Thursday, August 25, 2016

Moriah--8/21/2016

Mt. Moriah
Carter-Moriah trail
8/21/2016
9.0 miles round-trip
3,550 feet of elevation gain

I didn't do this hike solo because the last time I hiked Mt. Moriah, I was about eight years old.  Therefore, I do not remember much of the mountain.  I could probably could have hiked it by myself, but, for now, I am only going solo on mountains I know very well.

The parking situation was a little unclear.  We saw another car parked near the houses (but not by the "No Parking" sign) around the Carter-Moriah trailhead, so we did the same.


Max wasn't exactly looking at the camera, but it was an improvement from him simply facing the other way.


I was excited; it was almost like hiking Mt. Moriah for the first time, since I didn't remember anything from when I was younger.  The very first part of the trail was easy terrain but steep, and then it flattened out more after that.


Max again.


A large knot in a light-colored tree.


Now the trail was basically rock.  It was a bit narrow with vegetation creeping in on both sides.


Getting up on the ledges...



The sun's rays took over this picture!  White rays of sunlight cut across all of us.


Blueberry bushes without blueberries.  They were gone for the year.


Mt. Surprise!  At least, we thought the summit was around there.


Beautiful views from the ledges above Mt. Surprise.


My mom and I were extremely grateful to Max for this amazing photo opportunity.  The sun glistening on his coffee-colored coat made for a good picture.  He looks surprisingly small.


Tough dog...



Some kind of blue berry, but not a blueberry.  Anyone know what type of berries these are?


Continuing up...


We're almost there...


Here we are.  The satisfying marker that proves your suspicions that you are, indeed, at the summit.


It was fairly windy on top.  Our hair was blowing around, and I was getting a little cold.  I put on my bright pink fleece soon after arriving.





We had spectacular views and clear skies.






After a little while, I went to sit on a more sheltered rock (so I didn't feel the wind as much) but from which I could still see great views.  A confident little bird chirped at us and hopped near us for a while.  It was adorable!



Coming down... These roots look like they are spelling out "AEl" or "AEf."  That was a bit odd...


A drop of sap trying to escape but solidified before it had the chance.


We didn't notice this coming up, but coming down we saw old pieces of an ancient car in the woods on the side of the path.


Turn a corner, and we are at our car!


I loved hiking Mt. Moriah.  It was a beautiful, great hike with amazing views and an enjoyable trail.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Wilderness Mountaineering Course with Mike Cherim--July 24 and 31

July 24 and 31

Day One

I took a Wilderness Mountaineering Course with Mike Cherim through Northeastern Mountaineering in Conway, NH on July 24th and July 31st.  I really enjoyed the course; I learned a lot, and it was fun!

On the first day, I met Mike Cherim and we drove to Pinkham Notch and did compass work.  I learned terms such as "declination" and "deviation" that I hadn't heard before.  It was very educational for me.

All of the following pictures were taken by Mike Cherim.



We also went outside and did some navigation training.


I really like this picture--it is an interesting shot.  The comparison of the scale between the compass and myself makes me appear to be so tiny.


Then, it was time for a real bushwhack.  We went to Crystal Cascades and bushwhacked to Old Jackson Road, deviating a little bit from the intersection with Crew-Cut Trail.


I ventured out in the general direction of where we needed to go, stopped, checked my direction, and then Mike Cherim checked it as well.  Sometimes we would switch roles.


Mike and me!




Day Two

The next week consisted of more bushwhacking then the previous one.  In this picture I am wearing safety glasses.  I usually don't wear them when I go bushwhacking, but I wore them in this course just to be safe.


We bushwhacked near Camp Dodge this time.  We took a herd path to Imp Trail, walked along it for a tiny bit, and then entered the woods.  We bushwhacked across the forest to the other side of the trail (on the same side as Imp Face) and back again in the same fashion as we did a week ago.  The bushwhack on the way back was easier than the first one because we avoided dense vegetation and made our way around it.  We made up for the amount of steps that we had to take later when we became sidetracked.





On the first bushwhack, we didn't find the trail right away; we were a little off.  Soon enough though, we found it and took a lunch break.  We were just a little too far to the east at first.



I had a great time during the Wilderness Mountaineering Course!  I learned a lot; it was very beneficial.



Thursday, August 18, 2016

First Solo Hike! Mt. Tecumseh--8/16/2016

8/16/2016
Mt. Tecumseh Trail
About 5 miles roundtrip
2,200 feet of elevation gain

This was my first solo hike up Tecumseh!  It seemed like a good idea to start solo hiking on a smaller mountain first and then work my way up to hiking larger mountains by myself.  I was quite excited to begin.  Hiking by yourself is very different than hiking with a group of people.  I noticed that I heard more, saw more, etc. and my senses were more active than normal.  It was amazing.


The first water crossing is right by the trailhead.  Even though I have been up this mountain many times, it felt like a whole new experience ascending it by myself.


Up we go...still pretty flat, though.


Me, myself, and my shadow.


It was odd that this water crossing was almost dry--it is usually full of gushing, running water.


I love to rap and sing, and I'll admit I was quietly practicing a little on the way up.  I'm working on memorizing "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea.





I eventually stopped rapping, because rapping + hiking = no breath.



Friendly early morning sunshine glowed at me through the trees when I came to the viewpoint.  I walked a little down the path and took a nice picture of the mountains beyond and some of the  vegetation in the way.


Here is the picture I took.  The sky was as blue as a bird's egg.


Heading up steeply...



A cairn along the trail...not really needed (because the path was clear), but satisfying to see all the same.


A perfect long, flat rock that ought to be sat on.



When I got here, I was happy to get on the ridge.  I was also thrilled to be off the steep section.  I continued straight ahead...




I loved how the shadows of the trees cascaded down the sides of the trail and fell across it in a striped pattern of light and dark.  It is hard to distinguish the sign in this picture, but here is the intersection with the two different ways to head up the last couple of tenths to the summit.


Up, up, up and almost there...


Yay...


And there I was!  A gentle breeze was blowing and the soft blue mountains stared at me from the distance.  The sky was a froth of white clouds and blue color.


My mom specifically told me to take a bunch of selfies, so I did just that...


I got out my peanut butter and jelly sandwich to have as a snack.  I also had trail mix in the pack, but I wasn't hungry enough to have that too.

Estoy loca! (in a good way, I hope)


Beautiful.


Perfection is a cairn overlooking a lovely view through parted trees.


It was a little buggy up top, but nothing that was too uncomfortable.


Heading back down...


I passed a bunch of people coming down, and some of them had dogs.  The dogs were well-behaved and perfect, so I had no problems at all!  All went well.


My first solo hike coming to an end.


That was a wonderful experience, and I look forward to doing it again on a different 4K.