The White Mountains in Fall

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." - Rachel Carson

A few pictures from recent adventures in the White Mountains. Specifically, two hikes:

1. North, Middle and South Carter
2. Mt. Whiteface and Passaconaway

South view from Middle Carter

Mt. Washington and the Presidentials from North Carter

South view from Mt. Whiteface

The Bowl Natural Research Area from Rollins Trail

Wonalancet Ridge from the Walden Trail

First Lines of Stephen Clark's "Katahdin"

"Baxter State Park and Katahdin are unique natural features not only of Maine, but of the Northeastern United States. ... Baxter Park is owned by the people of the State of Maine. The circumstances by which they came into possession of this land its natural wonders are unusual, with few parallels in the history of our country."

- Stephen Clark, Katahdin, A Guide to Baxter State Park & Katahdin

 This book was invaluable for our recent trip to the park. Highly recommend picking it up if you'll be anywhere within Baxter SP.

Whoever Just Sat Down has Decided to Die

Be sure to read this excerpt from Francis Slakey's "To the Last Breath: A Memoir of Going to Extremes." It's described as a description of "...the myriad physical and mental challenges in summiting the world's highest peak." The scene described in this small portion contains a confrontation between Buddhism and science in the dire conditions at the top of the world. To wit:

As he sits in the snow, reflecting back on his days, he is reassured by one simple fact: he is a good man. That, to him, can mean only one thing. He will be reincarnated into a life no worse than what he has had. His conclusion, then, is that he can be calm amid the chaos. Buddhism is his universal health coverage. ...
Reincarnation is a wonderfully serene worldview. But I don’t buy it.

Riveting stuff!

Mental Health Day

One of the nice things my employer does is give everyone their work anniversary as a bonus vacation day. As of today, i've been there for two years, so I was able to enjoy a nice brisk fall day in the woods. Bella and I wandered up and around Mt. Wachusett Mountain State Reservation, doing a loop of about four miles. The temperature was perfect for a walk in the woods and the sound of the strong breezes through the trees were just what the doctor ordered to get away from the daily grind for a while.

 I'm logging off now to cook up a nice dinner, so until next time, enjoy some Dog Blogging:

Bella striking a pose on Mt. Wachusett

Quote of the Day

To those that would see the Maine wilderness, tramp day by day through a succession of ever delightful forest, past lake and stream, and over mountains, we would say: Follow the Appalachian Trail across Maine. It cannot be followed on horse or awheel. Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, it beckons not merely north and south but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man.
- Myron Avery, In the Maine Woods, 1934

Mental Health Break

The clouds over Mt. Marcy, as seen from Mt. Basin, about 4:00 on Saturday, May 22nd, the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks.

Radio Silence BROKEN

I've been massively busy at work, and took the weekend off to get out into the woods - specifically, the Adirondacks, and even more specifically, Mt. Saddleback and Mt. Basin. Pix here. But i'm back now, so watch out.

A Walk in the Woods

I took advantage of a beautiful fall day and Bella's healed ACL to take the dog for a walk in the Ashland Town Forest today. The sun was shining, turning the light green as it dappled through the green beech leaves. The trails are mainly through a tree canopy so you feel like you're walking through a tunnel, although there are many open spaces. In the wetlands, the ferns are dying, opening up the soggy earth to light and exposing the squirrels and chipmunks as they race around gathering up all of the incredible profusion of acorns that are littering the forest floor.

Very peaceful. I wish I had more opportunities to take these walks, just me and the pup.

Monadnock Resonation

Made up Mt. Monadnock last Wednesday, in a hike that had a little bit of everything. I started off around 10:00 on the Parker Trail, which is mainly flat as it heads due west. I turned north and started the real climb on the Cliff Walk, which is just as tough as it sounds. All this time, it was hot and rather humid, and by the time I hit Bald Rock and took my lunch break, I was overheated and tired. However, as I traversed my way underneath the peak via the Amphitheater trail, the clouds rolled in and cooled things off a bit. Still, the Summit trail to the top was a mix of sun and clouds, although the peak of Monadnock was windy as ever. The clouds were rocking and rolling, as evidenced by the picture above.
As usual for this mountain, I didn't spend a lot of time at the top because there were a LOT of gapers yelling at each other and being generally annoying, so I headed NE on the Pumpelly Trail. By this point, it was downright gloomy and somewhat chilly until I got underneath the tree line, and I wasn't feeling all that great. However, two things got be back up to par: 1) as soon as I started back to the State Park via the Cascade Link, I ran into huge bushes of wild blueberries which I ate with abandon, and 2) dunking my head in the stream that runs parallel to the Cascade Link was incredibly refreshing. Still, by the time I had met up with the main trails (the Red Spot and White Dot trails) it was raining, so I was pretty happy to get back to the car. All in all a good day!

My New Favorite Picture

Thanks Eric.

Hiking in the White Mountains

I'm feeling a bit under the weather; Hunter brought home some stomach bug that's laid us out this weekend. I'm used some of this enforced downtime to clean up a rough draft of a trip report I typed up about a hike up Mts. Jefferson, Adams, and Madison this June with Chad and Eric.