Heading home

New Hampshire, just south of the White Mountains. Packing up the Jeep and heading back to the Big Apple. May do some more hiking in the fall, but I think this wraps up the summer. Getting closer to the finish!

Zoom in...

In the distance, you can see Farsight and High Gear. Five years ago when we hiked  together, I simply slowed down to match pace with whoever wanted to hike in front and find the blazes. Now, I'm routinely left in the distant dust by my hiking partners. Luckily, they remember to stop and let me catch up before they get completely out of sight. Makes me proud.
Most times on the trail, I enter that state of 'being in the moment' where my focus and thoughts are consumed by my own breath, and the next few steps as I avoid the rocks, roots, and boggy slicks. Sometimes, though, the trail levels, opens wide, and the ground cover is a smooth duff of pine needles and leaves. This was one of those moments when I was able to look up, and let my mind wander.

2222 feet

Moose Mountain. More mountains, higher elevations, more climbing. So far, no live moose. Maybe soon.

Ivy and White Blazes

High Gear and Farsight tolerated one more picture for the blog after we finished our hiking for the day. The AT crosses the Connecticut River, rises up the hill to lively Hanover, and crosses the picturesque Dartmouth College campus.

The Dartmouth Outing Club is an official trail maintenance organization and their volunteers dedicate a lot of time to  maintaining many miles of the trail, and it's associated privies and shelters. Without volunteers, the Trail in most places would quickly disappear back under the forest duff, get engulfed by the quick moving undergrowth that covets the thin open sky where the trail has been cleared, or erode away in the next thunderstorm.

Welcome! Welcome!

That's the Connecticut River in the background as we finish up the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. Welcome to New Hampshire!
As I'm sure faithful readers have noticed, Farsight and I are joined again in our travels by High Gear. She finished camp and headed north to join us as we make our way through the Granite State. Welcome back High Gear!

Cloudland

Vermont pulls out all the stops as you head north. Here's a picture of Farsight in a bright, colorful meadow above Cloudland. You can imagine your own soundtrack, but if you're in the area then you might hear a bit of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry jamming in the background. He has a farm in the valley at the base of the hill.