Taking Flight

I know this is a hiking blog, but sometimes I do other outdoor activities. Today I went skiing. Technically, I was supposed to go skiing with Dragonfly, but she had too much homework. Thus, it was just me. Dragonfly and I are planning to go skiing at Bretton Woods next month, and so I figured it was a good idea to get my skis back out, since I haven't been in several years. Truthfully, I wasn't sure how it would go. Things like getting on and off a lift aren't exactly the same as riding a bicycle, and they don't necessarily come back as quickly. Even the process of going down the mountain took some re-learning. I wanted to start with beginner trails, but the area I was skiing in didn't allow for that. You know what, though? I am getting ahead of myself. Let's back up. I drove up to Mt. Abram from Westbrook, and got there almost exactly when I wanted to, half an hour early. I was able to show my receipt for my online lift ticket purchase and get the actual lift t

It used to be a tradition for my friend Sylvia and I to do a backpacking trip into the White Mountains, usually to Lonesome Lake Hut, over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. I don't get to see her much anymore, so I was excited when we decided to bring the tradition back for this year. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Sylvia realized that she had double booked herself against her grandson's first birthday, so she had to cancel. However, I didn't want to cancel the trip. I got in contact with Dragonfly's brother-in-law, Parched, who keeps up a crazy hiking schedule these days. I asked if he wanted to join me for the trip. He was interested, but he had a conflict and couldn't start until around 2 PM on Saturday. Lonesome Lake is a short, easy hike, so I wasn't concerned about that. We decided to go for it, and so we agreed to meet in Lincoln and then drive to the trailhead. I was running late, so I didn't get a chance to stop at Big Dave's Bagels in North

My winter adventures continued this week with a tough decision to make. Did I want to go to attempt Sugarloaf and Spaulding in northern Maine for my Winter 67, or did I want to continue to work on the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire? I don't feel ready for the sheer exertion of the Maine hike, and I am worried about how little daylight there is right now, so I decided to keep hiking in New Hampshire to build my legs back up. Maybe I will go after Sugarloaf over February break. Dragonfly and I looked at the various paths available up Moriah, and I decided on the Carter-Moriah Trail. This was for several reasons. First, I had never done it before, so it would give me the chance to try something new. Second, it seemed like the most direct route to where I wanted to go. Third, there were recent trail reports about it. Those trail reports said that the trail was better hiked in spikes rather than snowshoes, so that was music to my ears. I did strap the snowshoes to my pack, though, a

Part of winter vacation is getting the chance to hike in the snow! With school having gotten out Wednesday, Thursday seemed like the perfect day to hike. The question was where to hike to? I thought about attacking Sugarloaf and Spaulding, or maybe Abraham, in northern Maine, but those all involved logistical issues that I wasn't quite ready to tackle. In general, the difficulty of a hike doesn't intimidate me. However, logistical difficulties do. Finding parking, trail information, road closures, and so on is stressful. Thus, I decided to fall back on a hike that was a tough climb, but also simple logistically: Mt. Washington. "But wait, Hawk," you might be saying, "your title says Mt. Monroe." We'll get to that. I packed my winter gear the night before my hike. As usual, I packed heavy, making sure that I had my bivy, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad, in case I got into trouble. I am finding snacks to be a difficult issue in the winter, because my proven

Every previous time that I have hiked the Carters, I have felt too exhausted to take the long way around Mt Hight, and instead I have gone directly up and over Carter Dome. I didn't think this was an issue, as Mt Hight is not on the New Hampshire 48 or the 52 With a View lists. However, it turns out that there is one place where you do have to get it; the Appalachian Trail goes over it. Thus, I planned a hiking trip for little reason other than to get Mt Hight and connect that part of the AT to what I had already done. My hiking trips are fewer and farther between than they used to be, so I wanted to get out for a hike anyway when I had some time over Thanksgiving break. I decided to hike the day before Thanksgiving, stay at the Carter Notch Hut, and then hike out over the Wildcats on Thanksgiving morning. To do this, I would need logistical support (namely a car spot), and Dragonfly took time out of her schedule to offer that support, which I greatly appreciated. I dropped my car

Back in the summer, Dragonfly started planning a family hike on Mt. Chocorua. It would involve Dragonfly, her sister Sondra, Sondra's husband Parched (trail name), Dragonfly's cousin Hummingbird, and me. The plan was to take Champney Falls Trail up to Chocorua, and descend the same way. We planned to meet at the Champney Falls parking lot at 8:30. Being me, I didn't want to be late. This was even more true because I know that Chocorua is one of the most popular hikes in the White Mountains, and I didn't want to end up without a parking spot. Thus, I got up at 5 AM and was on the road around 6 AM. I stopped at Big Dave's Bagels in North Conway for breakfast around 7:15. I texted Dragonfly that I was in North Conway, and she texted back that I had issues. I arrived at the trailhead just before 7:30, and I was the first car in the parking lot by about half an hour. At least I got a parking spot! As I sat in my car eating my bagel, I watched a group of teenagers with a