Every year I attend the MobiSys conference; this year it was held in the beautiful Lake District of northwestern England. I had heard so much about this area – a walker’s paradise, people said – so I decided to go early and to bring along my son John. We flew from Manchester to Manchester (NH to UK, that is) and drove to Ambleside, in the center of the Lake District. It was pouring rain, but the rental-car agent assured us that it wouldn’t last (more on that later). Continue reading “A week in the Lake District of England”
With the demise of MobileMe hosting of iWeb sites, I decided to give WordPress a try. I’m sitting here with my son in the Philadelphia airport just about to head out on our latest adventure: 10 days in the Lakes District of western England, including a visit to my home town – literally, my birthplace, near Manchester.
I can think of few times when I’ve been on the summit of Moosilauke with such deep blue skies and warm sunny temperatures.
Although the days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer – well, actually, it’s been warm all winter – I am not quite ready to let go of winter. A surprise snowfall of 4” of powder early on Saturday morning, plus a forecast for a warm sunny day today, instigated a repeat visit to Moosilauke via the Glenncliff trail. I rallied David and Kathy Hooke – recalling our visit of last February. On that trip, we were lucky to encounter several feet of fresh powder. Today, a few inches of fresh snow made a well-packed (and icy) trail a joy to climb.
David on the Moosilauke summit, with the Franconia Range beyond.
We saw perhaps two dozen other people on the trail or on the summit. Clearly we weren’t the only folks with the good sense to hit the trail today. The sun was warm, the snow fluffy, and the hills windless. We did hit some wind on the summit, but the temp was 26˚F and quite comfortable. On the trip down the snow started to get mushy, then slushy, then running water, and finally mud. At the parking lot it was 46˚F. Warm day!
Somehow we never got around to our annual late-August family backpacking trip. I was determined to get out, anyway, so we took two short trips. On September 30, Andy and John and I headed directly from school to a trailhead on the west side of Moose Mountain. We hiked up to reach the A.T. where it crosses a col between north and south peak, then pulled into the shelter just as it got dark and began to rain. We poked around in the dark looking for the water supply, and settled in just as a huge thunderstorm struck. Nothing like being in an open shelter, on a ridgeline, in a thunderstorm! We had to leave the next morning, skipping our second night out, because John was feeling ill.
Andy and John backpacking on Moose Mountain.
Two weeks later, Andy and Mara and I headed for Holts Ledge, hiking up to Trapper John shelter late on Saturday afternoon, with just enough daylight to explore a bit and then settle in. It rained overnight, but the next morning we were able to climb up to Holts Ledge for a view of the fall colors.
Mara and Andy can’t wait for ski season, as we visit the top of Holt’s Ledge during the peak of foliage season.
I had only my iPhone, and limited light, but took some photos.
This post was transferred from MobileMe to WordPress in 2021, with an effort to retain the content as close to the original as possible; I recognize that some comments may now seem dated or some links may now be broken.
The Second College Grant is 27,000 acres of wilderness at the very northern tip of New Hampshire.
John and I spent a long weekend in Dartmouth’s Second College Grant, staying at Peaks Cabin, after three glorious days of summer-like weather with late-fall colors. The afternoon temperatures were nearing 80. With bright sunshine and blue skies the hills were ablaze with color, a bit past peak but the yellows and oranges were nonetheless brilliant. I have not been to the Grant, other than mid-winter, in over 15 years; what a treat! Read on…
Although we only had a week, we had a great time and we saw an incredible amount. We started with two nights in Edinburgh, where we stayed with my oldest friend – that is, my first ever friend, who was born just four days after me. Then we drove northwest through highlands to the lochs and bays of the western coast, with two nights around Glen Coe. Then northeast along Loch Ness to Inverness, and down through Cairngorm national park to Scone and then St Andrews, where we spent two nights. Off to Glasgow for a night. Then an early-morning flight out of Edinburgh allowed us to have lunch in Paris before returning home. Whew! Read on.
I have been fortunate to be able to get out hiking and canoeing.
Summer is a grand time in New Hampshire. The days are long, the forests lush, and the rivers calm. The weather recently has been fantastic, mostly warm and sunny but not too hot. I’ve been able to get outside a few times, with my camera:
A four-mile round-trip hike along the Long Trail [photos]
A two-day paddle along the Connecticut River [photos]
A five-mile pre-breakfast loop through (and over) Dixville Notch [photos]
A five-mile round-trip up Mount Jefferson [photos]
I hope to get out more, sometime soon!
The Ridge of the Caps starts at 3000′ elevation.
This post was transferred from MobileMe to WordPress in 2021, with an effort to retain the content as close to the original as possible; I recognize that some comments may now seem dated or some links may now be broken.
A glorious winter day, right after a big snowstorm.
My friends Kathy and David and I decided to head up Mount Moosilauke, after Friday’s big snowstorm. There was about 6” of new snow on top of several feet of solid base, which made for fantastic conditions. With a group of 4 snowshoers breaking trail a couple of hours ahead of us, we cruised up the Glencliff trail. Read on…
On ten-ten-ten we climbed this mountain near Moosilauke.
Black Mountain is a nice little peak in the midst of a broad valley to the west of Mount Moosilauke. On this special day – 10/10/10 – we scrambled up and were treated with a gorgeous view of the Connecticut River valley and The Mountain and a distant peek at the Franconia Ridge.
Black Mountain. Andy, Daddy, John, and Mara sit atop a glacial erratic on the summit of Black Mountain.
This post was transferred from MobileMe to WordPress in 2021, with an effort to retain the content as close to the original as possible; I recognize that some comments may now seem dated or some links may now be broken.
We spent four days and three nights backpacking in the Pemigewasset Wilderness, the central region of the White Mountains National Forest.
Every year at this time we try to get out for an extended camping and hiking trip. The weather this year turned out to be fantastic. We delayed our trip for a day to skip the showers on Wednesday, but other than a brief shower during the hike in on Thursday, we had four days of spectacular sunny, warm weather. Read on!
David Kotz 