is this a signal or just a tease...

a foot of snow, 30+mph winds, 20°F temperature--that's almost winter!

bill, my co-father-in-law, called me last week and wondered if i would be interested in an adventure with a guest that was coming to visit. i am always up for something like that, so i signed up. he called mid-week to schedule something for thursday. we decided on a hike. just in case, i sent the baumbucks a favorite weather site, specific to the mtn you want to go up.


i packed for cold and snow and went over thursday morning. myron and bill were eating breakfast and i snuck a piece of french toast. i gave myron a choice of 7, 8, or 10 miles with a brief description of the trails. the long one with a bit of a slog at the bottom. the short one with a longer drive to the trail head. the middle one sustained steepness and well maintained because it is the AT as well. he went for 8, steeper, shorter, and bill's favorite trail on moosilaukee--glenncliff / AT.





i hadn't been on the glenncliff in a long time but i figured i could find it alright. myron got his gear together and we headed out. bill saw us off with the classic line, "don't forget to show him the missile--'in god we trust, but just in case!'" i got the reference, but it wasn't until he saw it that myron had any idea.



we stopped for a picture of "a real redstone ballistic missile" and i caught site of a marker that honored norris cotton, a us representative and  senator, and warren native. i had read or heard somewhere that it was put there to honor alan shepard--which seems odd as he was born in derry. but the redstone rocket also carried the first us astronaut into space. i guess it mattered who you were rooting for.


back on the highway, we headed for glencliff home where the trail takes off. i 'booted' up in the parking lot--it was definitely not going to be croc weather up top. we both de-layered some, shouldered our packs and started hiking. 

the first bit of trail goes gently up an old farm road through a few fields, past ancient apples, and the stone foundation of a long gone house. about a half mile up the hurricane trail goes right and we go left. soon after that split, i notice i am huffing and puffing, scrambling hard to keep up with myron, thinking this must be how pam feels following me. just as i was going to suggest he save a little gas in the tank he stops and turns, "i should stop sprinting!" that worked for me.



the higher we got, the more the snow accumulated. after a while, it was a pretty much all white save for a protected spot or two. going along at a reasonable pace, i was enjoying the 'local view' and was able to snap a picture.


up not too higher, as it got deeper & steeper, i snapped another. it kept deepening & steepening. myron stopped shortly after and took a selfie with both of us looking like we had almost been exerting ourselves. i do remember him saying, "smile koby." the open mouth was my poor attempt.




we kept going up. at one point i assured him that there was a ridge above us and we would get there. the glencliff / AT runs into the carriage road and they all go together for about a mile to the summit. half of that is through a slot of short spruce and half out in the open alpine zone. myron's picture looks down the carriage road.

i ski by this junction coming up and going down on the carriage road, but have never pointed them down glenncliff. now i remember why. it would take a significant dump to navigate with any hope of not bashing into trees at high speed.

we continued toward the top after water and a bite of an energy bar. as we got out of the trees we felt the full force of the wind in our faces that had been raging above us. following the rimed up cairns and post-holing through some knee high drifts, we passed two other groups of two. the first just looked at us and smiled, or maybe that was a grimace. the second seemed a bit confused coming off the summit and was asking where the carriage trail was. not always the best sign in these conditions.

we took a second to snap a photo after i brushed of the summit sign.

the wind pushed us back down the exposed part. my anemometer read 20-30mph steady, with gust into the 40s. you could call that a good stiff breeze and as it was blowing snow too, we were happy to get back into the trees along the ridge. 

it dawned on me that myron had been living and working in panama until sunday. i was guessing it was still high humidity, and around 30°C near the equator--that's a big change from -6 or -7°C, snow, and wind here. he confirmed that. 

we passed the confused group on their way down. this time they asked how far it was to the snapper trail. a bit sketchy, but the group in front of them had left boot marks and at least they were on the carriage road now. if they missed the snapper it would be a long way out, but doable. 

back on glenncliff and descending, i stopped thinking about them and concentrated on not tripping over the rocks and roots under the fluffy, slippery snow. between seasons like this that is a definite issue. my friend mariel broke her wrist last week on mount chocorua--she and kevin had just gotten home from hiking the whole of the PCT, from mexico to canada!

we made i all the way down without injury. after a bit of cheese & apple, with a cup of hot tea, myron admitted to at one point wondering "what the hell am i doing this for?" but as we pulled out of the parking lot, he announced, "i am happy we did that!"

to me that sounds like an endorsement to 'go outside and play!'

digging, hiking, biking, and otherwise outside playing...

a wonderfully busy four days!

a week ago, on thursday and friday, i spent the day digging holes. actually, the excavator with pat operating dug the holes. jason and i helped place them and the piers to go in them, level & plum the latter at proper distances; we did a little hand digging and back-filling, maybe some raking. at one point i tried bashing some ledge that was in the way--that had mixed returns. in the end though, we placed 8 cement piers to hold up the posts of the timber framed pavilion shinnlinger's building and construction class fabricated last school year, second semester. here is a picture of the roof truss for one of the middle bents--we left out the posts for ease of raising this up as a demo.

that is some of the class that cut things. they were pretty happy that everything fit together so well--so was i.

early thursday morning mtd's started clearing the site and digging. the first corner--south west--went in like a dream. not too long after the second corner--north west--was in as well and pat was digging at the north east corner. that was were we first hit ledge, the same ledge i took a sledge hammer too. oh, that is when the laser level went on the fritz as well. with the day waning, we left that hole to futz with in the morning. we did get the south east corner in before calling it quits.



friday was a chilly start but we went back and adjusted the base of the pier at the north east corner and set it. we decided to dig trenches between corners. we hit more ledge on the north side and ended up raising the piers. the posts will just have to be shorter. the south side went in with a little bit of 'extra' digging. in the end we were pretty happy with the job--i even got pat and jason to pose on the 'high' piers!





on saturday, i pedaled over to drummond custom cycles to join my chiropractor, susan, for a long-ish test ride. while i was on her "table" for an adjustment the week prior, i had told her about my new 'gravel bike' and sent her a link to its maiden voyage in my august posts. she was impressed enough to give it a ride solo and a longer one with me. as i went over the shaker bridge, i stopped to say hi to the stuffed fishing person. the clouds and lake looked so cool i snapped a picture of it all.

susan was getting set up with pedals and such when i got there. we decided on a route to include some gravel downhill as she really wanted to know whether to trust the bikes control and stopping power. we took off toward enfield center, east on 4A. the gravel downhill led us to grafton pond where we stopped for a photo. 

not the best lighting, but susan's smile was there as she feeling a bit more confident going along even in the washboardy areas. she also reported feeling comfortable with the bike's geometry, which was new and different from her current road bike. we pedaled on, climbing and descending, gravel and pavement. and stopping once more for a water and picture break.

the clouds were breaking up and the blue sky made for a nice contrast with cardigan mtn off in the distance. it was a fine ride for me and i assume for susan--she bought the bike!

when i got home, pam and i up town hill with the intent of finishing some trail maintenance we had started the week before. we had spent a good couple hours clearing a path along a stone wall which takes us straight down to bear pond road. there was a trail there before, but it hadn't been cleaned up in ages. one major blow down took cutting a heavy leaver stick from another fallen hardwood. it worked pretty well, but i had to stop myself from 'over-pushing', remembering just a week before i had been getting readjusted on sue's chiropractic table.

on bear pond road, we headed toward the boggy area where i spent another good hour sawing blowdowns. one particular oak maxed me out again. as it was getting dark, we pushed the last log aside and headed back up and over town hill.



sunday dawned cloudy and cold again, but pam was game for another go at moose mtn. this time we went to the section of AT leaving from goose pond road--there would be no granite state off road-ers on that! (if you missed 'a quiet hike...' you might get a laugh.) we love that part for a number of reasons: it's rarely crowded, has some fine lookouts, really interesting features--like the bridge, railing, and AT symbol marked in the ash on the right.



as we hiked along it kept spitting snow. in the mid 20's it was just about right so we didn't get overheated, but weren't cold either. at least i wasn't, even in knickers and crocs.  and pam seemed cozy in her long undies/pants, fleece/jacket, wooly hat and gloves...




i snapped a picture of her at one of those fine lookouts--the one she dubbed "smelly boys ledge" after a group of through hikers parked there when she wanted to use it once. sometimes she can get a bit possessive. but there were no hikers jockeying for space today--we had it all to our snacking and viewing selves.


as we were coming back down to 'sbl', i took a series of photos of one of my favorite features--what i call the spine. for quite a ways along the top section, there is a rock outcropping at times parallel with the trail, or the actual trail in places. i keep meaning to take simon up there and have him explain its geologic significance to me. it is pretty cool. the pictures capture about 200 yards or so.







when ever i try to place a series in blogger, it is a struggle. but you should at least get the idea.




it was a grand four days to go outside and play! --in the dirt, on the trails, and in the leaves!!!

a quiet hike--at least part of the time...

out in the woods with granite state off roaders!

pam and i have been doing quite a bit of trail work around our neighborhood--up over town hill to the boggy area above bear pond. but last sunday was pretty glorious, so we decided to get up higher and look at the sun shining down on a bigger view. we headed to wolfboro road to hook up with the AT and get to south peak on moose mountain which looks down on the broad goose pond 'valley' and to the south.

when we parked where the road goes into the woods, i noticed right off wide muddy tire tracks. i didn't think much of that until about a half mile up, i realized the tracks were pretty fresh--probably that morning. soon after i decided that, i heard engines rumbling ahead. soon after that, we caught up to a group of seven off road vehicles of all sorts--but all jacked up, with oversized and knobby wheels.

as we went by i heard at least three, "hey koby" greetings from former students. older and bearded, it was hard for me to identify any of them, but josh w and toby p might have been a couple of them.

it was cool that hiking was faster than four wheeling. i suppose that isn't always the case, but nice for us today. up at the height of land where the AT intersects, we split off the road, aiming for south peak. no vehicles would be on this trail. soon enough you couldn't even hear them. at the summit, it was clear and the view was indeed big. i took a shot of pam at rest with a snack.

things were quite all the way back to the AT-wolfboro rd intersection. five vehicles parked tucked into little niches here and there told us why. the drivers and passengers were going up through the woods--this time 'off trail' again and on foot. (later in the week pam brought home the valley news with an article about the plane wreckage up on south peak and how folks are now hunting for it. we suspect that was what this group was doing.)

headed down the road back to the car, i enjoying the peace and quiet. i recall thinking, "good, we got past all that hub-bub..." not quite. in another half mile or so, i started hearing more engines coming toward us. sure enough, it was another group. a young woman in the front vehicle greeted me as i came up to them, "hey koby..." it was allonda, another former student. this time there were at least twenty trailing off roaders.

when i got by i looked back the long line and snapped a picture.  pam was ahead of me and all i could think now was, she would be livid. this was not what we had come out for. we had at least another half mile or so to the car and i hung back hoping she might recover as it got quiet again and was so lovely.

by the time we got to the car, she gave me a kiss and mentioned that she was glad we had come out, despite the four wheeled intrusions. driving home along goose pond we came up behind a bike rider, going along--only he wasn't pedaling. pam gave one last groan, "that's a gas powered bicycle! all these engines are smelling up the air!!" she probably even said "...my air!!!" but i won't mention that.

fortunately, when we got out of the car at home, i got another kiss and she confirmed that it was indeed good to go outside and play!

leaf peeping from the saddle...

pedaling around the block--the big block!

trusting that the weather would be spot on the prediction,  i took off on a bike ride. i was thinking of heading east on route 4. there are dozens of routes i could take, of all lengths. as usual, when i start out on a longer ride, i started running all those options through some sort of filter. if i do this..., it will mean that...--do i really want to do that? i suppose in the long run, i am deciding exactly, just what do i want to do?

all the while i was questioning myself, i pedaled east. at times i would veer off onto the rail-trail for a couple miles before coming back onto the road. when i was pumping up a climb on the road, i would think how much flatter the trail was. when i was plodding along the trail, i would think, the road would be a lot faster. what i should have been doing instead, was taking more pictures.

as i was going through danbury, i stopped at the general store and ask a group at a table if they knew of a road to take me over to 4A without going to potter place. the woman said, there was a road but it was being paved today. the man reported that rt 4 was also newly paved between here and andover. another woman, mentioned that there was another way up the road, but there were so many turn offs you would need gps to make sense of it. i thanked them and continued on as i had been--pedaling rt 4 and the rail-trail.



i made it onto 11 and headed south. turning west onto 4A, i started a long climb through wilmot, toward the height of land. now that i was heading homeward, i stopped dwelling on possibilities and started to think about pictures. just before i left my driveway i had thought about taking a picture of the maples across the road. autumn color would have made a good theme. i forgot to stop. forgot again, on the rail trail watching the sunlight filter through the leaves. finally, i rode by a long run of knotweed, stopped, turned back to the beginning, and got out the camera.


there are all kinds of invasives in new england. they spread themselves out by any number of means--plants as well as animals.  whenever i see knotweed way out in the middle of nowhere--like that patch on kevin's road way back in the woods--i wonder, how does knotweed get out here? people used to plant it as an ornamental?? we had a patch across from our drive--next to those maples i should have photographed--that has taken me a over thirty years to almost eradicate.


with the camera now stuffed into my bike shorts, i stopped again fairly soon when i passed a boggy area off to one side at the high point in the road. drainage in both directions made for an interesting situation. water goes either east, ending up in the merrimack and flowing out to sea past newburyport mass. or, it goes west, into the connecticut and drain into long island sound at old lyme ct. pam and i spent a bunch of times down in newburyport going out to visit plum island for beach and birds. turns out there is a plum island right at the mouth of the connecticut in the sound as well.

i was flowing west and except for one broad valley i had to climb out of, it was all downhill. before i wove through the s curves dropping into enfield center, i stopped and took a picture of the boggy, north end of george pond.

it being friday, instead of turning home, i extended the loop and stopped at drummond's to sweep. i like to stay connected with the folks there and sweeping the shop once a week is good for that. today, robbie even had a front piece that extends off the stem to try and push out my handlebar bag. on the gravel growler, i had kinked the cables which probably was what caused my rear derailleur to fail. good people drummonds--relaxing to push a broom around too!






on the way past the high school, i stopped for a time to watch the soccer game and chat with two former students' parents. father, andrew, was pretty impressed with the new bike and snapped a picture to message son/student, ben. we were both thinking ben would be surprised that i jumped so far into the 21st century with a carbon frame--the three of us each ride vintage steel frames.



no matter what frame you are riding--go outside and play!

surf's up...

if you love big waves, the news of a hurricane can get you excited...

but, i realize that flooding is not a happy topic for the people who lose their property to rising water. while i type this, i am listening to an emotional report on the long term effects of the flood out in colorado--5 years ago. the devastation from extreme weather events, is serious, even deadly, let alone traumatic for millions.




that said, on friday, pam and i drove down to sakonnet rhode island ready for big waves. we had planned the visit with billy at 'rough house' on round pond, long before we knew  anything about where or when florence would hit. his place is a couple hundred yards from 'rocky beach', off mill point, and a couple hundred more to a series of little coves on 'tappens beach'  divided by giant rock outcroppings. the last email from billy spoke of the waves being "enormous"! 

this is tappens beach mid tide, at a much quieter time. we were playing to the far right just out of the picture by those smaller rocks. there is a bluff off the far outcrop (its actually two giant outcrops but the furthest one is hidden) that people plunge off. i broke my eardrum diving there with a stuffy nose, years ago.


this time, friday's surf was indeed huge! billy and i spent a good several hours getting happily thrashed body surfing or on a boogie board at small beach. pam stayed ashore reading her book in the comfort of her beach chair. there was one other person out with us, which felt a bit safer given the weird rip coming off of the nearest rock outcroppings. speaking of rocks...please keep off them!





we went back saturday both pre- and post- a late lunch. while the waves had diminished some, the surf was still very big. i coaxed pam during the morning session, helping her get over the fear of losing her suit in the shore break--the picture on the left shows a wave closer in, and billy and i taking a breather as the tide went out. when i came in from the offshore break, pam told me happily how a big wave had whooshed her 'bottom' right off. she went right in on her own in the afternoon!


after the stimulating big surf and a delicious big dinner--thanks for the curry tracey!--we were just about to head off to a big night's sleep when billy turned on the 9:00 news: "Swimmer Dead After Shark Attack On Cape Cod." a shriek from pam, "noooo! i'm not going in tomorrow!" billy assured pam that the sharks were after seals and the waters off the cape were prime seal habitat. i was thinking how crazy it was to hear such a story after being out in the ocean all day, playing in the waves, looking for all the world just like one of those seals. but billy's best guess was rhode island had never had a shark death. i looked that up when we got back. don't tell pam but... 

"According to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), great white sharks are most likely passing through local waters on their way to Cape Cod...'White sharks do occur in Rhode Island waters and it’s not unusual for them to be caught in summer months.'" 

tracey joined us on sunday and we went down to small beach for a last round. as we walked past rocky beach, even though it was high tide, the waves were as big as saturday's, maybe even bigger. we got pretty pumped. at small beach, billy and i dove in immediately--well, billy put on his 'seal suit' first--and stayed out for a good bit. when we finally came out, pam and tracey went and played in the shore break. they didn't seem to be too worried about sharks.

after a sunny walk over to the beach club and a warm up. i went back in for a final session, i didn't even think about getting bit, though i was out past the offshore break a bunch. life in the surf is grand!

when we went back to rough house tracey had lunch all ready. even though she was suffering from a wisdom tooth extraction that wasn't healing, she had made a quiche before coming over to rough house. it was delicious! we ate our final meal of the trip, talking about getting together again soon.

with or without waves...go outside and play!