Franconia Ridge

(note: trip taken on November 12, 2011)

It was a long drive up to Franconia notch in New Hampshire. Matt and I dressed warmly while still violating the rule ... cotton kills. Armed with backpack, camera, water, trail mix, and subway subs, we headed up. I love waterfalls and the first part of this trip had waterfall after waterfall. We continued to climb and found ourselves lost. Yep. That's right. You read it correctly. Somehow we were lost. After 15 minutes of backtracking through light snow, we found our way to a trail marker. It is only coincidence that I was in the lead when we got lost ... truly ... just a remarkable coincidence. I have a feeling you don't believe me. Yeah, neither did Matthew and that was the last time I led for the rest of the hike!

The pictures below barely represent the incredible beauty of that day. As we marched upwards, the waterfalls turned into ice ... literally ... ice ... thick and hard and slippery. The trees became covered with white frost. The wind picked up and several times almost knocked us over. At the start the temps was 37 but by the time we were up top, it was under 30. Soon we were above the treeline and trudging toward the peaks of the mountains. We took pictures of the incredible views but often stood in awe of the vistas. As we reached the top of Franconia ridge, 3 mountains actually (Little Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette), we looked down through the chill of the air and saw a wonderful sight ... a hut. A place where we could get out from the bitter elements. A place where we could eat our lunch without gloves on. A place of potential warmth but even if they don't have a wood stove, a place where we could sit at a table and take a rest.


With renewed vigor, we began our trip down. Matt got a bit ahead of me though were were both motoring pretty quickly. I watched a young man run passed me ... wearing only gym shorts ... no shirt ... just gym shorts. I wondered if he was crazy and then I remembered that some of you might look at these pictures and wonder if  I am crazy. Let me answer that question for you ... yep, crazy as a loon. So, I guess the guy without the shirt and only gym shorts was crazy. Perfect logic.


We approached the hut with glee in our eyes and a brightness of step only to find that it was boarded up ... closed. People milled around as if they were waiting for it to open but it wasn't going to. The gym shorts guy was already gone.

A breeze curled around us like a vulture eyes a dying rabbit ... a bone-deep chill struck me and Matt and I moved on. We hurried to get our body heat going again. As we descended, the ice turned to water and we sloshed through. Each of us took turns slipping and falling. Matt hurt his knee and ignored it while I re-broke my foot and whined like a hyena and eventually slowed down. 


This was one of those trips where I worked my ass off. By the time we had gone approximately 9 miles (2,500 ft elevation) and most of that was either up or down, I was extremely happy to see my car in the parking lot. My legs were numb, not from cold but from exhaustion. They shook lightly as we drove to Truant's Tavern in Lincoln, NH. 


I'm looking forward to another hike with Matt and anyone else we can drag along!


Please enjoy the pictures below and I would enjoy it if you found the time to leave a comment!

Stunning Waterfall

Flowing broadly across the rocks

Not too cold but the water was cold

Trees became snow covered. Matt climbs like a  billy goat.

Higher elevation and the colder air ... frozen waterfall.

Stunning vistas abound

How to describe ... frozen tundra?

The exposed ridge we hiked. At this time, I was about done but there were many miles to go before I sleep ....

Mount Washington in the distance. Matt said, "let's go there," and I almost became a murderer at that moment.

I'm sure when Kathy returns to New England, I'll be in trouble for this!

We literally hid behind a grouping of rocks to get out of the cold whipping wind. My nautical guess is 40 knots.

There is the hut ... more like a cabin awaiting our arrival for lunch! How excited we were!

It took a while but we're getting closer! A break from the wind and a nice seat at a table may await us yet!

What the hell?? Boarded up?

At least we still have the stunning vistas

Almost down ... 

A Most Active Crew

Donna, Preston, Gilliam and Rich came to visit a week ago. They get the prize! They are the most active crew to visit us so far. Wow, these folks were up at the crack of dawn even after they adjusted to the time zone. I think the 2nd or 3rd day they were here they raced down and up a muddy trail as part of the Hawaiian Ultra Runing Team ... yeah, that spells HURT! Would you do that? I wouldn't, but they did. They came back muddy and worn out ... ok, almost worn out as it seemed like they were up and doing something else that very afternoon.

After much effort, we got them to relax a little and go to the beach. Below is Rich coming out of the water and Donna is reading.




We climbed the ridge behind the house and then they climbed it several more times! The boys climbed up Shark's Tooth as well. It was windy up there. In the distance in the picture below, you can see our destination.

Donna grips on to Rich to ensure she doesn't fall off.

Each night, I'd come home from work and be enthralled with their descriptions of their day. Hiking here or the Arizona there. Then we'd play MarioCart or the Wii or a board game. Rich was generally asleep by 8:30 ...

On Saturday, we went to what is fast becoming my favorite Oahu hike, Palolo Valley. We hiked 5 of the 7 waterfalls and they were flowing nicely. Below Preston uses a rope to make his way down a cascading waterfall.

Donna edges her way to the base of the waterfall.

Preston takes Gilliam's picture as he wades acroos the pool of the 2nd waterfall.

Preston and Gilliam start up the first set of cascading waterfalls.

Rich brought to light a new term for me ... scurry! The sisters have always moved fast but the term scurry really covers what they do. To see them in a kitchen is like watching chipmunks scurry about. I'll certainly use that term when Cindy comes to visit in a few weeks.

Below, they ham it up by the palm trees.

It was a great visit and always great to see family. Donna also wins the prize as our first "return visitor" ... not that we were counting but she was! We were very happy to have her and the family come out ... you too Rich!

Gary and Ricia Visit

Hi all!

Kathy, Krista, Tucker and I were very fortunate to have Gary and Ricia visit us from Northern Virginia. What a fantastic time we had laughing and joking around!

We enjoyed Kailua Beach Park where the water was warm and inviting.
What a cute couple!
We played POUNCE with Nino & Krista and surprise of all surprises ... Krista won! Ok, not much of a surprise ...

They came to Hawaii 25 years ago when they got married. They visited Oahu and stayed a long time on Maui. On their return visit, they stayed on Maui for several days and visited us for a few days that seemed like 15 minutes! Wow, talk about time flying by! We looked forward to their visit and bam! gone! But, that is the sad part of the visit and now we can look forward to the next we see them either in NoVA or here in HI.

We brought them to the winds of the Pali Lookout.

The jagged peaks beckoned. Maybe I'll climb this some day ... if I do and live through it, Kathy will kill me!

Tucker, Gary and I climbed the trail out the back of the house. Gary had hyper extended his leg playing an octogenarian the week before. He claimed it was a 30 something club pro but I don't believe him. In any regard, he was game and we headed up the hill.

Despite an injured leg, Gary practically raced up the hill.

Halfway up the hill, Gary asked for water. We had only one. Then he started giving Tucker and I grief for not being properly prepared! We all laughed.

Gary: What kind of trail guides are you? No water. No trail bars or candy bars? No band aids?
At the next rest stop, Gary looks out over the beautiful views.

Gary: Wow, what a view! Ahh Crap! Johnny-Jack, I forgot my camera. Can you take a picture for me?

John: What kind of tourist are you?

;-)

Ok, why is this pretty woman dressed like this and what is this guy doing?

We went to an overlook of Honolulu and as GREAT FORTUNE would have it, a dance team was getting pictures taken for a fund-raising calendar! The young women were gorgeous and scantily clad.

Gary: What a beautiful view!
John: I wish I had my good camera!

We had a grand adventure climbing through the volcano tube and watching the surf crash on the shore. We had a fantastic dinner at BlueWater Grill celebrating their anniversary. Gary kicked my butt in tennis (again!) and wanted to doubles against ... anybody. I thought I had hurt my back but it turned out that I was dehydrated ... no water, no trailbars, no candy bars ... what kind of a host am I??

It was an action packed weekend and somehow we also found time to relax. Unfortunately, it was over in a blink and we had a very hard time driving home after watching them join the throngs at security check in.

We miss you all and if you have not come to visit - hurry up!

Love

Johnny-Jack