't feel like contending with freezing temperatures and ice  on the exposed ridge.  Instead we climbed Carter Dome; heading up Bog Trail to Wildcat River Trail, to Carter-Moriah then down the little-used Rainbow Trail to the Wildcat River and Bog trails again to the car.  It was an adventure that took us what felt like forever.  There were sketchy river crossings, a visit to the Carter Notch hut, a hang out near the top with some old guys we met on the way, and a fabulous descent that made the first part worth it.

This was a hard hike.  It required a certain amount of mental discipline as well as physical exertion to get to the top.  We started late for us--around 8:30--the air was clear and cold but there was plenty of evidence of rain the day and night before.  Also, all the trails were littered with fallen branches, leaves and sometimes whole trees thanks to the windstorm that still packed a depleted but potent punch.   Al and I saw a few other people as we went along.  Mostly they were the usual sorts of hikers moving at slightly faster clip than our own.  We got out of the way for each group to pass. 

One group coming down consisted of a father and a daughter.  He had an overnight pack on. Presumably he stayed at the hut where we planned to take our first long rest.  The daughter was probably four or five years old.  He was carrying her as well as the pack but seemed very cheerful.  They had spotted a moose earlier and wanted to know if we had seen it.  Sadly, we had not.

The hut is located in Carter Notch.  On one side of the notch is the back end of the Wildcat ridge that boasts a number of peaks and a ski resort.  On the other is the Carter ridge.  We took a break and thought about plans to perhaps stay at the hut when we hike the Wildcats.  We also talked to some backpackers who had spent a hairy night camping on the ridge.  The storm winds pelted them with ice. They were in good spirits but very tired and hungry.  We left them to their recovery lunch and moved on up to the Dome.

Carter Dome is steep and rocky while also--for the most part--encased in trees.  This is actually part of why we chose it.  The trees broke the wind somewhat.  All around us were shards and chunks of ice, some still falling from the branches above.  We were all a little damp and cold, changing layers every few minutes. That is the thing with climbing the tall mountains.  The weather is different in different layers.  It is why it can be so hard to get a view sometimes.  It is also why--if you choose to respect what nature is telling you--new approaches and plans are made. 

The Carter-Moriah Trail is part of the Appalachian Trail, so it always feels a little like US Route 1.  It functions like that, too.  No matter what one has plotted, it is likely that there will be a part of it that hops on to the AT. This is where--on any given day--you will encounter the most hikers.  We ended up leapfrogging with a couple of amiable groups on this section.  The slightly faster ones kept taking long breaks at the few lookouts along the way. 

The other group was made up of men in their 70's who called themselves the "Gluttons for Punishment." Their mission--by their own description--is to "go on stupid hiking trips."  They kept the mood very light, which I think we all appreciated.  Their behavior reminded me a bit of hiking trips I made in high school. They ran back and forth between each other with a certain manic glee. They also made many, many, loud and self-deprecating jokes that the rest of us only vaguely understood.

After a long break at a false peak our combined group finally hit the actual top.  There was no view for us to linger over...just a busy intersection of various trails.  There was also another largish group who had decided to listen to music through one of their cell phones, broadcasting it far and wide. The music thing is truly annoying and a bit of a mood breaker. We have encountered this phenomenon before like its a mid-'80's no-walkman situation and there isn't another option. Here we all went our separate ways.  The other two groups started over to Mount Hight where there are better views. We decided to start down on the Rainbow Trail. We had heard there was plenty to look at there.

At some point I will make a list of my favorite trails.  However, so many of them can only be reached by hiking another trail that the list seems impractical for planning purposes.  Still, some are better than others, obviously, and this one was special.  We had actually noticed as much in our research and it was part of the reason we took the less travelled route.  Rainbow is relatively unknown for so popular an area.  When I told the Gluttons about it, they thought I was teasing them.  We had to pull out maps so I could prove it existed.  Perhaps not surprisingly, it is not well-maintained and a bit overgrown, but we were never lost or even confused.

Three things stand out.  First, some thirty seconds below the peak we hit a section with absolutely no sound.  Some trick of the landscape protected it not only from the wind but also from the noise of the music at the top.  It was unique and very welcome.  That deafening silence continued for a while.  Shortly after the wind sounds resumed, we emerged on a flat place with some of the best views of the day.  We could see the Wildcats and get a peak of the Great Gulf and Mount Washington still peaked in clouds.  We could also see the massive pile of Carter Dome and Mount Hight.  All of this was framed by more distant peaks.  The weird point of Chocorua helped us identify some of them, many of which which we (or I or she) had hiked before.

That view was the second thing. The third thing that stood out was that it added about two miles to our trip.  The trail hooked way out and then drifted back toward Wildcat River Trail.  Our patience was worn pretty thin by the end as we counted about 13 miles on the day.  I have mentioned earlier that every hike feels a little too long.  In this case it had taken us more time than we had thought.  We started later than we wanted. We also had a three hour drive home.

​Our car was there in the lot waiting for us, however.  We were almost the last to leave.

After my climb up Black Mountain, I went apple picking.  I had noticed the place on my way to the trailhead and was tempted. Then the woman I talked to at the peak told me her family works there. When I was younger and the children more pliable, Al and I used to take them picking quite frequently.  It got us out on a Sunday afternoon and was a low-stress social option for adults and families alike.  Also, in the end there would be apples.  Who can complain about that?

I grew up working for my grandfather on school vacations and during the summer.  He had apple trees.  That said, the apples--like the extensive garden next to it--were for family use. The big sale items on the farm were Christmas trees, actually.  Also, he contracted out to raise heifers for Heifer International. He cut hay for himself and other local farmers. He grew corn and other crops primarily for the heifers.  Once he boarded someone else's sheep for a while. 

The apple trees were the personal passion of a guy with plenty of passions. They would be pruned and the pests abated in the off-season.  Then we would harvest them throughout the fall and put them in barrels on the porch, pulling them out when we felt like it.  I remember sitting on that porch the day before Thanksgiving munching apples while waiting for my cousins to arrive. I did this more than once.

At home we had apples, too.  There was a big, old apple tree whose variety is best described as "green and wormy" along with a couple crabapple trees. My mom--not to be outdone by her father--built a cider press in our yard.  We would spend days grinding apples and squeezing them, producing gallons and gallons of unfiltered,  unpasteurized apple-and-bug juice that we would start drinking immediately. Jugs of the stuff would go down in the basement for safekeeping.  Then it would slowly ferment through the winter.  We usually ran out in early March.

As an adult, of course, the whole process has been a bit more commercialized.  It is safe to say that the cost per bushel and peck is substantially over the free-with-labor rate of my youth.  It took me a while to get used to that. There is something strange about paying to work instead of the other way around. 

I have learned, of course, that this is how the local orchards survive; preserving an endangered economy along with varieties that would be hard to find otherwise.  That there are more than Macintosh, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, and Cortland apples in the grocery store is a direct result of these orchards maintaining their many trees in all their variety. 

This is part of the fun, of course.  One place we used to go to when we were younger parents had a tree that was older than the memory of the family that ran it.  Every other year those apples are the best  ever.  On the off year they taste like rotting grass.

Nothing compares to an apple so I don't know how to describe the flavor.  They taste like fall, family, and farm work to me.  I am going to pretentiously say they taste like America, or, rather,  its best parts. That said, there are sweeter ones and less sweet.  Some outliers have their own thing going on that can be pleasant or really not pleasant depending on the environment they are raised in.  The taste also depends on the mood of the eater.   Even the varieties themselves vary by tree. 

​Let's talk variety for a minute. When I was growing up it was either the green wormy variety or Macs at home. Mom still insists on Macs to this day.  My grandfather's fruit were varieties of Golden Delicious although some of the trees were more delicious than others.  Maybe because of how may of these particular apples I ate when I was a kid, I tend not to get them now.  Also, I am not fond of off-season varieties.  They are mealy and taste a bit manufactured.

It turns out only two members of my immediate family can be counted on to consume apples in any quantity.  One is me.  The other one is still living in a tent somewhere in the Appalachian Range.  This means the demand these days  is low.  Usually, therefore, I forego the whole event of picking and just buy a half-peck of local apples that are in season. In fact, that was my plan when I arrived at this particular apple place.  There was a school bus full of small children.  There were family groups with their seniors.  It appeared I was the only one flying solo and the smallest bag for picking is the $14 peck.  What a frivolous pursuit for a serious middle aged man! At least that was my initial impression and fear.  Then someone in front of me--probably a decade or so younger with a couple bags if donuts--bought an empty peck bag for himself, too.  That was all the peer pressure I needed.

In the end I had a good time.  It wasn't the full-on picking experience of some of those places closer to home.  There thankfully wasn't a petting zoo or a pony ride.  They sold cider donuts in theory...but that guy in front of me bought the last.  There were also a few corny hand painted signs but they kept themselves to defining the boundaries of various varieties and warning people not to bring their dogs. The environment was pretty no-nonsense for an operation like this, which was just what I was looking for.

I took my bag and spent about 20 minutes filling it with Macouns and Paula Reds while munching on a Cortland held in my other hand.  One of the painted signs said I could eat on the job; "Sample, Don't Feast!" After the Cortland I had a Paula Red. It is early in the season in New Hampshire--and the bigger apples go in bags for the orchard store anyway--so the apples in the field are small and tart.  You can't find them at the supermarket like this, where the ideal of the big, puffy, red or green, unblemished apple reigns supreme. Maybe I will make a pie, but really these should be eaten straight up, on the porch.

It wasn't like when I was a kid.  I didn't prune these trees, or mow between them, or fight the battle of the bugs.  I did not feel like a farmer.  However, I got my hands a bit dirty to get the freshest new apples I could and that is enough for now.

HIKED ON; September 21, 2022

Anyone who has ever made their hobby or passion into a job will know that it changes the relationship.  I first did this with preaching.  I have always been a performer.  When I was in high school I was a theater kid.  Somewhere in the back of my mind has always been the thought that I was most myself  holding forth on stage and at the lunch table back in my senior and junior years.  Now I am a pastor and there are lots of different parts of that job that have nothing to do with performance.  Still, when I am in the pulpit I am happy.  It is where I should be.

However, this type of performance is a job now.  I have to take all kinds of things into account when preparing my worship services.  I think about the people I see in church every week.  How are they doing?  What are they thinking about?  I think about the seasons of the town and of the church.  Are the kids in school? Is there a holiday or liturgical element I need to think about like water gathering, baptism, or communion? 

​Now it is sabbatical and I find that I am being rather businesslike in my approach to hiking as well.  What is my schedule of mountains?  What does each require?  How is my body feeling, not for this one hike but for the next and the next?  What do I hope to get out if it?  Gone for now are the days of spontaneously hitting the trail, understanding that I can take all the time in the world until I do it again. This temporary change in relationship isn't bad...but it is different.

​This was something of a pragmatic hike. I chose "Black of Benton" for a number of reasons.  Partly it was because it is beyond the area I plan on exploring closely in October.  The geographical diversity seemed desirable for right now.  Partly it was because I wanted a moderate hike.  I haven't climbed anything other than a flight of stairs since Mount Washington and need to stay in shape for larger hikes coming up.  I also must make sure I don't injure myself.  Black Mountain--a 52WAV mountain--fits the bill with an out-and-back trail of just under four miles and an elevation gain of just  over 1,600 feet.  I can be challenged and still recover in time for the next one.

Finally, there is an apple picking place just a few miles away.  Not all outdoor time needs to be strenuous! My plan was to get a good workout with a full day pack, catch some views, and eat some apples without straining or pulling anything that would inhibit the next battery of hikes. 

Another result of the temporary relationship change is that each hike feels a little bit like an appointment and obligation. There are days--I assume we have all had them--that contain an abundance of entropy.  This was one of those days.  Careening out of the parsonage at 5am I managed to lock myself out.  Later, with that sorted, my car let me know that I was losing tire pressure.  When I was figuring out what to do about that, I discovered that one of my water bottles had leaked all over my bag, my dry layers, and the maps and guidebooks I brought in the car with me.  Somehow, though, I managed to hit the trailhead at 8:30, only an hour after my target time.  I am not sure I would have persevered to that point if I didn't feel some responsibility.  Apparently I have a schedule to keep.

This "hiking like its work" element had invaded my psyche. I have to admit that on this day in Benton I started way too fast.  Maybe some of the stress of the morning influenced my mood.  In any case  it took me a while to figure out the office mentality I had brought to the trail.  I specifically chose this mountain because it would be challenging but not exhausting. Yet there I was 30 minutes in...trucking right along and wearing myself out. 

A socked-in scenic overlook--the views never really materialized--helped to slow me down.  I waited for a minute to see if the clouds would blow away and then I turned around to see the remarkable stand of trees I was about to walk through.  In the pause I was able to refocus.

If you are a mountain, you get to be called "Black" for one of two reasons.  Either somebody with that surname lived on or near you for a while in the 18th or 19th century, or the trees that grow upon you are among the many varieties of dark-shaded conifers that grace our landscape.  This Black Mountain--like most--falls into the latter category.  Black mountain is full of tall old trees that from afar give it a gloomy appearance.  On a rainy day in September, though, to be in among those dark trees is downright mystical.  This slowed me down.  How could I be missing the scene around me?  Still, there was that feeling of work.  The hike was still partly a task.  I told people I was going to climb a bunch of mountains, after all. 

One thing that I do in overly-businesslike situations  is to actually add a fun and perhaps frivolous task that I can rationalize into being part of the project at hand.  Enter photography.  I had always wanted to do more with pictures.  I was also a photographer in high school.  I dressed all in black and did extensive studies of local gravestones.  In my senior year I could be found either in the darkroom or near the stage.  Just like hiking regularly, taking pictures slipped onto the back burner with the rise of work and children.  To slow myself down on Black mountain I decided to try to figure out what capabilities my cellphone camera has. I always meant to, but there was the perpetual issue of  something else going on.

To take a good picture--or even a "just okay" picture--one needs to slow down and observe the context.  This is what I did. The 19th century nature writer John Burroughs tells us that "There is nothing in which people differ more than in their powers of observation.  Some are only half alive to what is going on around them.  Others, again, are keenly alive; their intelligence, their powers of recognition, are in full force in eye and ear at all times."*

Observation is one of the key steps to creation and creativity.  That can be a sermon or a story we are making.  It can be a picture, or a sabbath walk, or any number of other creations.  Burroughs--writing in a shack in the middle of his vineyard--made a practice of observation.  We should too. Sometimes I need to trick myself into thinking it is part of work...albeit a happy part.  Maybe we all need to find ways to think of it as part of our being.

In the end I had a great time noticing the striations on the rocks and the emerging fall colors.  At the top of the mountain I set a timer for 40 minutes to sit and experience the space I was in.  After about 20 minutes a very chatty woman and her dog came up off the trail.  We sat their talking and--unsuccessfully--waiting for the clouds to part for about 40 minutes. Then we hiked down. 

I left my new friend to go check out the old lime kilns at the foot of the mountain.  Limestone is relatively rare in New Hampshire but this operation was quite large.  They would heat the stone in these massive structures and the resulting lime would be used in agriculture and construction.  The kilns were built in 1838 and 1842, operated for 50 years, and then were restored as a WPA project.

I would have stayed longer there if it weren't for the presence of friendly-but-barely-controlled dog.  It was full-fantasy mode. After a few more pictures I went back to the car and life...or whatever.

​I did go apple-picking.  That, however is a different post...

* Burroughs may be worth checking out.  This quote is from his essay  "The Art of Seeing Things"

​Dear Folks,
​I am in the process of catching people up with some early hikes and other encounters with nature that I thought people might find interesting as part of a "How It Began" (HIB) series.  Mostly this will describe specific hikes and perhaps some lessons learned along the way...if there are any.  They are meant to be short and, perhaps helpful in some way to other hikers or fellow-travelers.  I will post the dates of when I hiked a specific mountain since the ones in this series are NOT posted at or near the date I actually hiked them.

To add further confusion, I am not doing them in order!  Here is a post about a winter hike.  We did so many and have posted so few...

Today is the second day of my sabbatical and I am getting restless.  Yesterday was all indoor work to prepare for various events to come.  I arranged hiking companions and started on a schedule.  Today it is raining off and on and I wish I was somewhere other than my living room.  Oh well...I do have a pile of used books for the sabbatical and I can start breaking in to them.

To keep the content flowing I have a couple of relatively easy hikes that we did in the winter.  Winter hiking is its own thing, with special equipment and special rules to follow.  It is not like downhill skiing. Winter climbing requires a trudge uphill, after all--causing wide fluctuations in body temperature if one is not careful--and there isn't a lodge nearby most of the time.  Some people--including my wife Allison--claim it is easier to hike in the winter.  The dips between roots and rocks are often filled in and there is the ease of butt-sliding down the larger peaks.  I am not sure that matters in the total summation, though.  The packs are heavier.  We are heavier.  Also, with the cold and ice we have a whole new way to mess ourselves up.

Still, the views are something else.  There is a whole winter-wonderland vibe that is different on the trail.  Also, the trails are quieter.  Many hikers hunker down for the winter.  Others ski or sled.  There are still people on the weekend but--as always--if you get out on the trail early or during the week, you can have plenty of space.

Anyway, the two hikes.  They are relatively close to each other and both sport some of the best views-for-effort in New Hampshire.  In the regular hiking season there are generally thought of as the easiest of the 52 With-A-View list. Whether you will find them easy is subjective, obviously, so be advised!

Mount Willard: Hiked on December 30, 2021

After our first hike up North Kinsman--which was less than ideal--we decided to get some more winter experience on smaller mountains.  Willard shares a trailhead with Mount Avalon, one of my favorite mountains.  We had hiked that after a long day of peak bagging in the fall.  We knew that whatever Willard had to offer would be equally stunning...and include snow.  It was misting a bit ("spitting" is the term I grew up with) and we moved on up with some trepidation concerning the weather.  That said, the fog hanging over the snow was pretty special.

The trail was mostly straight.  It just went up, and then up more steeply.  However, true to the conventional wisdom, it wasn't so bad!  The snow had indeed rounded out many of the edges.  We shed layers as our bodies warmed up and then added them back on for breaks.  Layering is a key element of the whole winter hiking experience.  We need to pay even more attention to our bodies with this new weather development.  Snacking is pretty key as well.  It is a good idea to eat something (a protein bar or a handful of GORP) right before starting.  It will give your body something to do at the beginning and the energy is helpful as well.  I also found myself sucking on hard candies most of the time.  That may have been for morale reasons.

After a while we hit the top and the clouds began to part.  The only others up there that day were fellow peak-baggers testing out their Christmas gifts.  In the clear winter air we were treated to highly technical conversations about hats, gloves, backpacks, and snowshoes.  No doubt they were treated to ours.  We actually packed snowshoes for this trip but did not put them on.  That said, we wore micro spikes the whole way. For some other hikes snowshoes were essential. We want them when the trail isn't quite as broken out or if the wind has caused drifts. However, the spikes were always on otherwise.  They are essential kit. Don't do serious winter hiking without them in your pack or on your feet. 

One great feature of this climb was that the clouds had begun to part and the sun warmed the top. It was rather relaxing to plop down on the snow in our winter gear and take a break to soak in the view. Finally, though, we turned to head down.  Honestly with was a lovely half-day hike for us, which helped me, at least, feel like winter hiking was something I would be able to do. The trail is 3.2 miles round trip with only 900 feet of elevation gain.  The reward is a fantastic look straight down Crawford Notch.

Mount Pemigewasset Hiked on January 8, 2022

This was very similar to the hike of Willard in most respects.  The view in this case was of Franconia Notch.  The folks at the peak were more 52 WAV peak baggers and the whole vibe was very relaxed. It was a touch longer (3.8 miles) and quite a bit steeper (1,250 feet of elevation gain).  Also, it was a cold, clear day which brought with it different challenges but, of course, a view untroubled by clouds.  

This hike was not without its challenges.  The steepness got to us and our post-holiday bodies so we needed to stop a couple times to catch our breath.  Some of our water froze as well and we needed to re-pack a bit.  The trail was icy in places which gave our micro spikes a work out on the way up and the way back.  I do not love winter gear...but it is necessary.

There was one incident that reminded me of the importance of layering and of modifying your layers.  The temptation is just to keep on hauling but, really, that can be a bad idea.  On our way down we passed numerous groups heading up.  Like I said, it is considered an easy mountain and--unlike our Willard walk--it was a beautiful day. 

​It was also a big vacation time in the Whites and a number of people who probably had spent part of the week skiing decided to take a hike, instead.  Most of them were fine.  However, there were a number of groups with children who were way too bundled up.  Steam was rising from the open spaces in their heavy jackets and they were screaming bloody murder trying to tear them off while their adults were forcing all that gear back on.  A few adults were in the same situation as the kids.  They all looked like old fashioned cars with burst radiators still trying to move forward. 

It is important not to be afraid of removing layers as well as adding them.  We all know from sitting in our driveways during the pandemic that if you are staying still outside, the goal is to be as warm as you can be.  However, with something a physically trying as climbing a mountain, it is more important to maintain a safe and comfortable average temperature.  This requires using that big pack to take off and don clothing throughout the day.  It is annoying and slows you down, but it is really for the best.  I always start a little cold, knowing that I will warm right up when I move.  Al always puts on a warm (but packable and lightweight) jacket for the first ten minutes then stops to take it off.  Either way we are often bundled at the top where the wind chill requires it and we always wear hats and wool socks...and carry spares.

Anyway, the drama of the descent aside, this was another fantastic hike that is probably doable for a lot of people who want to try winter hiking.  I would suggest starting with Willard or Watatic as a shakedown. Then Pemigewassett and bigger peaks await.  Actually we finished early enough from our Pemigewassett hike that we did another and explored Flume Gorge...

​Not all walks are literal.  Not all adventures take place in our world. When I got bored on a hike when I was a kid my mom would suggest I pretend to be a hobbit on a quest.  A love for Lord of the Rings was--and still is--something we share.  We also share a profession and, I think, these two things are not unrelated.  It takes an active imagination to go through life living into the idea that there is something else beyond our existence.  It is an act of both faith and imagination to try to make that dreamed-of world more of a reality.

​Of course, having an active imagination is not always looked upon with affirmation. I am a child of the rigid adult-centered culture of the 1980's.  The "satanic panic" that tried to lay the problems of the world at the feet of teen gamers (among others, including rap and metal musicians) was acting out of the id of a conformist culture. Fantasy, science fiction, comic books, and other outsider art presented something that wasn't really new but seemed strange and subversive in a corporatized society.  Even today--when so much of that literature has been co-opted and sanitized--to be interested in a speculative universe puts a person on the outside.  Being a little "nerdy" is in vogue.  Being an actual nerd...well...that is still tricky isn't it?

​My own ability to participate is based on many things, the most basic of which is time. In each group I have been able to be more or less involved as the months permit. I wonder if I will have more or less of it during sabbatical.  The last sabbatical I had involved developing a gaming world and then leading those children of my current church group through various scenarios.  My plans in this area are less involved this time.  I just want to stay part of the groups I am in right now.  After all, I value the practice

So that is what I am doing.  I am building--with others--three different worlds through acting out three different stories that are at least partly beyond our control.  It is as vulnerable thing to do.  Maybe that is what we are all practicing.  We aren't just imagining. We are trusting. We aren't just building a story.  We are holding out hope for each other and for the people we could have been...or in some sense are.  This is part of the sabbath walk both when we are out on the trail and when we journey with our minds and hearts.  I am delighted to get to collaborate with people in this way. 

For the record.  My mom's suggestion about pretending to be a hobbit wasn't taken well at the time. Hobbits spend a lot of time complaining, demanding snacks, and slowing the "big people" down.  Still, living into a dream isn't a bad idea when the road gets tough, is it?  There are ways to imagine out on the pathways of life.  So I want to lift up five hikes that did, in fact, make me feel like I was in a fantasy novel. I could imagine some sort of magical, primordial "better place". 

​A quick note. None of these look like New Zealand.  Also, Scotland--the only hikes I have done with castles on them--did not make the list. Don't make blockbuster movies your measure of what a fantasy hike should be like...

1) Mount Tecumseh:  This mountain doesn't have much of a view from the top, but as a journey, it has all the feels.  There are endless stone stairs and moody groves of old trees.  When I hiked it there was an abundance of moss and fungi strewn about.  Every once in a while you can catch a glimpse of a view down one of the ski trails which themselves--if it isn't winter--have the feel of an abandoned ancient civilization.

2) Mount Norwottuck: This mountain has to be on the list as the final hideout of Daniel Shays and his rebel farmers.  It isn't fantasy, exactly, but there is something to being in a place where a variation on Robin Hood's band truly walked.  Also, while the rest of these hikes can really knock you around.  This one is easy and fun.

3) Mount Jefferson: This mountain is full-on "Houses of the Holy".  The massive rocks and the wind whipping around the top as you navigate the relatively bald ridge make this place exciting.  Be sure to pick a trail that loops around the peak so you can peer down into the Great Gulf.  Just try to ignore the road heading up nearby Mount Washington.

4) Mount Galehead to Mount Garfield:  This was a hard hike for me.  We took a connector trail between the two peaks but it was beautiful.  It has much of the same vibe as Tecumseh with the added benefit of massive views off of Garfield.  Start early, though.  It was over 16 miles and we finished the last couple hours in the dark...which was also like a fantasy novel.

5) The Osceolas: This was early in my rehab but this mountain had some epic hobbit hiking moments.  Also it rained.  Wet, rainy days are hard for hiking but they are atmospheric.  I hiked this mountain with my brother, Dan, who loves and collects wild mushrooms like a real life (and very tall) hobbit.

6) The Kinsmans: I would say that North Kinsman the first time we climbed it definitely fits into the "Cruel Caradhras" category.  Winter hikes naturally lend themselves to fantasy settings.  After all, ice and snow make a wild place even more wild.  Just...be safe OK?  In fact, there are also some winter hikes that I haven't written up yet.  Of these the Hancocks--a very difficult run in my opinion--definitely would have a place on this list. Also, much easier and very elfy Mount Willard would make an appearance.  Liberty would have had the fantasy vibe but there were too many people out when we did it. 

​So much of this is situational, isn't it?  I will stick with these, though. On the day I hiked them they were fantasy-novel perfect.

Hiked on September 10, 2022

Remember in my last post when I talked about why I hike?  There were five reasons listed in descending order.  First, I hike because of the spiritual connection it provides as I find ways to become part of "creation".  Second, it is an aesthetic experience, witnessing the beauty and the "silence," though the silence is often quite noisy with wind and critters. Third, I can escape the suburbs, their dense population, and skewed values.  All three of these were the primary motivators for that hike up Watatic in Massachusetts a day before attempting Monroe and Washington in New Hampshire.  If these were the only reasons I did what I will describe now, it would have been pretty disappointing.

The good news is that there are two other motivators for me.  In fourth place is the mental challenge of a hard climb.  At fifth place is the physical challenge.  This was a day to practice perseverance in the face of mental and physical challenges. It was a day to do a hard thing and become stronger.

Mount Washington, in particular, looms quite literally over its landscape.  We have seen it from many tall peaks and--still looking up--wondered how one goes about tackling such a prominence.  Frankly it put me out of sorts a bit and I had to find ways to not become overwhelmed.  Also, it was a climb. Even the "easy" way up Ammonoosuc trail to the hut, over to Monroe, back to the hut, across Crawford trail to Washington, then down Jewell is demanding.  What people don't realize about these mountains until they climb them is that height is only one measure of difficulty.  There is also the length of the trail and its condition.  The Whites are basically gigantic rock piles.  You cannot stroll so much as pound and scramble much of the time.  There was a lot of that, plus the heat of the sun.

We parked at the base station for the cog rail that goes up Washington.  There was, of course, a bathroom and a snack bar here as well as a train.  In fact, this loop probably has the most amenities of any hike I have ever been on. Needless to say I was way too wired for this.  After a couple of awkward encounters with folks in the parking lot (nothing bad, really, just that my enthusiasm was a bit much) I managed to calm down enough to get going.  

The walking, itself was pretty straightforward.  Ammonoosuc (also called "Ammo") made a relatively straight--and very steep--line for miles toward a hut on the ridge between Washington and Monroe.  It was a crowded day on the trail.  Conventional wisdom among NH peak baggers dictates that if you are guaranteed good weather for Washington, you drop your other plans and nab it.  I had wanted to do the Wildcats.  Al wanted to climb Lincoln and Lafayette.  The promise of a clear day on the biggest mountain, though, was impossible to resist for us and for a ton of other people.

​It was good company, however, and their presence made the walk go easier.  Some of them were up for conversation after all.  This is key to my hiking experience. Talking--either to myself or someone else--gets me through the hardest of days.  All along the way we would encounter knots of slower moving people taking breaks.  We were passed as well.  As happens, however, after about an hour we fell in with about three different groups leapfrogging each other to the ridge.  It was nice to encourage and be encouraged by strangers as we struggle together over the hard parts.  However, it was anything but isolated.

At the hut--more bathrooms, a snack bar, beds, and a water filling station--we turned right and climbed Mount Monroe.  This was the high point of the trip.  The peak rises steeply from the ridge and we found ourselves on all fours reaching out to grab the side of the mountain for stability.  The top was relatively unpopulated. Apparently most of our new friends had not planned to hit Monroe.  This was a plus.  We weren't alone.  However, it was a respectful crowd looking for the same thing.  It was as close to reasons 1-3 as I got all day. I did a little recording for the church reminding them to go to worship the next day but avoided my usual panoramic video.  The vibe among the groups wasn't right for that.

After that glorious climb we went back to the hut and started up to Washington.  Here is where the physical challenge really began for me.  We had already done most of the elevation for the day. Washington at this point was not as steep as the climb to the hut had been.  Still, I had just gone up a 5,372 foot mountain and was attempting a 6,288 foot one.  Mentally, too, I was tired and...there were so many people! 

The views, however, were fantastic.  As I wrote about Mount Jefferson, pictures don't really do the landscape justice.  Even the unrelenting rocks were pleasant to look at. Scenery, plenty of water, positive self-talk, and good use of hiking poles got us the rest of the way.

Here is the thing about Washington, though.  On tiny little Watatic I had the place to myself.  Yes there was a slight hum from the road but there was no one there except wild animals and the wind in the trees.  On Washington this was not the case.  The large number of hikers were augmented by even larger numbers who had used either the road--yup road hum here too--or the train to get there.  Hello suburbs!  In 1858, when Henry David Thoreau climbed it for the second time, he encountered a hotel at the top called the "Tip-Top House".  It is still there as an oddity next to the more modern gift shop, snack bar, bathroom arrangement that we were prepared to expect.  Thoreau didn't stay long at the peak, disappointed by the encroachment.  I will confess to having similar emotions. The "Unappropriated Land" of his first visit in 1839 is nowhere to be found now.

The trip down Jewell took a while.  I was glad to be away from the top, though.  There was a period where we marched single-file in a long line of fellow humans but--away from the cog rail--some modicum of tired camaraderie returned.  The views continued to be spectacular and our spirits lifted at least until the tree line.  For me every hike is about two miles too long.  My feet hurt and I am tired of foliage.  This was no different.  When we saw (and heard and smelled) the cog rail and its base station, we were happy to be done.  It had been quite a day.

I am glad I climbed Mount Washington--proud in fact!  It was quite an accomplishment in many ways and I still kinda wish I bought a T-shirt.  I doubt I would have been able to do it back when I managed to get to the top of Mount Roberts in July of 2021.  If I had tried, it all would have ended in despair somewhere on Ammo.  It is great to have that under our belts. Even though there are harder climbs to come, none of them are as symbolically important.

That said, I am not sure I would do it again without a specific reason.  Monroe was beautiful and I may head up there then turn south over the southern presidentials.  I am sure I will go up Jefferson again which is to the north on the other side.  Washington is massive and inspiring.  However, my step counter--not a good one, just an app on my phone--says that I worked about as hard as I did to climb Cabot and the Horn. It seems like I can get the challenges I require in places where the spiritual requirements are more likely to be obtained as well.

​That said, if you haven't gone and you want a tough hike that people will recognize, get on up there when you are ready.  You will be glad you did.

Hiked Most Recently on September 9, 2022

Most people I know--be they casual walkers or intense backpackers and peak baggers--have a favorite hike or walk.  For some people it is the longest (or most difficult) trip they had.  Maybe it is the hardest (or tallest) mountain.  For others convenience and accessibility are key. Maybe there is a pretty spot involved.  Sometimes it is a place where an important personal event occurred.  As with most heart-centered choices, the reasons vary.  For me, the decision really comes down to how it makes me feel.

What I want to talk to you about today has to do with the internal dimensions of hiking.  We live in an anxious world. Some of us internalize that anxiety as we move through an era that tries its best to push us away from our center.  Make no mistake, this is intentional.  Anxiety (along with a number of negative emotions) makes us feel empty and unworthy.  It also makes us buy stuff to fill the emptiness.  The Man gets rich off our unhappiness.

I know this feeling very well.  I start worrying before I get out of bed in the morning.  I worry all day. Sometimes I worry in my sleep. Every moment of every day, even when I am doing or thinking about something else, I am anxious about something.  What that thing is doesn't really matter.  It can be big or small...but it is always there.  So when I think about what I need in a hike, the "challenge rating" is not foremost in my mind.  Availability is.  Remoteness is.  Primarily, though, I am looking for a chance to transcend that worry. 

I want to be away from everything.  I want to be insignificant in the face of the vastness of the universe.  I want to sink into my surroundings until I know that whatever personal failing or foible that is concerning me is insignificant, too.  This technique is different from things like positive self-talk designed to build ourselves up. I am a believer in that too.  However, when I hike (or walk or whatever) I am trying to find my way to a positive connection with the Divine. I am trying to be part of a whole that will lift me up as I swim in its current.

I want to snicker at the trippy prose of transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson when he writes in his book Nature, "Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite spaces, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."  I can't though.  Not really.  After all--when I am out in the world trying to feel the wind in the air and the rock beneath my feet--what the heck am I doing if not stumbling toward the same thing?
​

So when I need to clear my head, Mount Watatic gets the nod these days.  It is right of Route 119 (in Ashby and Ashburnham) and a little over an hour from my house.  The climb can easily be made into a 4 mile loop by including Nutting Hill and heading over to the New Hampshire border at the end.  It gets busy on the weekends and on many weekdays too.  However, if you get up early, you can have the place to yourself.

This is what I did on Friday.  I left the house at 4:45 and arrived a bit after official sunrise.  I walked to the top--getting turned around a couple of times--and made it to the ledge just below the peak where I sat alone for an hour. 

Watatic is a Monadnock which--as I have mentioned numerous times--means that it juts out alone over an otherwise flat landscape.  Wachusett is easily visible. That is another great hike. To the north one can see a number of larger peaks across the NH border. It also serves as a trail end for the Wapack trail that heads up the Pack Monadnocks to the north. It is also the northern end of the Mid-State trail that heads south across Massachusetts. Or, at least, the NH border just beyond it is.

Anyway, on Friday I spent the hour at the ledge not thinking very hard.  There is plenty going on in my life right now, which is typical for most everyone.  We need to slow down and shake off some of that burden when we can. As often happens, this became a theme in my sermon Sunday.  It was already a theme for sabbatical just around the corner.

It took a while to get in the mood.  I put my bag down, had a snack, and wandered around the ledge trying to decipher the 19th century graffiti scratched into the rock.  Finally, though, I settled in.  After that there isn't much to say.  I didn't make it to "transparent eyeball" status by a long shot.  However, there was a moment when my brain stopped sprinting toward numerous finish lines. That was the longest period of not worrying I have had for a long time. Both my body and my mind were grateful for the break. 

HIKED ON: September 4, 2022

Not every hike goes exactly as planned.  However, sometimes all your planning means you hike the hike anyway. The Mount Cabot loop is just outside of Berlin, NH and required an overnight stay.  While Cabot, itself, is one of the shorter of New Hampshire's 4,000 footers (4,160 ft) the prominence--or the amount if climbing you have to do--is substantial.  Also, I wanted to hike to the Horn, a slightly shorter peak that resides on the 52 With-A-View list. 

I will write up a post at some point about the two lists I am hiking.  Until then, you can find which mountain is on which list in the "Categories" section on this weblog. I will also post link to to more information at the bottom.  What is worth knowing for this hike is that in order to take in both Cabot and the Horn, we needed to form a loop, crossing one more peak--the Bulge--in the process.  Normally the best view--not surprisingly considering the list it is on--is the Horn.  This trip, however, epic views were hard to come by.

Anyway, we woke up at 5 and drove about 30 minutes to the parking lot.  Our starting time was a little before 6am.  The "Cabot Loop" starts on Bunnell Notch Trail, hits Kilkenny Ridge trail, and then heads down on Unknown Pond Trail for a total of about 11.5 miles.  It is not a technically difficult but...it is long and there is climbing involved so we felt like an early start was in order so that potentially, at least, we could drive home when we were done.

What we couldn't count on was the weather, of course.  The peaks during this hike were socked in with fog.  The whole day was humid and hot.  Still, we were there as we planned...so we did it anyway.

The loop was pretty straightforward, actually.  The first mile (as often happens) was flat and then we climbed.  This trail did not have much in the way of rocky parts.  It was just a case of putting one foot in front of the other and avoiding the random trail hazards; small boulders, roots, and mud.  The loop is not maintained at the same level as some but that was a plus after hiking the groomed trails and back roads of Scotland on the Great Glen Way.  The soft earth was more hospitable by far!

​Our experience on the Way certainly helped with this one.  Partly that was because of the differences.  It was so very nice to be climbing!  We could feel certain muscle groups that were underutilized as of late.  The relative ease of the footing will help to get us back in practice for whatever we climb next.

​Near the top of Cabot, there is a hut and--the best of all blessings--an outhouse.  We hung out there for a while and chose to continue even though the views were non-existent.  Here our time in Scotland was useful.  During that hike (you can check out the posts under "Great Glen Way" for more info) we had to focus much of the time on small things.  In this case it had nothing to do with the elevation, just fog.  In theory we should have seen something. Still, as we went along we noticed the diversity in the trees, the moss, and the prolific undergrowth.  Mushrooms of various kinds were also in abundance.  At one point I think we could smell them. 

​Also, there was mud.  I haven't seen mud in months.  Normally I am annoyed by how it sucks my boots in and forces me to alter my pace by jumping from dryish spot to dryings spot.  This, though, was spectacular.  The dryness  has bothered everyone.  It was great to see it again.  This summer it has felt like mud is endangered too.

There is power in the details sometimes.  This walk forced us to connect to the moment we were actually in.  There was no spectacular aesthetic payoff at the end to work toward and then savor on the way back.  The challenge on a day like this is to find joy in spite of the weather, the strain, and the discomfort.  I think we did a pretty good job.

Once we got to The Horn we didn't even bother to take a picture of yet another bank of clouds.  Instead we settled in to eat our snacks (GORP and power bars).  We also passed the time with the others on the top.  There was a family with young kids who camped at Unknown Pond the night before.  They were fun.  We talked to the parents as the kids scrambled around on the bald rock that marks the peak.  We had a lot of the same interests.  It was good to pass the time with people who were also enjoying themselves.

Then we chatted with a woman who was waiting for her family to come back from Cabot. They were all doing a an out-and-back.  However, she didn't feel the need to bag the 4,000 footer as she had been there before.  Besides, it was totally worthwhile to sit on The Horn and soak in the atmosphere.  Everybody we met--and everyone I just mentioned was pretty much everybody, a rarity on Labor Day weekend--was in the mood for a walk in the fog.  Everybody also found a way to experience and value the sounds, smells, and beauty of this off-weather day. 

Will I hike Cabot again?  I don't know.  I may hit The Horn on a clear day when I go up Roger's Ledges nearby. Honestly though.  It was a good day, sufficient in itself.

Like I said earlier, I do plan--there is that word again--to write something up about the two lists I am doing in NH.  Most of the hikers I know are picking away at both but show a preference for one or the other.  We are a divided family on that point.  Al likes the 48 4,000 Footer list more.  I lean toward the 52 With a View list because I like a view.  Usually when I can hike with my wife we do the 48 list.  This was fun because we knocked off one of each! Cabot was 26/48 for me.  The Horn was 13/52.

We still haven't had much time for hiking since getting back from Scotland. Today--with everyone off at their various schools--I put on my day pack and walked a 7ish mile walk that I like.  It starts and ends at the parsonage door.  It cuts downtown.  Then I loop to home through the Wellesley College campus.  The college is pretty this time of year.  It has this sculpted-nature look popular with Olmstead-influenced parks.  The campus pretends to be wild around the edges but you can see the artifice behind it.  Still, it is pretty and my body doesn't know the difference.

I probably won't be walking there for a while, though.  The students are slowly returning and the place was starting to get crowded.  I feel like I am in the way then.  There is a certain energy and bustle at a college campus when it is in session. Everyone has a reason to be there...except me. 

Walking around and thinking of the new school year I found myself reminiscing to myself about a hike I took back in March.  It was a road trip with a hike in it, actually.  That was when I drove my eldest son down to Georgia to begin the Appalachian Trail.  I am not great at transitions, so I volunteered to drive to the trailhead and do some of the approach trail with him before he got on his way.  I am glad I did.  We took a couple days to get there and then we hiked for most of a day.  I was with him half the time and then left him in a grove of trees chatting away with other through-hikers.  They were speculating on the adventure rolling out before them.

This phase of parenting is strange.  When my eldest was born it was all hellos.  Slowly the goodbyes crept in and now the goodbyes are more frequent and more difficult.

I have seen the boy a couple times since.  Once we got to spend a few days in Harper's Ferry at the symbolic halfway point.  Once we took him and his friends out to dinner in Woodstock, New Hampshire for his birthday.  They all call him "Trumpet" which is a cool trail name based on his tendency to rehearse before others get to camp.

Yesterday I helped his middle brother move into his first apartment with his girlfriend.  It was quite a summer for both of them.  He went to study in Oxford, England (this is the first sabbatical I will have that doesn't include his unschooling).  She visited family in Michigan and got them both ready for the move.  They are doing the sorts of things people do at their age.  I remember a similar moment in my own life, of course.  Here is the thing, though, each time is still the first time.

I was invited to visit today as well but didn't go.  I regret it.  Like I said, I am not good at goodbyes.  They just live a couple hours away.  It is a chore to drive out but doable.  I think they will get lots of visits from many people.  Neither his mom nor his girlfriend's mom have been able to get out there yet. I am already thinking about hitting them up next week and do some hiking in the valley.  I also have a couple of nieces out there who might let me buy them lunch...

I drove the girlfriend's dad home yesterday and we were both in a thoughtful mood.  We were remembering the kids we once knew and feeling proud of the adults they have become.  They are great people and this new chapter is very exciting.  I cannot wait to see what it brings.

I didn't go up today partly to give them some space but there is another reason.    The littlest brother's first day of Junior year was on Wednesday.  This is Friday. With Allison still away at grad school I thought a hello was in order for that boy, too.  We will have dinner, talk about the week, plan for the weekend and probably watch TV.  Then we will wait for Mom to come home. As with his brothers, I value the time I get to spend with him.

Anyway, I have gotten some practice at these goodbyes over the years.  They aren't any easier and every time we reach this period, I wonder where the children are--the former children really--who I used to spend time with.  The year Trumpet went away to college there were a number of other youth groupers who also went away and ceased to be youths.  This morning walking through Wellesley College I remembered a letter I wrote to them all back then.  Here is a part of it.

"I want to point out something that as kids you may not have noticed but that you might notice as you get older and hang around Eliot Church.  What I hope you notice (because it is true) is that this congregation loves you.

Imagine Thanksgiving Sunday--the first one after graduating high school--and you go to church with your parents (actually some former youth groupers show up on their own these days).  You get there at the usual time--right before we start--and the deacon at the door says your name and gives you a hug.  Then when you sit down, the old woman in front of you (who you may never remember ever talking to) turns around to pat your hand and welcome you back.  I may have waved to you from the chancel.  Other adults come to say "hi".

Then what happens?  We do church.  It is just like it has always been except there are some new faces and a few people who aren't there.  Maybe--now that you are a college student--you fidget a bit less.  The familiar hymns sound better.  Hopefully, even the sermon makes some sense.  Then it all starts again at the potluck.  You look around for your high school friends but it takes a while to get to them.  It's those darn old people.  The pastors want to talk to you and see how you are doing. Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of your time.

Please be patient with us.  Whether you remember us all or not, we are the people who saw you crawl down the aisle as animals in the pageant.  Since that time we have witnessed your development.  We saw you reach the exalted heights of "Innkeeper". We saw you sing in the choir, or play in the Ukestra, or do readings.  We even saw you when you held back.  We saw you at the ski trip and the baseball game. Some folks taught your classes (we hope you remember us!).  Others didn't, but they still noticed you.  Your parents have kept us informed of your adventures.

I could go on.  We remember when high school got busy and you couldn't make it.  Some of you might feel even that you "dropped out" of church.  It doesn't actually work that way.  We still notice--and appreciate it--when you do make it. We are always happy to see you.

The church--particularly a small church like ours--is a kind of family.  We have always seen you as a part of that family.  We keep a place for you.  When you return to fill that place, it brings us joy.  Next year, and for a number of years after, there will be a lot of you moving on.  We know that is part of the drill.  I hope that wherever you go, you remember us fondly.  I will remember you and so will all those other people whose lives you touched and who touched yours.

Don't be strangers. You can't be, after all.

Faith and Hope,
​Adam"

Here is to all those adults who say their hellos and goodbyes to the young people they love and care for.  Let us remember that there will be more hellos.