Hiking

[Crankin]

Today we drove out to Northfield Mt, in western MA, to hike. This is a corss country ski/snow shoe/hiking area that is managed by a utility company that produces hydroelectric power nearby. I have only been there in the winter... last time in snowmageddon, February 2015. It was soooo quiet; only about 5 cars in the lot.
We hiked up the snow shoe trail to the summit, at 1,100 feet. There's a lookout/picnic area, where we ate lunch and then decided to hike down some of the ski trails. We got a bit turned a round, and it ended up being longer than we thought it would take. I have no idea how many miles, probably 5-6?
Then we headed over to see our friends who moved, who revived us with beer and cheese/crackers. After a nice visit, we headed home.
It made me want snow... this place is a gem and only an hour and 15 minutes away. And, I need to hike more before my trip in October.

[rocknrollgirl]

Hi All,
I have been off the grid a bit this summer. It seemed silly to post the same thing after every run..it was hot, it was humid, it was awful, so I have been running, just not posting. We did however just get back from some great hiking in the Whites. I wanted to share some pictures with you.

We ended up doing two hikes up Mt Washington. I had been planning for months to do Huntington Ravine Trail which is the hardest way up and involves some really exposed class 3 scrambling before you reach the top of the head wall. We hiked about 2.5 hours up to where the hard stuff started, an exposed slab climb and the slab was running water. Once you proceed past that point you cannot down climb so after some deliberation, we ended up better safe than sorry and turned around. It was a bit of a bummer, because the hike up to that point is really tough and it will take some intestinal fortitude to make myself to it again.


Toward the end of our stay after hiking other peaks and fly fishing until my arm was about to fall off, we got a really clear day ( rare for the summit) and went up Tuckerman's Ravine. No scrambling, just a long rocky trudge. The first picture is in Huntington Ravine, at the top of the boulder field called The Fan. Behind me is where the scrambling starts. The second picture is me and the hubs at the top of the head wall on Tuck's, and the last picture is of the cairns ( trail markers) above tree line.

[Catrin]

Crankin - that sounds like fun! I wish I were closer.

RnR Girl, I am in awe. I LOVE that landscape and would love to draw it. I don't think my knee could handle it though, sadly. I dearly love open rocky landscapes like that in your pictures. I like how you called it scrambling - to me that is exactly what it looks like.

The rain has kept me from any good hiking/trekking for the entire month of August. This Saturday I'm planning on a 6-7 mile hike if the trails survived this weeks torrential downpours and just a horrendous series of tornadoes last night. I'm more concerned about trees being down in the woods than I am really muddy trails.

I think some of my hiking partners are getting bored with the types of trails I can safely hike, and I understand that. Mountain bike trails, by their very nature, are a bit more sedate around here than dedicated foot hiking trails. Outside of the single double black-diamond mtb trail in driving distance the topography is fairly consistent - after all - mountain bikes have 2 wheels :-) My knee HAS improved a bit so am hoping for a successful little experiment soon with one of the more challenging foot hiking trails. It's the steep vertical step-downs and descents that my knee gets cranky about, so we will see how it goes.

[rocknrollgirl]

I have healthy knees and they still get cranky about steep descents. I hear ya.

During the winter, our mt biking and trail running are limited to the same 3 or 4 parks that we can reach in an hour or less. So boredom could be an issue. I figure if I were on a dreadmill or in a gym, or on the trainer it would be WAY, WAY more boring than being outside anywhere.

I hope you experiment to branch out goes well. Slow and steady.

[Catrin]

I think I've found someone to go with me next weekend. Personally I'm fine with the MTB trails, but it would be good to know if my knee can finally handle more traditional hiking trails. It's my fellow hiking friends I don't want to get bored.

Something seen on the local canal tow path today - about the only place dry enough! I didn't think what 5 miles worth of no shade + high humidity would be like - but 2 ounces of salted caramel & sage ice cream following + hot shower revived me

I did NOT expect to see THIS bird in Indianapolis!

[Crankin]

Another hiking adventure today. We drove up to Mt. Watatic, which is on the border of MA (NW of here a bit) and NH. It is somewhat close to our favorite x country ski area; the Mid State Trail connects the 2 areas, that is if you want to hike 20 miles. This is a well used area, as it's close enough to several urban areas, but it was not too crowded today. We actually got a spot in the lot, as someone pulled out when we pulled in, and we didn't have to park on the road. We decided to do a 3.5 mile loop. with a steep 1.2 mile ascent to the summit. Steep it was... I could handle it without my poles, although I did feel like scrambling a bit at one point, maybe where it was a 20% grade? I am just super slow, as I have a high level of fear of falling. The summit was bare and you could see the Boston skyline, 50 miles away, but it was hazy in the distance. So, DH paid for a premium membership to All Trails, so we could get essentially downloadable maps for the phone to use. It was only 20.00, so worth it. Except, he didn't really look to see how the app worked. At the summit, we knew we had to turn right, but it was unclear and we headed down an access road. A very rocky road, and I knew we were headed the wrong way. After some yelling, we turned off on a trail, obviously one of the ski trails of the former ski area that used to be here. DH kept saying it would connect to the loop, but finally, I said we needed to turn around... more yelling. We hiked back up this trail (not technical, but steep) and the access road trail (more steep) and found the loop trail. Finally, back in the shade. It was perfect. Some ledges and rocks, plenty of roots, but not too steep. Mostly down, with a bit of ascent. Only saw 3 other groups and one guy who asked directions to the summit, as he had done 20 miles already!
We headed home a slightly different way, and when we saw a "Dairy Bar," we stopped and had soft serve ice cream, with chocolate dip. I used to take classes at a collegge near here, when I was teaching, and always wanted to stop here. Got home and changed into bathing suits and drove to a pond where we have discovered you don't need to be a resident to use, as it's on a bike trail. A perfect day.

[Catrin]

Lovely terrain! I would certainly be taking my time on that as well - but I love those old winding roots!

[emily_in_nc]

Beautiful hiking photos, Crankin and RnR. I would love to try any of those trails!

We haven't been hiking much. I was too scared to hike in Yellowstone because of all the warnings and signs about bears (and not willing to pay $45 for bear spray; I know, stupid). We have mostly been cycling, though we did take a couple of short hikes in northeastern Wyoming. One was just a couple of easy miles in Bighorn Canyon Nat'l Recreation Area, and it was so windy that day we had trouble walking as we approached the canyon! Gorgeous, though, and not technical.



Hope we'll get more hikes in this fall.

[Catrin]

I had a great 6.7 mile hike today in a new state park I hadn't visited before in southern Indiana. There is a lot of Karst topography in that area due to the limestone and it was beautiful. My knee, I think, is as good as it will be and short of steep vertical stepdowns, ladders, large numbers of stairs or crawling I can handle more trail variety now if I take my time. There are some parks in the area that would be a waste of my time due to the above restrictions but not all. The photos come from two parks we visited today.

[salsabike]

Wow! Gorgeous, Catrin.

[Crankin]

Awesome pictures, Catrin.

[Catrin]

Thanks! As much as I enjoy hiking mtb trails am thankful to be able to take on more variety. I will do more trekking tomorrow, but more local.

[emily_in_nc]

Very nice, Catrin! I love environments like that -- so long as they aren't too buggy.

[Catrin]

Very nice, Catrin! I love environments like that -- so long as they aren't too buggy.

It was perfect - cool, low humidity, and no bugs

[Crankin]

Today was gorgeous, 73 degrees and dry. We lazed around all morning and went out around noon to walk to the one conservation land trail on this side of town. We didn't want to do an out and back, so we did a loop where we take the main trail from a dirt road, through a busy road to a neighborhood of houses that make my former 3k sq ft house look minuscule. From here, we can access the other end of the dirt road. Then, back home. We can do the whole thing on trails, dirt roads, and some neighborhood streets. Ended up 6 miles, more of a walk in the woods, but a good one.