Friday, October 19, 2018

October 14, 2018. Whiteface and Passaconaway

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Sage and I often take turns writing trip reports after we've shared a hike.  Check out her blog here!

Whiteface and Passaconaway
10/14/2018
Blueberry ledges, Rollins and Dicey's Mill Trails
11.9 miles
3,800 feet of elevation gain

I won't be doing any more solo hikes until spring arrives.  Mom has a strict no-hiking-solo-in-winter-temperatures/conditions policy, which is fine with me.  The high temperatures today up top were supposed to be only in the 30s, and snow is soon on the way.

The sun was rising when I stepped out of the car.  The beautiful morning colors shone on the grassy field and surrounding trees.




Breaking through the foliage...


We enjoyed the radiant fall colors.







Up we went...



We encountered a rock scramble here.  It's been a while since we have climbed this rock slab without snow all over it.  It was a little tricky to determine how I would ascend (deep snow fills in the gaps), but I figured it out and climbed it without much problem.  


Spectacular views...





Whiteface summit selfie!


Interesting light patterns fell on my face...



We had some scrumptious donuts before continuing to Passaconaway. 


We saw a tiny layer of snow over everything!



The trail between Whiteface and Passaconaway was fairly moderate with some ups and downs.


We arrived at the summit of Passaconaway after a heated debate about women's rights and certain social issues.  Sometimes we get into arguments on the trail.  Most of the time, we hike together happily and have fun, but sometimes, because of all the hours spent together on the trail, we get into things that raise tempers.  It happens.  We are definitely not a perfect family.  We know we all love each other though.  

We shared the outlook with other hikers while grabbing a quick snack, then we headed down.





Stream crossing:


We love this sign put out by the kind home owners at the end of Dicey's Mill Trail.


The views and fall colors were lovely on Whiteface and Passaconaway. 

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Fall Colors on Waumbek, 9/30/2018

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Waumbek
9/30/2018
Starr King Trail
7.2 miles round-trip
2,650 feet of elevation gain

For the first time since August, I hiked with Mom and did not solo hike.  This time, Sage went ahead and Mom and I hiked around 15 minutes behind her.  The sun had risen when we began our ascent.



The fall colors were vivid...



Mom!


There were lovely views from Starr King:




When we arrived at the viewpoint just past the summit of Waumbek, Sage was there eating.  So, we shared the viewpoint with her and then waited to give her a fifteen-minute head start for the descent.







The light shone through the trees and accentuated the beautiful green, orange, and yellow fall colors.


I had a nice time on our hike!