Jefferson, Clay and Washington, January 31, 2021 #33 and #34

 I got up at 4:30 in the morning!! to do this hike and as I drove up to the Cog Railway parking lot, the temperature kept dropping!  It was -12 degrees when I arrived.  Larry had called me right before I left the house to tell me everyone was leaving their dogs at home as it was too cold for them but how could I leave Chuck behind.  And anyway, if it was too cold for him, then I would leave with him too.  The whole way in the truck I wondered why I had even gotten up, it was certainly too cold to hike.  I started the hike thinking I would turn around soon!  It was too cold to fill out the paperwork and the pen was frozen.  The parking lot was a long salted walk to the trail for Chuckles and he was lifting up a paw funny already before the trail!  We started up the Jewel connector to Jewel and by the time we got to Jewel, it was fine. No wind in the woods, and a beautiful hike with 8 people!  Most I had never met but were incredible hikers:  Barb, Bruce, Darcy, Dave, Susan with Marlene, Larry and I.  Chuckles was the only dog.  I was the only one in spikes but I needed to change to snowshoes once we got above treeline.  In the sun above treeline, it was glorious, windless, and in the 40s!!!  Sometimes it was tough and snowy but others it was windswept and easier.  The sights were amazing!  We went almost to Clay before turning north to Jefferson as there was no trail broken out to get to Jefferson more directly. 

 I wanted to do Washington but no one else wanted to but I finally decided I would do it alone.  It was only 1.4 miles away and we were at the junction after Clay at only 1:45.  As it turned out, Darcy, who I had just met, but who is a very experienced hiker decided to join me.  I do not think I have ever hiked so slowly!  She was so far ahead of me!  I hate dragging behind!  Was I tired?  My hip flexors certainly were!  Maybe it was the elevation? I do not know but this was the first I had worn snowshoes also.  I could barely lift my legs and I was having some type of asthmatic feelings. Up at the top of Mount Washington (when I finally go there),  was a festival attitude.  Skiers skiing down the cog railway (who knew?  Not me!)  The sun was beautiful, the sky was so blue, the weather was amazing. I felt fine on the way down but did not want to race and have it be over sooner than it had to be. We went to the lake of the Clouds hut, snow right over the roof!  and then down the Amonoosuc trail.  We were able to sled 1-2 miles of it and it was so much fun!  The rest of the hike seemed short and we were back at the car before dark, at 4:45.  Again, we had to go through the salted parking lot to the truck.  I found out Darcy was also a spinner/knitter!  She even had a shop in Berwick Maine that I had heard of.  Doggo limped around at home from the salt but Torre and Dan were there when we got there, woodstove burning so he got lots of sympathy, snacks, and pets.  They thought I pushed him too hard. That was not the case, but the salt did bother him.

Owl's Head Saturday February 6, 2021 #35

We left Lincoln Woods by 8 am.  Heated flushing bathrooms in the parking lot!!!  A windy day but that really did not affect us until we were hiking along the top of the mountain.  This is a long hike.  It ended up being about 18 miles.  2 bushwacks.  Relatively flat and easy until the last 1-2 miles.  Bushwacks were also easy to follow because that was the only route people were going.  Then it was very steep even o the bushwack up.  Skiing along the Lincoln Woods railroad bed would have made this much quicker and easier (using different muscles for 6-7 miles of the 18 but I was the only one who would have liked to ski the beginning and end evidently.  This was with Hiking with Dogs:  Larry, Marlene, Rebekah and I with our doggos.  There was a lot of waiting on this, for some to catch up, peaked twice so some overlap to get up to the 18.  Great butt sledding down the first mile or so.  No one wanted me to bring the sleds but maybe too steep for anything but butt sledding?  I kept having to declump my snowshoes which I wore the whole way.  With about 1 mile left I removed them completely to walk barebooted which felt much better, my feet had been rolling around on big snowballs and the last flat part seemed like forever!  Got back to the parking lot around 7.  So it was an 11 hour day.  The next day I realized I dropped my fave Patagonia neck gater.  I am so sad. It snowed shortly afterward so it is probably under some snow.  I need a quick place to store stuff other than my tiny pockets.  Taking the backpack on and off to stow is annoying and impractical in groups but the walk back was warming.  This was my longest hike yet.  And it felt like it.  The dumb tracker I got my dog only showed us getting to Lincoln Woods, then it just went offline, for days!  The FI tracker has failed on every single hike.  If there is no GPS it does not work at all and even if there is, it is spotty.  I should return it.  I really wanted to know how many steps he does average for one of mine but usually, I do more steps than you see for him because my Fitbit works much better!

Mount Isolation February 13, 2021 #36

 On Saturday, February 13th I hiked Mount Isolation with the Hikes with Dogs group including Larry, Marlene and Bruce, Chuckles, Piper, Cooper and myself. We started at Rocky Branch, which Google maps had in the middle of the highway, north a few miles (ask me how I know).  This was a windy day so Isolation seemed protected from the NW winds, which it turned out it was. This was not my finest hike.  We were able to do the bushwack, making this just over 12 miles, but uphill both ways, seriously.  The bushwack goes through a marsh so it is not an option in the summer.  The regular trail was not broken out at all.  We ran into DEL on the way up who told us he had been the one to break out the bushwack but he got offtrack so that was why it was so tough.  But thank you DEL, I do not know how you do it.  The trail on the bushwack was not very well packed down and I wore snowshoes the whole way.  I felt very slow on the way up, thinking maybe I need to take some time off from all of this hiking but on the uphills when were coming back from the peak, I could barely lift my legs.  My hip flexors felt dead and painful.  On the downhills they were ok, not great but after the hike, they felt fine.  This issue started going up Mount Washington, which was also when I started wearing snowshoes for hiking.  The views were spectacular but I could not wait to find my truck and sit down.  I collected some small pinecones to make earrings with.

Mount Cabot 2-21-21#37

 I hiked Cabot Mountain on February 21, 2021, with Chuckles and MaryBeth.  It is a long drive (the northernmost of the 48 4000', a 2.5 hour drive) and we got a late start.  Started hiking just after 12:00 pm.  It was a windy day so Cabot seemed like a well-protected choice and this was not wrong.  The only wind was right at the top. I did not expect such a beautiful hike and views!  It is not a tough hike and we were able to wear just spikes the whole way.  From just below the cabin we were even able to sled down for a good section (maybe about a mile a so).  The sledding was awesome, well-sided trails meant we could even maneuver turns.  It was MBs first mountain sledding and she loved it too.  Got some awesome pics!  On York Pond Road, in the dark on the way home, a moose came in front of my truck.  We both skidded in the snow but it was not close.  I hope Moosey was not scared, he/she was so beautiful.  This is definitely a great hike to take visitors to our state who are in shape. It is 9.2 miles but not too much elevation gain, only 2828, and seemed like a very relaxing hike. I only noticed my hip flexors a bit towards the end of the climbing so that is an improvement over the last few hikes.  Could it be not wearing snowshoes?  Or the glute strengthening I have been doing?

Cannon Mountain 2-23-21 #38

 February 23, 2021

Hiked Cannon Mountain up the Kinsman Ridge Trail.  It was not really broken out, maybe one person? and in some places (through the glades) it was skied over.  Got off-trail and ended up on ski slopes for the end.  Just Chuckles and I and the book "The Midnight Library" which was awesome.  Saw quite a few spiders on the snow! mostly in the first mile!  It was snowing for most of the hike but at the top, snowing and windy and night had settled in.  Luckily it was not too cold.  Started at about 4:30 pm because I had to show a condo in Waterville at 3:00 and thought that while I was halfway there I might as well hike Cannon!  I got to the top right before 6:00pm.  Sledded down the slopes but ended up by the main lodges so had to walk about .75 mile back to the truck.  No hip flexor issues but this was a pretty short hike compared to what I have been doing lately.

I wanted to fit this one in February because now I will (hopefully) complete my first round of the 48 4000' footers of NH in under 6 months.  I did Jackson-Pierce on September 26 but before that, I had done Cannon (different trails:  lonesome lake loop starting at Lafayette Campground) on March 28, 2020.  Now I can start my 4000' odyssey on 9/26 instead of 3/28!  Also, got it in a different month and season than the last time.  I hope to finish all 48 in winter next year.  I think I will have 27 peaks done during this winter and will try and do the other 21 next winter.

This was the first solo hike I have done since January 1st. I forget that I enjoy hiking alone. It reminds me how strong and capable I am. I listened to The Midnight Library on this hike. They’ll forever go together.