Outdoors – Page 2 – David Kotz

Gile Mountain

Back in New England, briefly.

Four weekend hikes in a row – what a treat! This morning I met two friends just before sunrise to climb the tiny-but-beautiful Gile Mountain, here in Norwich. No, that’s not Norwich, England… this pretty little peak is in Norwich, New England. I happen to be back at Dartmouth for a long weekend, and took the opportunity to visit this local favorite: a short hike to an otherwise unremarkable bump in the rolling hills of Vermont, with a firetower that allows one to climb above the trees and enjoy a spectacular 360º view across the Upper Valley, the Connecticut River, and the route of the Appalachian Trail as it passes through Norwich, Hanover, and along the ridges past mounts Moose, Smarts, Cube, Mist, and culminating on the twin peaks of Mount Moosilauke.

Sunrise view from Gile Mountain. Mount Moosilauke is on the horizon at right.

Chantry Wood hike

An extended walk in Chantry Woods with about twenty other Dartmouth alums.

I had my third opportunity to hike, today, in an outing jointly organized by the Dartmouth Club of the United Kingdom and the Tuck alumni club of the United Kingdom, to the Chantry Wood area around Guildford in Surrey. About 20 Dartmouth alums and three dogs came along. The day started cloudy, shifted to hazy, and ended with blue skies, leaving all in a wonderful mood as we settled in for a late Sunday lunch at the Seahorse Pub. As the photo gallery shows, the trees were beginning to show their autumn colors, and the route exposed us to a wide variety of meadows, forests, fallow farm fields, and country lanes.
A beautiful day! [Slideshow]

A farm with vast fields, with distant view of farmhouse and barn.

Ivinghoe Beacon Ridgeway hike

My second hike in two weekends, just as beautiful as the first.

With one outside-London hike under my belt, at Box Hill last weekend, I was eager to try another. This weekend happens to be the annual Peak Bag, organized by Dartmouth alumni to raise funds in support of student mental health. I registered, thinking I might be an unusual participant (outside the U.S.). By the time I hopped on the train out of London, however, several participants had posted about their completed hikes in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. It is indeed a global effort! Read on, to see where we hiked.

Sheep grazing in Aldbury Nowers natural area, conserved under the National Trust.

Box Hill circuit

A circuitous ramble over and around Box Hill in the Surrey downs.

Four weeks after arriving in London for a year-long sabbatical, I was itching to get outdoors – out in the hills, forests, and meadows, after weeks of city life. Don’t get me wrong – I am truly enjoying the chance to explore London, and to adapt to city living. But I am a country mouse, at heart, and needed to be out where I could climb hills, take in broad vistas, and listen to the wind in the trees. After some online snooping, I settled on this eight-mile circular walk around Box Hill, just an hour’s train journey south of London. Read on!

Box Hill and Westhumble train station is tiny, unstaffed, but cute.

Iceland wrap-up

With a link to a complete gallery.

Ok, that’s the end of a series of posts about my week in Iceland, including visits to Diamond Beach and its two nearby glaciers, and eleven waterfalls: