May 2016
Last May I was getting settled into working on the farm and living in the mountains. And exploring.
I checked out the Experimental Hot Air Balloon and Airship Meet at the Post Mills Airport. It was a pretty unique place and rad to see all the balloons up close.
We also went on a day trip to check out the coast in Portsmouth. There’s a pretty great island dog park that Fi was way into.
Memorial Day weekend I took Fi to hike the boulder playground that is Mahoosuc Notch and to climb up Mahoosuc Arm to the top of Old Speck. The notch is commonly referred to as the hardest mile of the Appalachian Trail, and it’s a blast to scramble over and under giant boulders, squeeze through narrow openings, and play in the snow. Fi was a champ. She squeaked for help once or twice when she couldn’t navigate a jump without hitting her head on whatever rocks or trees were hanging above, but otherwise, she scrambled and squeezed without much trouble. Despite the holiday weekend, we saw almost no other hikers and enjoyed some solitude on the mountain.
I remember the solo journey I started up the Arm last year in the early morning hours; half the group had continued on to Old Speck Pond and the rest of us (Squirrel Tooth, Walks with Rocks, and myself) had been a little slower and camped at the bottom. I could only see the narrow circle of terrain that my headlight lit up, and I climbed the cold rock faces up toward the summit. I remember stopping multiple times thinking I had lost the trail, only to realize that the trail was UP. Straight up the rock face. I remember the feeling of accomplishment at the summit, taking some time alone to appreciate how far I had come. And the celebration when I got to meet the crew at the shelter on the pond.
This time I made the climb in the afternoon. There was no snow up top; in stark contrast with the snowy notch, it was hot. And I wasn’t alone. Fi always encourages me along with her absolute joy at being out in the wilderness. It’s contagious.
thegillianlife 