New Hampshire – Page 26

Backpacking 2011

Two brief backpacking trips.

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.

Autumn colors

A selection of the best photos of the season.

This trip is not far from home – just into the interior of Lyme, our own hometown. Every week during the fall the kids went to riding class; on this particular day, I think we hit peak fall colors. While the kids did their riding, I took a few hundred photos. See a small selection of my favorites in a photo gallery.

Dartmouth College Grant

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…

Dead Diamond River, halfway to Hellgate. Second College Grant.

Four recent outings

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.

Snowshoe on Moosilauke

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…

Black Mountain

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.

See photo gallery for more!

Pemi-Bondcliff backpack

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!

Family photo on Bondcliff. Pemigewasset Wilderness, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Backpacking Zealand notch

Our first-ever family backpacking trip, through Zealand notch in White Mountain National Forest.

On Labor Day weekend, we took the kids on their first backpacking trip. We hiked in from Zealand road past Zealand hut to Thoreau Falls, within the NH White Mountains. The weather was fantastic, and we found a nice campsite off in the woods away from the falls. We spent two nights there, with a dayhike up to Ethan Pond in between. We had campfires and went swimming under the falls.

We’re ready to head out on our first backpacking trip, at the Zealand trailhead in NH White Mountains.

See the photo gallery.

Around the world… and home

Almost a year away from home.

We’re home! After just 24 days less than a year away from home, we’re back. According to the airline, we flew 29,000 miles, from Boston to Paris to Bangalore to Sydney to Auckland to Fiji to Charleston to Boston, not to mention all the layovers in between.

It’s nice to be back, although a little strange. The house is pretty much the same, though I now see it through different eyes. It seems huge, and we seem to have so much stuff. The cat recognizes us, and seems to he happy that we’re back. We’re buried in boxes, having shipped home almost two dozen bags and boxes as well as the 10 checked and 6 carry-on bags we brought with us (and which, believe it or not, I managed to fit into my Prius along with all five of us, to get home from the bus stop.)

I’m not sure I’ll be adding much to this blog for a while. I think it will be nice to not be traveling. If I find some time, I might dig through some of the videotape I shot while in India; although I focused most on still photos, some of the videos might be fun.

What we miss

The things we miss.

India is great – we do like it here – but of course we do miss some things from home.

Mara misses snow already. (Pretty good, since NH has yet to see Fall!)
John misses his friends, his cats, and his house.
Andy misses his favorite toys, particularly a box of electrical parts he uses to make contraptions.
Pam misses a soft bed and fitted sheets.
David misses good beer, rowing, and foggy September mornings. And all the above 😉

This post was transferred from MobileMe to WordPress in 2020, 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.