Taking Flight

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