The Big Apple

We planned this trip on short notice. Andrew had the idea of going to New York about 2 weeks ago and I was excited when he mentioned it! We are used to doing our own thing but thought it would be fun to take our really good friends Heidi and Jordan with us. Andrew got us two hotel rooms in nearby Dover, New Jersey, and the trip was officially on the calendar.
We planned to meet at our house on black Friday morning. Driving went fine and we made it to the hotel by 2:30. We realized it would be 1.5 hours to Times Square from the train station nearby. We figured it would be quicker and a cheaper to drive to the Journal Square subway station in Jersey City and leave the car there. Finding the correct parking garage for the station took a view minutes, but figuring out the subway was a little easier than we had anticipated. We were on 33rd street by 4. At the subway exchange things got a little complicated. We had no idea where we were going and only had maps from an AAA catalog to help. We got on the right track thanks to a kind stranger and arrived in a packed Times Square.
It was incredible to see the sun setting on the buildings while the people hurried around. We had our obligatory photo shoot and explored surrounding streets. We found a little café type place and had dinner. From there we walked toward Rockefeller plaza and enjoyed some coffee to warm us up. The Christmas tree was in place, but not lighted yet. We checked out a few stores and the ice rink. By around 8 we were tired and ready for the hot tub waiting for us back at the hotel. We made our way to a nearby subway and took it back to 33rd street. It was here that our subway experienced went south. Me and Heidi made it off the subway and turned back to realize that the doors closed on Andrew and Jordan. It was kind of stressful until we all met up again 30 minutes later. It turned out they had taken the first subway back but we didn’t see each other right away. Andrew finally caught our eye and we met up back on the upper level. We were home safe just in time to enjoy the hot tub for about an hour.
After the pool area closed around 11 we went back to our rooms for the night. After changing out of our swimsuits we got a text from Jordan saying that they were hungry. We ended up going out to a diner and enjoying a late night meal and some funny conversation. The diner was only 5 minutes from the hotel and we were back by 1am. We agreed to be ready by late morning and see the rest of the sites all day.
We met up around 11 the next morning and made our way back to the diner for breakfast. We took our now familiar route into the city but this time went further north to 72nd street. Once there, we were able to enjoy over 2 hours in beautiful Central Park. More coffee to keep us warm as we walked around the gorgeous landscape. I never how large this park really was; we could spend a whole day there. From central park we had decided to see the Serendipity café (as made famous in the movie) and took another train. The wait time ended up being several hours so we stopped at a nearby Starbucks instead. Next, we were onto Central Station and more photos. It was time to eat again, and we made our way towards China Town and Little Italy.
The streets were lit up for the season and the walk around the towns was awesome. We passed by rustic traditional Italian restaurants and fresh cannoli bakeries. We entered into China town and experienced fresh fish markets and handmade goods from central Asia. We were getting really hungry and we had made plans with Heidi’s cousin, Rebecca and her husband Stephan, for dinner at a restaurant they recommended. The place was called Da Gennaros, and the food was unbelievable. It was the best Italian meal any of us had ever eaten. We also enjoyed some authentic Italian beers before saying our goodbyes. The next stop was ground zero. We spent some time learning about the upcoming memorial opening next September 11, 2011. There will be two reflection pools that located in the foundations of the world trade center towers. Check out nation911memorial.org
After another fun morning of sleeping in and trying a different place for breakfast, we were on our way to catch a ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We made it to the parking lot and walked to the port where the boat was docked. It was only about 5 minutes to Ellis Island and we were soon exploring the old buildings. It was incredible to realize that most of the buildings rested on a manmade extension of the island. The ferry departed at 330 and we rode over to the statue and got our last photo ops as the sun was setting. It was a great experience to see those two pieces of our history. We got back to the car after it all and ate a quick meal on the way home. Great weekend!

The Great Smoky Mountains NP

The Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in United States. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. It was established in the early 19th century when the U.S. National Park Service wanted to establish a park in the eastern United States. Even though Congress had authorized the park in 1926, there wasn’t much federally owned land to dedicate to the cause. There was no money available either. Thankfully, many individuals donated to get the plans off the ground. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. contributed $5 million, the U.S. government added $2 million, and private citizens from Tennessee and North Carolina pitched in to assemble the land for the park, piece by piece. Over time, homesteaders, miners, and loggers were evicted from the land. The park was officially established on June 15, 1934.
Some 100 species of native trees find homes in the Smokies, more variety than anywhere else in North America or in all of Northern Europe. Almost 95% of the park is forested, and about 25% of that area is old-growth forest. This is one of the largest blocks of deciduous, temperate, old-growth forest remaining in North America. Over 1,500 additional flowering plant species have been identified in the park. The park is also home to more than 200 species of birds, 66 types of mammals, 50 native fish species, 39 varieties of reptiles, and 43 species of amphibians. Mollusks, millipedes, and mushrooms reach record diversity here. In recognition of the park's unique natural resources, the United Nations has designated Great Smoky Mountains National Park as an International Biosphere Reserve. Unfortunately, the park has recently come under attack from a tree killing insect-the Wooly Adelgid. This invasive species was brought from overseas- either Japan or Europe- by way of firewood and transplanted stock. The wooly Adelgid has now killed countless Hemlocks at the lower elevations in the park, and almost 90 percent of the Fraser Firs on the higher elevations. There have been recent attempts to control the damage by introducing predators to the Adelgid, using chemical treatments, and other tools. So far, the costs of these measures have limited their use, and their effectiveness. Nevertheless, this forest remains arguably the best in the east.
This trip was a life lesson on investments and returns. We invested a lot of hours on the road, but in return we received incredible trails, campsites, and perfect weather. Our original plans involved a loop hike up Mount Laconte, but after some convincing recommendations from a ranger at the backcountry office, we reconsidered. Laconte is always very crowded, and camping was restricted-you can only stay at the summit shelter, along with handfuls of other hikers. Never mind that the mountain has the largest base to summit elevation east of the Mississippi, and we had barely slept in almost two days. The alternative suggested to us was a quiet loop hike mostly following ridgelines, located towards the southern end of the park. There were still considerable elevation changes involved and we could spend the night at one of the best campsites in the park –site #52, located on Newton Bald. We took her suggestion and drove a half hour from the office near the Gatlinburg entrance to the trailhead. As soon we got to the parking lot, we knew this park ranger had given us a “best kept secret".
Our car was the only one in the lot, and the park had been packed thus far. Once we were on the trial, we forgot about the distance we drove to get there. We were walking through huge hemlock forests that resembled the redwoods I had seen years ago more so than eastern woods. It was absolutely silent- not even a rustling of leaves or bird chirping for hours. It was such a surreal experience to hear nothing, while seeing so much. The trail lead through thick patches of rhododendrons while winding along ridges. I have never enjoyed the walking aspect of backpacking as much as I did here. We reached our campsite with plenty of daylight left. Site #52 was home to another camper or two, but there was more than enough space for everyone. We found a place for a tent about 50 yards away from that group at a higher point that was recently cleared as an alternative site. It was incredible. This site also had a spring on top of the mountain, an unusual luxury. Newton Bald turned out to be not so bald. It was less densely forested, and years ago was actually exposed, but had since grown in. Since the leaves had mostly fallen, we had seen many views already. We realized later there are no exposed campsites in the park. No worries though, the plush hiking and campsite more than made up for that. We cooked an awesome dinner and made a campfire. Our lack of sleep sent us to bed early, but we played some cards first. The next day we hiked out and noticed it was much noisier that the day before. There were woodpeckers hammering away, and an amazing amount of wildlife in the open. We must have seen a dozen chipmunks and even more birds. At one point a chipmunk ran into a hollow tree right in front of us. I poked around but couldn't flush him out. We hiked a few hours and made it back to the car in the early afternoon. We must be getting stronger legs, we made great time hiking on this trip. We took advantage of the time saved checked out Clingman’s Dome before heading home. Clingman’s dome is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, and the highest point in the park. There is a small concrete watchtower erected on the summit, where hikers can appreciate 360 degree views of the area. On the way up, the damage to the Fraser Firs was obvious, but it was no less photogenic. We seemed to glide up the steep trail to the tower, since this time we didn’t have our packs on. It was an amazing view, with a trip to match. This experience more than made up for the last time we were in the area, when the snow had closed the park. Many thanks to the helpful lady at the office.

Hickory Run SP

It’s a shame that my dad and I haven’t been out backpacking -just us- in years. We finally planned a weekend trip, but we had to shorten it a bit to accommodate both of our schedules. We still had a good amount of time to hike, however it narrowed down our choices for destinations. I discovered Hickory Run State Park, located in the Poconos and thought it looked perfect. The park is well known for containing an enormous boulder field that has been designated a National Natural Landmark. Several of the park’s 40 miles of hiking trails reach this location. We had only vague plans and made the rest up as we went. We grabbed a few maps at the park office and plotted a course to the rocks. The field is 1800 by 400 feet in size (16.5 acres) and contains boulders up to 26 feet long. It’s peculiar because the ground is almost level- most rock fields form on steep slopes. Most of the explanations for the field suggest it was formed during the last ice age when a glacier bulldozed the rocks into place. I found it interesting that in the early 1800’s prospective farmers called the area the “Shades of Death” because of the dark forests, rocky soil, and nearby swamps that spoiled their plans. The only developments realized in the area were several mills located on nearby Mud Run, accompanied by a small town.
It was hunting season, and the parking lots were full. Surprisingly, the trails were empty. Still, I was thankful that we had worn some hunter orange just in case. The colors of the forest were awesome. We passed some mountains while traveling that had lost their leaves in the recent storms. In this area that wasn’t the case. The entire trail is well marked and maintained. The best part was the final stretch that passed through old-growth pines. The fallen pine needs made it feel like we were walking on a mattress. We ended up spending the night under those old trees, after we had explored the huge field of rocks. It was a perfect weekend away. Hopefully it won’t be so long until we can hike together again.

Shenandoah

Shenandoah National Park is located in Virginia, and is home to a stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The place has a lot of history. Shenandoah was authorized in 1926 and fully established on December 26, 1935. Prior to being a park, much of the area was farmland and there are still remnants of old farms in several places. The state of Virginia slowly acquired the land through eminent domain and then gave it to the U.S. Federal Government on the promise it would be designated a National Park. The park itself is long and narrow. The Shenandoah River and valley are on the west side, and the hills of Piedmont on the east. The most popular aspect of the park seems to be Skyline Drive-a 105 mile long National Scenic Byway that follows the ridgeline. Even though I think paving roads on top of beautiful mountains because people are too lazy to climb them is criminal, they have redeemed themselves by saving lots of other land from future development. Almost 79,579 acres have been designated as a protected wilderness and there are over 500 miles of hiking trails. As you can imagine, Skyline Drive attracts huge crowds. Even so, I was impressed with the cleanliness of the park facilities and trails.
The part we decided to hike was a loop in the Matthew’s Arm section, in the northern part of the park. We arrived late at night, and instead of getting a hotel room, we just fell asleep in the car. We wanted to get on the trail at sunrise, and we figured paying for a room just to sleep 4 hours wasn’t worth it. Anyhow, the next morning we waited a few minutes for the Park Office to open so we could get our required backcountry permit. This was surprisingly a painless process and the Ranger guy was super helpful.
Our route was developed around a few interesting destinations- Devils Stairs and a forgotten frontier town cemetery. The trails in this area are beautiful. We had trouble finding the Sugarloaf Trail which connected a crucial leg of our trip. We spent some valuable time searching for it, but eventually we decided to take a look at our maps and make some changes. (We would later find this trail on the last bit of the hike) We improvised a new loop consisting of several trails that would still allow us to visit those interesting locations. It worked out great, and gave us some experience with navigation that will come in handy for our future trips. The Devil’s stairs were steep and slippery, as promised. It was very similar to Rickett’s Glenn, back home. There were huge walls of rock on either side that became narrower and formed chutes funneling water with us as we descended. The trail drops over a thousand feet in just a fraction of a mile. After reaching the bottom there were nice hollows we might have camped in, but we wanted to make more distance before retiring for the night. The trail flanks Pignut Mountain for a few miles, and about ¾ the way up is where the cemetery’s located. Most of the literature we’ve seen describes this place as spooky, but I thought it was serene. It is surrounded by a large stone wall with a single iron gate. We continued on past rock walls of old farms to our campsite for that night. It was not an established campsite, but it was perfect. Actually, I can’t recall more than one or two obvious campsites on the entire loop. We set up quicker than ever and enjoyed some delicious dinner and card games before calling it a day. In the morning I took some extra time to make it look like we were never there, then we headed out. We didn’t leave too much distance for ourselves, and made it back to the car in the afternoon. I still have mixed feelings about the whole Park and its commercialized pseudo-nature identity, but these trails were amazing.

The Adirondacks

The Adirondack Park is the largest protected area in the lower 48 states at almost 6 million acres -roughly the size of Massachusetts. It is an unconventional State/National Park in that it’s a patchwork of public and private land. It’s not managed by a single organization, rather by some not-for-profits and local governments. This area contains the best hiking I’ve experienced within a day’s drive. We decided on 2-day, 17 mile “Five Mountain Loop”. It encompasses Macomb Mountain, Hough Peak, and The Dixes. Macomb Mountain was an optional out-and-back that we chose not to do. Our route was in the region of the Adirondacks referred to as “The High Peaks”, which contains the highest concentration of its namesake. It’s just about a half hour south of Lake Placid, NY. We spent a night at a Hampton Inn in Schenectady before starting the following day. It’s an awesome college town about ¾ the way to the trailhead. It was great to get some rest beforehand. We got an early start, and got on the trail with no trouble. The first day of the hike would be on completely unmarked paths. The first several miles followed the Bouquet River, spotted with killer swimming holes. We may have to go back when it’s warm; they were incredible. We crossed the stream several times, and finally turned away towards the peak of East Dix. We passed lots more water, this time lakes. Almost every lake had a beaver dam. We were told to listen for the slap of their tails on the water-a danger warning for other beavers, but we didn’t hear much. Several hours later, we arrived at the foot of the East Dix slide. We weren’t quite prepared for what we had in front of us. The slide (bare rock with loose footing) ran straight to the Peak, and was way steeper than I had anticipated. Our topo map gave us an idea, but I never climbed anything like this. What made it more unnerving was that there was no marked trail that we could see, and it had rained the previous day leaving streams running down the face of the rock. We were pumped for the challenge. We figured we’d get to the top before worrying about getting our bearings and finding the trail. The first ¼ mile wasn’t too bad; we enjoyed the exposure on the mountainside. Then it got much, much steeper. It was hand over hand climbing for about 500 yards, and the winds were howling. Looking down made our stomachs churn. To say the least, we were thankful when we made it to the summit. We were exhausted (it took a few hours to climb) and found a sweet site to make camp. Brittany has quickly become quite the backcountry chef, and this time it was chicken tacos on the menu. We ourselves set up, and I got a fire going. That night was unbelievably windy. We woke up to the tent stakes having ripped out, and the tent almost being blown away with us in it. I improvised some boulder anchors and we struggled to sleep with the noise of the straining tent. At about 5am, the wind stopped suddenly, and we enjoyed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. In the morning, we took in the views of the fog lifting from the valley, all while warming up with coffee. I could have sat there for a week. The trails for the next few hours were very tight, and our equipment took a beating with the briars constantly brushing past. We followed the horseshoe-shaped ridge, and eventually stopped for lunch directly across the range on Hough (pronounced “Huff”) peak. We met people there for the first time during the hike. One lady was from Estonia. We kept hiking, stopping for a few minutes at West Dix peak before pushing on to the highest part of our hike-Mt. Dix itself. Some of the terrain in the saddle of these two mountains was wild. The way was spotted with shoulder-high boulders, and occasionally one that required improvisation to get over. At one point, several huge rocks created an impasse. They only way up was a rope climb. Just like gym class. When we finally reached the peak it was dinner time. We were stunned to see the summit. Earlier, and from a distance, it seemed like a knife-edge with barely room to sit down. Up close, it looks more like a stone tennis court. The sun had heated up the rocks, while the wind picked up and cooled the air. It was like a spa. We ate dinner and took our time packing up. In hindsight it was too much time. We set out to complete the loop, there were only a few more hours of daylight. We picked up the pace and intersected with another slide, this time on the other side of the range. Thankfully this one was shorter, and less steep. Once at the bottom, we followed another stream and eventually passed a shelter at the base of the Mountain. There are only a handful of them in the Adirondacks. We anxiously reached our second to last waypoint-a lake about 3 miles from our car. It was completely dark, and we finished the last stretch with our headlamps on.

A Quick Overnight (Wind Gap)

Britt and I were looking for a short-distance overnight trip since the last few have been really strenuous. I referenced backpacker.com, as I often do, for hikes that would fit the bill. I am very familiar with the Appalachian Trail (AT), and in most cases I am not a huge fan. The portions of the trail in Pennsylvania are usually filled with mind-numbing rocks that keep you staring at your feet instead of the scenery. However, I found a hike on the AT that sounded great, and I figured the short distance would make the poor footing more tolerable. It was an out-and-back hike about 9 miles long. The destination was Smith Shelter (three sided cabin, as found about every 15-20 miles on the AT), starting from Wind Gap. It currently has some of the least traffic of all the shelters in PA.
We got to the trailhead after work, around dinnertime. No problems…I love trails that include GPS coordinates! The first section of the trail was switchbacks up to the ridge, as expected. Once on the ridge, the hiking was mostly flat and easy for about an hour. The sun went down and we put the headlamps on. We were planning on hiking in the dark a little while, so no problem. We hiked another 20 minutes or so, and were very close to the shelter when we came to a beautiful meadow on top of the ridge. I have never seen such a thing located on a mountaintop before. We had brought our tent with us, in case the shelter was occupied. We decided to set up camp here instead, since it was so ideal. Our tent was never on ground as soft as the pressed grass found here. It was excellent. I made a fire as Britt cooked up some Asian dish which was delicious. The night was clear and a breeze kicked up as we finished eating. We didn’t put the fly on the tent so we could stare at the stars and feel the breeze as we dozed off. We were very thankful for the weather. The forecast was a high in the low 80s, and overnight it was actually cold. We woke up late, unusual for us when hiking. We took our time packing up since again we had a great view and more perfect weather. We agreed that we are going to set aside this hike for our kids in the future. Hopefully they enjoy it. This type of trail is perfect for helping decide if backpacking is something they would enjoy. Our hike back to the car was relaxing, and we had no need to push ourselves. Anyone looking for an easy overnighter-check this one out.

Milwaukee and Chicago

We flew out of BWI airport, a first for me. It was much cleaner, more organized, and generally nicer thaPhiladelphia’s airport. We were flying to Milwaukee for a good friend’s wedding, and we decided to spend a couple extra days to see the sights. We had an early morning flight, so we avoided the traffic. Everything went smoothly getting to Milwaukee. We picked up our rental car and drove to the hotel all before breakfast. Our place was right on Milwaukee Avenue, which runs through the center of the city. We were too early to check in to our room, but I asked around for a good local place to eat breakfast. The lady at the desk suggested the George Webb restaurant. She gave us directions; just a few blocks from the hotel. We enjoyed the walk through the beautiful city more than the breakfast, to be honest. It was a popular place (it was packed) with a famed history, but it was typical greasy diner/ truck stop food. Not our type of thing, but no worries. We strolled through town some more, and checked out a cool mall right down the street, and checked into our room a little later.

Milwaukee is an interesting city. The skyline doesn’t have many towering buildings, but they’re not trying to be something they aren’t. The city is known as a historical brewing town, and they seem to embrace that. The city is right on Lake Michigan, which was interesting. We drove Lake Shore Drive, a route that runs the coast next to the city. I was surprised to see a lot of beaches (and people on them). One of the few modern looking buildings is the art museum along the lake. I’m not sure what the thought behind its design was, but it seems to have been inspired by the thousands of sailboats on the water. We continued driving to the place where much of the city’s history comes from- the Miller Brewing Company. It’s about 20 minutes outside of town, and easy to spot. The place is huge, and advertisements for their products are everywhere. The company continues to operate out of the same buildings they began in almost a hundred years ago. We took a tour of the whole process, and they showed much more than I expected to see. The tour included an optional part that only one other person chose to take with us. There was a good reason for that. This optional part featured the same brewing kettles (actually huge tanks) still in operation after all the years, but the room was kept at 106 degrees, and it was on the top floor of a building only assessable by stairs. Too bad for the people opting out, this was my favorite part. Also cool was the original caves used for aging the barrels of beer, and the huge distribution warehouse. The tour ended at the “Beer Garden”. We could choose several samples (12 oz. glasses) of any beer they currently produced…awesome. We headed back to town, and eventually Britt went to dinner with other bridesmaids and I explored the city some more. After seeing a huge line wrapping around a theatre down the street, I asked a local what was going on. Turns out the Black Crowes were playing. Not much else notable from day one…

Day two, we wanted to check out Chicago. It was only about an hour and 20 minutes from Milwaukee. We enjoyed our time in the land of famous gangsters, deep dish pizza and the first African American President. We checked out the Navy pier, which seemed to be especially crowded and we didn’t know what the occasion was. We realized that there was an air show taking place over the lake, and people had gathered in the area to watch. We strolled the huge pier and had lunch at a great seafood place called Riva, all while the jets occasionally flew overhead. We saw the huge Auditorium/ ballroom building dating from the original construction of the pier, and also checked out an art gallery displaying stained glass windows. It was super interesting. We learned that Chicago was the foremost producer of stained glass for churches and other buildings years ago. After we had our fill of the pier, we left for some other “must-see” places. We checked out a stretch of road down the city center deemed “The Magnificent Mile”, and also one of the largest public fountains in the world-the Buckingham Fountain. This fountain is located in grant park, front-and-center of the city. Interesting fact: it was designed after the Latona Fountain at Versailles. It does have unique designs though. The fountain itself represents Lake Michigan, while each sea horse symbolizes a state bordering the lake. We enjoyed checking out the rest of Grant park then it was time to leave the city. We drove about an hour and joined our friends at the rehersal dinner for the wedding.

Day three was the big day for Marcela and Seth. Congrats! I dropped Britt off early since she was a bridesmaid and they had some special photo-ops. I found a Panera Bread nearby for lunch, and then met up with them at the wedding location. The place was awesome. It was a youth camp and conference center located right on Lake Geneva. They got married on a scenic outcrop of land with sailboats floating by in the distance. Well done. We were exhausted but we had to check into a new hotel that night. Our previous hotel was sold out when I had made reservations, but there was a DoubleTree hotel just a few blocks away. We got set up for the night and woke up late.

Our last day was spent in Milwaukee, and we ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. As usual, it was expensive but delicious. We didn’t have anything planned for the day, so we just started walking from the hotel. We explored the city library, which had some impressive architecture. We also checked out some local cathedrals and ran across a large crowd outside of an auditorium downtown. Many of the surrounding roads were closed and we asked a traffic officer why, and he informed us that the president was giving a speech there. That explained the protesters and camera crews. We took the "River Walk" back to the hotel. This is a pathway through the city which runs along the river and is filled with interesting cafes and stores. We stopped for lunch at Potbelly Sandwich Works -higly recommended- and checked out the bookstore across the street. We were running out of time, and went back to the hotel to pick up the car. For our last outing of the trip we checked out the oldest distillery in Wisconsin. It is only been in operation since 2004, but no other distilleries in the state have been opened since prohibition ended. This place was cool, but tiny. It operated out of a single room warehouse, and only had 4 full time employees. A friendly guy gave us a quick tour, and quite an education on the process of making liquor. Our time in Milwaukee and Chicago had come to an end. We drove back to the airport, dropped off the rental car, and soon we were back in PA, and eventually, home.

The Great North Woods (New Hampshire)

We only had 2 available days for this trip (July 4th & 5th), and our destination was 9 hours away. We were set on this particular hike, so getting there would be a challenge- we had to drive through the night. As soon as I got out of work at 11 pm we left to pick up Adam and head north. We had decided to hike a loop trail that Backpacker magazine had recommended. It was in the White Mountains of New Hampshire; a place I had heard many good things about. Suprisingly the drive up there went smoothly. We split up driving duties so we could each get some sleep, and we got there a little earlier than planned. Everyone was in good spirits as we were unloading the car. We took some time to explore the park office near the trailhead then got started.
The first destination was lonesome lake. It was about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, but with about 1500 feet of elevation. It felt good to break a sweat and be out of the car. It was a solid climb, like much to follow. Rocky, stair-stepper action with hardly any switch backs or relief. No worries though, we made it to the lake and loved what we saw. It's strange to see a large body of water at this high and elevation. Much of the land surrounding the lake was marshy, but the local hikers club had installed simple wooden walkways around its perimeter. We decided to try and wade into the water and cool off a bit. There were schools of fish (large trout and many others I didn't recognize) swimming right around our legs. I also spotted a frog nearby. I felt an urge to do something I had recently seen on TV...eat frog legs. In hindsight maybe it wasn't the best idea, but anyhow I snagged it and we whipped out the stove and cooked him up right there. It was pretty good, really. After reflecting on our suprise lunch and drying off we headed on to Cannon mountain. The peak of the mountain towers over the lake. It would take a several more hours of tough climbing to reach its peak.
Cannon Mountain is somewhat of a tourist trap due to a cable car that runs to an observation tower near its summit. It seems wealthy New Englanders love this sort of thing. We took the hiking trail up the opposite side of the mountain and gained an appreciation for its height after a few hours of hand over hand rock scrambling. All we could do was laugh when we reached the observation area and overheard some of these people talking about the difficulties of millionaire living (seriously). We took some obligatory photos and headed out of there.
We were ready to set up camp earlier than usual, likely from the sub-par sleeping the night before. We were unaware until we arrived in New Hampshire that much of the White mountains are off limits to tent camping. We were frustrated when we heard the news, but we ended up finding an ideal campsite anyway. It was a few feet from a huge rock outcropping directly across the canyon from the peak we would hike the next day. By the time we finished setting up camp and resting on the vista it was still light out. We decided we were tired enough that we would pack it in early, even if the sun was still shining. We were beat. The next morning we all agreed that was the best night of sleep we ever had in a tent. No chance of rain and cool temperatures meant we could take the rainflys off the tents and enjoy the breeze and view of the scenery as we fell asleep.
It seemed like we woke up early, but after checking the time realized we had slept almost 11 hours. We rushed to eat a quick breakfast and pack up. We headed down the ridge of Cannon Mountain and visited the another welcome center. I wanted to get some clarification on the next trailhead. The lady at the desk was right on with her directions and we were soon looking at the sign for the Green Leaf Trail. This trail was similar to what we saw the day before, only much longer. We took occasional stops for food and rest and saw some awesome scenery. At one point we were walking beneath an enormous granite rock face. It would have made for an incredible trad climb. We hiked another couple hours and made it to an Appalachian Lodge on a mountaintop near Mt. Lafayette, our destination. We poked around the lodge for a few minutes and were impressed with the place. It would be an ideal place to spend the night if one was doing a long distance trek on the Appalachian Trail. A bunk bed and a hot dinner would be welcome, I'm sure. It does cost though, about 70 bucks. I prefer a tent anyway. We met some cool people there that we plan to keep in contact with- A guy (trailname: "Piece of Work") and his wife (trailname: "TLC"). These two were over 60 years old and coming to the close of an end to end hike of the A.T. They told us some awesome stories of hiking in Alaska and cross country sight seeing. They were some really inspiring people. Me and Britt had plans to do much of what they had done and they gave us some pointers. We exchanged information and photos and went on our way.
We left the lodge and proceeded up the face of Mt. Lafayette. It was definitely a unique experience. We were far above timberline. All that surrounded us were large boulders and clouds. We passed a group of guys from a seminary in Connecticut and reached the top a little later than we had planned, but meeting P.O.W. and T.L.C. was worth it. Britt cooked up a hot meal and we ate while we enjoyed a 360 degree view of the "Great North Woods". It was beyond words. I won't even try. We took a quick nap and enjoyed the cool, gusting winds on the summit before heading back. We made a slight change of plans and took the Old Bridle Path back to our car instead of a portion of the A.T. It took from lunchtime till dusk to reach the car. We were hiking fast (going downhill) but didn't realize how high up we really were. If anyone is interested in a hike in this area let me know! I'll give you some information that would have been helpful for us.

West Rim Trail (WRT)

The west rim trail was one of harder trails we’ve done so far. But we didn’t know what we were up against as we prepared for the trip Tuesday morning March 9, 2010. We did the final checklist and waited for Andrew’s dad to pick us up at our house. We climbed in his car with our packs at around 11 o’clock and made the short trip over to my dad’s house. We prepared as much as possible and punched the trail’s coordinates into the GPS. This was a point to point 30 mile trail. The dads in one car and me and Andrew followed in the other. We had a smooth 2 hours of driving in before we stopped for lunch. We thought it was going to be a quick stop but the dads needed some things. Andrew’s dad got some last minute food items and my dad bought some warmer socks (they were 40$....what!?). We were finally in the Williamsport area by around 3:30pm. The first order of business was parking my old cavalier at the southern terminus to await our return and provide a shuttle to the other vehicle. We switched all of our packs into the Rav 4 and continued on to the trail head where we arrived closer to 5. We were finally standing on the trail and the sun was almost setting on our first day.
The initial miles of the trail took us up a steep ascent of the rim overlooking the beautiful PA Grand Canyon (Pine Creek Gorge). Before we came to the top of the first elevation our hiking boots sloshed into snow instead of the expected dirt and stones. Hiking in snow was a lot more intense and exhausting then on dirt paths. Our steps became shorter because it was easier to lose our footing. By sundown we had only gone 3 miles…much to our surprise. We took in the first breathtaking view of the canyon just as the sun fell past the trees. Tired and hungry we decided to make camp earlier than planned. We got set up and Andrew and I set out to build a campfire to warm up. My dad took his time setting up his Hennessey hammock (google search…very sweet design) right on the ridge with a cliff right beneath. The cold was seeping through the layers and only hot coffee with Pastor Andy’s tortellini recipe could warm us up. We turned in for the night expecting a big 10-15 mile day with the sunrise.
After a cold night we woke up to the amazing view of the canyon lit by the early sun and we made breakfast while preparing for our big day. We kept our fleeces on through the morning hours of the hike to beat the chill. We soon realized we were not only up against the 3-6 inches of snow, but even worse, frozen mud. Our trekking poles saved us from many falls. We made our way up and down the rolling mountains in and out of snow covered trails and eventually found a good spot for lunch about 8 miles later. Hot tea, soup, and ravioli never tasted better. Filtering water proved to be more of a chore than normal because the cold air around the water made the temperature feel even lower. We continued on, trudging and sometimes falling through the slick conditions and decided to make camp for the night at vista just past the 19 mile mark. It had been a long day. Our muscles stiffened as we set up the tent, worked up a fire and enjoyed some hot dinner around the flames. Just getting up from our seats and into the sleeping bag showed the toll the trail was taking on our bodies. We decided that the exhilarating views and scenery were well worth the workout.
This morning we woke to a colorful sun rise over the rapids far below. A mist rose from the water creating a photogenic sight. Packing up our gear for the last time… we made the decision to eat breakfast on the go as we filtered some water about 2 miles up from where we made camp. This day became warmer than the first and our fleeces we stuffed into the pack. After raging war with the snow and invisible frozen mud for another 3 miles, we had a choice to make. Do we continue the trail or take the downhill smooth road way out? They left the decision up to me and after reading the guys and taking into account the danger of injury due to the slippery rocks and trail if we would continue, now somewhat worn by the trail… I opted with the road. They readily agreed and we began blazing the trail down the road. We soon realized that snow on the road was a lot more slippery than on dirt. You could almost skate down the slopes and had to dig your poles into the ice as we made our way up and over and down and around the twisting and turning road. We thought we were close but still had more than 5 miles to go on that road, followed by an unknown distance on a connecting road to the parking area. When we needed a boost the hot pasta sides and coffee once again refueled us. We came to resent the work it was taking just to connect our waypoints. The mile countdown continued on and the road became a steady descent. Knees wobbling under the pressure and poles digging in to prevent falling, we were able to zig- zag our way slowly down the mountain side. The descent lessened and we came to the end of the road and turned right to make our way to the car. I think we celebrated a little too early because it wasn’t “just around the next corner” like we thought. A passing pickup truck and Pastor Andy jokingly sticking out his hitch hiker thumb proved to be our saving. She pulled over and offered her truck bed to us. We were even more thankful after realizing the lot was a good 10 minute drive from where she had picked us up. We made quick business of getting out of our boots and the 4 of us packing into my little blue car.
One thing we hadn’t thought of was the fact the GPS we were relying on for shuttling us to the other terminus was still in the Rav 4. Not good. We all strained our memories to recall the way we originally took as the sun was setting and making it that much harder. My dad’s iphone came through for us and we reached the car by 7. We found the closest restaurant and filled ourselves up with some good post hiking food. So good. Pastor Andy made his way home and my dad jumped into the car with us. We were in our own bed by 1 am. Good memory but wouldn’t wanna hike in snow without snow shoes again!

The Old Logger's Path (OLP)

So Britt and I left home and set out to pick up Adam from Bucknell. We got there and called him, but his phone had died. He had a week-long conference all week and planned to meet with us after his last meeting on Friday. We called the school office to find what building the conference was being held and found his car nearby. After not being able to get a hold of him for about 40 minutes or so, we decided to go on without him. About 10 minutes after leaving campus, I got a phone call from Adam. He had been moving couches for his new apartment. Thankfully he was already packed up and ready to go.

We drove less than an hour and we had already reached the closest discernable town to the trailhead. It seems like the towns surrounding hiking trails are all eerily similar; half abandoned and left with a special breed of people. After driving through said town we were within a mile or two of our intended parking. We were disappointed to find a road block with a large sign informing us the road was closed ahead. Considering how close we were, we decided to plow around the block. No small task considering that we were driving a 15 year old Chevy Cavalier loaded with gear. After a few minutes of maneuvering we made it through the surrounding mud. It proved to be a bad decision when we reached several fallen rocks that had blocked the road further ahead. Worse still we realized we broke some of the brackets that held up the car’s exhaust. We decided to park the car, worry about the broken parts later, and hike to the rest of the distance.

Then a few more challenges; we had a lot of trouble finding the trailhead. We hiked past, then backtracked, then went past again, then circled a nearby area, all before finding the marked entrance. In hindsight I’m not sure how we missed it. It wasn’t as obvious as we might have hoped, but it was definitely marked and accessible. We took it all in stride anyhow. It was a good feeling once we were hiking on the trail and putting some distance between that access road and ourselves. We passed several beautiful campsites and scenery as well. It was after dinnertime, and we made it our goal to camp about 10 miles away at a beautiful gorge and swimming hole. Apparently this location had won “best swimming hole in America” from backpacker magazine, and it lived up to its credentials. But first we had to make it there.

We made it about halfway before the sun went down. We hiked till about 10:30 when we heard the stream described in our photocopied guide. Encouraged, we picked up the pace. We continued about a mile before realizing we hadn’t been descending much. We were still about 200 feet up a steep ledge from the stream. We figured we were a good distance away from the swimming hole the guide described. We hadn’t completely filled up on water at the start- we counted on filling up at the many sources we would cross. Unfortunately, they were all dry. So, we decided to slide our way down to the river. We couldn’t see much, but it sounded intimidating. We managed to filter and fill all our water containers while enjoying a break on a boulder mid-river. We hadn’t seen much flat ground for camping and couldn’t look too much further. Adam found a place halfway up the ledge barely large enough for our 2 tents. It would have to work. We set up while Britt made some dinner. It was delicious and a great way to end the day.

Britt and I woke up before Adam and decided to take a peek around without our packs or boots on. What we couldn’t see in the dark now looked unreal. Just about 100 feet off the trail we stood on a ledge looking over 3 dark blue, swirling swimming holes carved out of the stone. There were rock formations all around the water to jump off and rapids throughout the rest of the stream. We found some big boulders; a perfect place to have breakfast. After heading back to camp, waking Adam up, and getting packed, we headed back to the water. We had breakfast and took some pictures, while deciding if we were going to actually swim in this water (it was freezing). Adam made a convincing argument and we all hopped in. It was an awesome hour or two. We found a few chair like formations eroded by the current. It made a good photo op then we headed back to the trail.
We had planned to hike straight through the afternoon to the next major landmark, 4 vistas nearby each other. Instead, we got sidetracked about a half our later when we saw another swimming hole, even bigger than the first. We abandoned our plans and enjoyed the scenery. We had eaten lunch by the time we left. Once we got back on the trail the scenery was outstanding. Lots of mature hardwood trees with beautiful ferns covering the ground. Best of all the footing was all soft…barely any rocks (unlike the AT)! A few hours of hiking later, we reached a sharp turn and proceeded to climb 600 feet in less than a mile. It hurt so good. We reached the top and crested Sullivan Mountain.

It was covered densely with mountain laurels to the point that it was hard to make it through. We crossed the top of the mountain to the first vista. It was nice, but we had a feeling the others would be better. We continued a short way and reached the second. This one was higher and offered a better view. As we approached the rocky outcrop, we realized that a large rattlesnake was right in front of us. It must have been sleeping because it wasn’t aggressive at all, even after I tossed a pebble or two its way to hear its rattle. We thought better of stopping near the snake and walked to the next vista. In a sort of déjà vu, there was another snake in a similar position, but slightly larger. This one was much more aggressive. As soon as we arrived it started sounding its warning for us to leave. This vista offered a beautiful campsite right near the rocks, so we decided to make camp, snakes and all.

The clouds were coming in, and thunderstorms were forecasted, so we set up fast. Right when we were set up, we ate another delicious dinner provided by Britt. I decided to eat right on the outcrop. When I began to get comfortable I moved a bit and sat my hand down. Much to my surprise, my hand was on the back of a large rattlesnake. I’m assuming it’s the same one as before. It had been lying right under the surface of the rock on a small ledge below. My fingers wrapped over just enough to startle it (and me). After that I figured I had pushed my luck enough for the day and we ate around a campfire. We made sure the tents were zipped up tight that night. We all slept well enough, and woke up screaming only once…a false alarm…ha. It never did rain…

Day 3 we slept in and were on a mission to get to the car before the rain did eventually start. We made it about halfway before we lost the race. The rain started hard about a half hour before we got back. It actually felt really good to have the cold rain falling in the humidity and heat. We stopped to refill water and didn’t break pace again till we hit the car. We were happy to make it, but realized we still had to fix the muffler. It went fine though, and after a few minutes we had a temporary fix with some hiking rope and a pocket knife. We managed to turn around on the narrow road and make it past the roadblock a second time. After a rough start, this trip turned out to be awesome. I highly recommend it, but make sure you have a better map...and dont count on the water, even after recent rain.