Sunday, December 03, 2006

This is December?!

The weather forecast predicts some light snow tomorrow. We've had none yet in my neck of the woods. So it's a Sunday, and probably the last chance to get out for several weeks, and I decided to go to Monadnock. That's not a frequent stop for me, but I like heading there every now and then to check out different trails and to enjoy the views. I have NEVER been tempted to approach the mountain in December, but today's conditions and temperatures were too good to pass up.

What amazing conditions! There were trail runners in t-shirts and shorts zipping past me at some points. There was mud, and skims of ice were forming where water flowed over rock, but the going was mostly easy. I ascended via Cascade/Red Spot/Pumpelly, deciding along the way to go clear to the summit even though that hadn't been my original plan. I'd never been on either Red Spot or Pumpelly, and they were a nice change from the Halfway House and White Dot trails. My first 3 trips up Monadnock were on the White Dot, and I swore to myself after each hike that I'd never go back again -- too steep for the likes of me, too crowded. Then I finally got smart and started taking other trails. What a difference!

The blazes on Red Dot could stand some repainting, but the trail is pretty wide and easy to follow, though it helps to have patience and a map. I noticed things I can't really see when the trees are in leaf, like the birds that are chirping. I'm not sure if they're singing just to delight me or if they're making noise to warn their neighbors that there's a noisy hiker coming. I also tried to capture some photos of the ground-level ice formations, some of which are quite beautiful.

I shared the summit with a grand total of 3 people. That's December for you. I was once there on Columbus Day weekend with about 150 people. Three is better. The wind at the summit was cutting, as always. This was not a day to sit and enjoy lunch up there. I walked around for about five minutes, treasuring the quiet and the views, then started down to beat the sunset. It was 2:30, with sunset coming at 4:15. I had to scoot, so -- big mistake -- I resorted to White Dot, the most direct route back to my car.

I knew enough to avoid shiny rocks and the ever-growing icy spots. White Dot heads down rather precipitously for me. It's bareboot territory today, and every Cub Scout in southern NH has probably scampered up at one time or another, but I don't like this route one bit. I had a hiking staff, and I needed it to protect my knees. I walked slowly enough that one passing hiker asked how I was doing. (I assured her I was fine, just slow.) My caution proved inadequate somewhere between the junctions with the old ski trail and Cascade, when not once but twice I slipped in mud and went bumping and sliding until I hit good solid pieces of granite. The first fall was annoying enough, snapping my hiking staff. The second one was downright humiliating. I was grateful I had no audience. Of course, if I had really hurt myself, company would have been nice, but I know I take my chances when I hike alone.

Once I got up and brushed off what mud I could, my pace slowed still more as I babied a sore ankle. I got an uneasy feeling about getting back to the parking lot after sunset. I had all the standard dayhiker gear including a flashlight, but I always hope I won't need to use it. As it happened, the trail flattens out as it approaches the parking lot, and I got to the car right at 4:15.

I will undoubtedly feel the bruises tomorrow, but the hike was worth the effort. I still hate White Dot, but that's not the same as hating the rest of the mountain. I'd like to go back in the wintertime, after a good snowfall, and snowshoe all over the lower slopes. There's a prospect to warm a flatlander's heart.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Temple's piece of the Wapack

I've dayhiked many times on bits and pieces of the 21-mile long Wapack Trail between Ashburnham MA and Greenfield NH, but for some reason I never had time until recently to check out the segment on the northern side of Temple Mountain. I always drove past the old ski area's parking lot on 101 as I was on my way somewhere else. The ski area went out of business a few years ago, and there's actually serious talk about making the property into a new state park, which would be great for -- among other things -- the Wapack. I finally made time to check the area out last weekend.

I didn't expect that finding the proper trailhead would take awhile, but it did. This is hardly a remote area, with route 101 right there and Miller State Park/Pack Monadnock across the street. I figured I'd park in the old ski area's lot and I'd immediately find the familiar yellow-triangle blazes for the trail. I saw a bunch of old ski trails, but no blazes. Other cars were there, so I knew someone had to be on the trail. I tried going up one of the old ski trails, but the recent rains had left them badly eroded and muddy. I don't mind mud, but I was getting annoyed with myself for being unable to find a simple trail! I soon met up with a gentleman in the same predicament as I. He recommended walking out to 101 and picking up the trail right across the road from the Miller State Park entrance. That worked. A couple of hours later, on my way back to my car, I figured out the very simple (but unmarked) way to get from the parking lot to the trail without resorting to walking on the highway: from the parking lot for the old ski area, on the south side of 101,walk just past the gate (actually a cable strung between a post & a tree), turn right, and walk on the broad dirt road for less than five minutes. Those nice yellow blazes will soon be in sight.

The walk south to Temple Ledges was pleasant enough. There are few vistas on this stretch, so all the folks wanting to see the countryside ought to go to just about any other peak on the northern part of the Wapack except this one. Lots of birds -- including what I think was a bobwhite, which I had seen before only in books! A bird's a little thing, but I was delighted anyway. I encountered about ten other folks enjoying the day, all (even their dogs) sensibly dressed with something orange in this hunting season. Woods, stone walls, a group of cairns that could pass for a living room grouping, plenty of birdsong: not a bad way to spend two hours. This is not the place to wear sneakers, by the way. The approach to the ledges isn't all that steep, but within a few days of any kind of rain, there is mud. You'll get fair warning of that as you splash your way through the parking lot.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Getting here

Walking for pure joy sort of snuck up on me. When I needed to lose weight, I developed the habit of heading outside after dinner to go around the block a few times. Much later, it dawned on me that there were a whole lot of more interesting places I could explore -- maybe not after dinner, but on weekends & days off.

I found state parks. I discovered rail trails. I walked through neighborhoods that I had only before seen from a car window.

I can hear a few "DUH!"s out there. But that's just because you figured all this out before I did.

In the greater scheme of things, I'm a New Hampshire newcomer, having been here "only" 24 years. I moved up from Florida with my husband and baby, hardly expecting this whole Northern thing to work out as well as it has. It took me awhile to realize just how much of Florida's beauty I had taken for granted the whole time I was growing up -- the beauty most of the tourists miss. I didn't want to make the same mistake here. Having five kids, and making them my occupational priority (why don't I just say "full-time stay-at-home mom"?), I have learned little by little over the years about appreciating things close to home. As my family's gotten older, I've had time for trips a bit farther afield, but most of my recreational time is still spent in NH.

I enjoy entering local road races as a walker, but that has its place. Sometimes, the timed workout energizes me. I certainly don't do it for world recognition, since I am not particularly fast. I wouldn't want to give up either my races or my hikes. My long-suffering husband has been very encouraging to me, which is no small effort on his part. He is much faster than I am, and we hike together seldom because I really get concerned about how far behind him I always am. Even when we visited Yosemite, some of our hikes were separate -- I did Panorama Trail by myself, and he hiked Half Dome without me. And that was fine with me.

So, here I am, southern NH-based and fascinated by the NH outdoors. I am a complete amateur at what I do, in the sense that I do my walking because I love it. As for my outdoors skills, let's just say that without help from my son, the onetime Scout, I couldn't so much as pitch a tent. I aim to improve on that, since so many of the places I visit rate more than a 6-hour daytrip.

I plan to write about some of my favorite spots (not all of them!) and post some photos if I manage to take any worth posting. I'm an amateur at that, too.