Walk in the park

I am on the board of a non-profit which meets in person every November for a three-day retreat. And, since board members come from around the country, the location alternates between East and West coasts. This year, our retreat was in Essex, MA — about an 8-1/2 hour drive from Ottawa. Not that close, but definitely a drivable distance.

I took the whole week off to spend a little vacation time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I based myself in Franconia and spend 4 days exploring the area. The first day was spent wandering the back roads and taking in the small towns nearby.

Then I headed to the Moosilauke Lodge, which has been owned by the Dartmouth Outing Club for over 100 years. The Lodge offers inexpensive accommodations from which you can discover the many features of Mount Moosilauke, one of New Hampshire’s 4,000 footers (coming in at 4,802 ft).

It was a dreary afternoon so there was no point heading for the summit. Besides, I wasn't really looking for that kind of challenge. I opted for the Al Merrill Ski Loop, a 5-mile hike which is rated “Easy”. It was a decent hike through the woods, mostly on old logging trails, but there wasn’t much in the way of views. It was just what I needed to clear my head, stretch my legs and get my heart rate up a bit.

After taking a day to check out the famous outlet malls in North Conway, I decided it was time to spend a full day on the trails. I packed food and water and put on my hiking shoes and lots of layers. The temperature was above freezing, but not by much. My plan was to head toward the Franconia Notch State Park and hope to find a suitable hike. At a sign marked “Trailhead”, I pulled off and parked in a small lot.

Initially, I followed the Whitehouse trail, a wide, meandering trail that eventually crossed the Pemigewasset River. From there, I turned onto the Liberty Spring Trail. The sign said it was 3 miles to the summit of Mount Liberty. Perfect, I thought, calculating that it would take me about 4 hours round trip. Little did I know!

The sun was out and the air was brisk — a perfect day for a hike. With the leaves off the trees, it was fairly light and open as I started out on the trail, in a mostly deciduous forest. The trail had good footing and headed upward at a reasonable slope. I followed the trail as it went up, and up, and up! I expected it to level off a bit — at least for a brief stretch — but it never stopped going up.

After an hour and half in, suddenly there was snow on the trail — several inches of new, fluffy snow! Now, I was dressed for hiking, but my hiking shoes were no longer in great shape and they were certainly were not waterproof any more. Around this point, the trail also got steeper and rockier. I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into.



This is where I say: “do as I say, not as I do”. My big mistake was a lack of due diligence on where the trail was headed. As a flatlander, I was not used to seeing snow if there wasn’t any at the trailhead. Not wanting to give up, I persevered, knowing from footprints in the snow that there were other people on the mountain.

It took me more than 3 hours to get to the summit, and it was well worth it. The spectacular 360 degree view included many famous White Mountain peaks, including Mount Washington in the distance, as well as Franconia Notch in the valley below.



View from the top of Mount Liberty — 4,459 ft

I took it slowly on the way down, being cautious about the footing and toll that the climb up took on my leg muscles. I arrived back in the parking lot shortly after the sun slide behind the mountains — almost 7 hours round trip!

I was tired — but in a good way — and proud to have made my mountaineering debut, even if I hadn’t planned on it. The drive to my condo was short and I was happy to remember that there was a hot tub — in my room!

Touring the lake

Our family cottage is on a lake in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, where my mom grew up. When I was young, we had red wooden rowboat that we used to travel around our bay and, if we felt energetic, to my aunt & uncle’s cottage on the next bay. After many years of service, it was relinquished to the woods where it is slowly returning to the earth.

For many years after that, we had no boat. After she retired, my mother spent more time at the cottage and eventually began to yearn for a way to get out on the water. About 10 years ago this fall, we got up at the crack of dawn to go to Mountain Equipment Co-op’s rental sale. We were one of the first people there and managed to buy our first choice — a bright red sit-on kayak.





Mom test driving the new boat in my backyard.

My mom uses the kayak from time to time, but mostly it is me or my friends that go for a paddle. Usually, I take a tour of the bays on either side of the point our cottage sits on. If I’m feeling ambitious, I might head to the other side of the lake but it’s often windy and there are many motor boats, so it is rarely appealing.

Most mornings, my dog is up early and we always head to the lake first on our morning walks. This morning, the lake was like glass — no wind, no boats. I decided it would be a great day to take the kayak out for a spin. I took my usual route around our bay, then decided I would head over to the next bay where my aunt & uncle’s cottage was; it had been a while since I had been over there.

The sun was shining and it was easy to see deep in the water. I silently floated over the remains of an old stone-filled wooden dock and saw hundreds of fish basking in the sunshine. I watched them for a while before I continued around the bay. The far side is shallow and marshy, and I was almost upon a heron before I saw it. It eyed me suspiciously but I managed to maneuver away from before I completely disturbed it.

Everything was so beautiful, I decided to keep going — into unknown territory. I’d never been this far under my own steam. I paddled and floated, enjoying the sun and the scenery. After about 2 hours, I thought it was time to head back. I was a little worried that the wind would pick up and it would be rough going across our large bay. I cut across the bays and made it home in a little more than an hour. Just as I was approaching our dock, I felt a breeze. I had made it home just in time. How perfect! It is incredibly unusual for water to stay calm all morning; I feel like I experienced something magical.

The motto for today: SEIZE THE MOMENT!