Roxi
Active member
Despite hiking almost every weekend, weather permitting, I had lost interest in posting another trip report until now. As much as many of us are into hiking a 4K or higher, and/or completing a list, I realized this weekend that my two favorite hikes all year were both under 2K, and not on any list that I know of.
Columbus Day weekend I had the extreme pleasure of hiking up Cadillac Mountain with my daughter, the non-athlete-except-for-skiing. Her birthday was that weekend and she wanted to spend it in Bar Harbor (she has her mother’s good taste!
), but when she suggested we hike Cadillac, my jaw dropped on the floor. I nearly fainted when she added that she even had her own hiking boots. There were, however, stipulations: I had to hike at her pace. I don’t care what anyone says, it is not any easier to slow down to someone else’s pace than it is to speed up. So my daughter and I compromised by making sure that I was carrying all the gear, and she carried nothing. This slowed me down some, and sped her up some, and I have to admit she kept a good pace all the way up the South Ridge Trail to the summit! It’s our favorite trail as the ocean views on three sides are stunning! On the way down, we hiked a steeper trail over to the Jordan Pond Gatehouse where we had a well earned lunch. At this point she had hiked 7 miles. That may not seem like a big deal, but for her it was. I was so proud of her! And when she talked later that night about her blisters, it didn’t sound like her usual complaining. Her voice conveyed that she was proud of them. 7 miles never felt like such an accomplishment!
This weekend I had the pleasure of revisiting “an old friend” with my best friend. Saturday Larry and I decided to hike up North Pack in between a lot of other errands we were both trying to accomplish (an oil change for my car, furniture shopping for him, EMS for me). We chose the Wapack trail and truly enjoyed traveling like non-hikers for a change. We have both been hiking this little gem for almost 25 years now. I’ve hiked it in every month of the year and know it like the back of my hand. A quick 3 mile hike, which we extended to 4 by going out to the cliffs, we wore jeans, cotton t-shirts, and carried a one-liter nalgene bottle between us, daring anyone to give us sh*t about it. The weather was perfect! I hadn’t hiked North Pack in almost a year and realized this weekend how much I missed it. Hiking this little mountain is like traveling down Memory Lane. When my daughter was little I carried her up this mountain many times in an LL Bean back carrier. She gave each of the ledgy areas a name: the Little Climb, the Big Climb, and the Humungous Climb. At the top of the Big Climb is where a milk snake lives that startled my dog and I one day. At one of the stonewall crossings is where Larry and I once found a small toy elephant that someone had lost. We left it in hopes that its owner would return for it. As I crossed the “meadow” area where the blueberries bushes really start, I recalled turning back there one February and deciding to get snowshoes so I’d never have to turn back there again. New Year’s Day hikes were just as special as trips in late July and early August to gather wild blueberries for the pie we’d make later that night. I can’t begin to relate all the memories that little mountain holds for me, but I can relate that it now holds another very special one. As Larry and I sat on the cliffs overlooking a beautiful quilt of autumn colors below us, he asked me if I’d be willing to scatter his ashes there someday when he passes away. I felt incredibly honored and of course said, “Yes.” Larry and I have known each other for a very long time, and even in moments like that we banter back and forth, so to lighten the mood, I did convey that he’d have to wait for a nice day though because I wasn’t doing it in sucky weather. Then I realized that I had asked him and my daughter years ago to scatter my ashes across the ocean, so I told him he’s getting out of his end of the bargain much too easily and I’ll have to choose a higher elevation.
Today Larry and I hiked Garfield for his birthday, his 25th (peak, not birthday), and it was a wonderful hike. The weather was great, temps in the 50s, sunny, and no bugs. Water levels were high, so we used one of the bridges to cross the stream on the lower half of the trail, and splashed in the upper half of the trail which was often very wet. On the breezy summit the views were stunning! Larry was thrilled! He enjoyed seeing the peaks along Franconia Ridge’s eastern side, Owl’s Head where he cleaned my injuries, the Bonds where we’ve both been, and Galehead and the Twins where he has yet to go. We even saw Washington and the northern presidentials sticking up from behind the Twins. Yet this 10 mile birthday hike held nothing over Cadillac and North Pack. Both little mountains hold a larger place in my heart than any 4K has yet earned.
Columbus Day weekend I had the extreme pleasure of hiking up Cadillac Mountain with my daughter, the non-athlete-except-for-skiing. Her birthday was that weekend and she wanted to spend it in Bar Harbor (she has her mother’s good taste!
), but when she suggested we hike Cadillac, my jaw dropped on the floor. I nearly fainted when she added that she even had her own hiking boots. There were, however, stipulations: I had to hike at her pace. I don’t care what anyone says, it is not any easier to slow down to someone else’s pace than it is to speed up. So my daughter and I compromised by making sure that I was carrying all the gear, and she carried nothing. This slowed me down some, and sped her up some, and I have to admit she kept a good pace all the way up the South Ridge Trail to the summit! It’s our favorite trail as the ocean views on three sides are stunning! On the way down, we hiked a steeper trail over to the Jordan Pond Gatehouse where we had a well earned lunch. At this point she had hiked 7 miles. That may not seem like a big deal, but for her it was. I was so proud of her! And when she talked later that night about her blisters, it didn’t sound like her usual complaining. Her voice conveyed that she was proud of them. 7 miles never felt like such an accomplishment! This weekend I had the pleasure of revisiting “an old friend” with my best friend. Saturday Larry and I decided to hike up North Pack in between a lot of other errands we were both trying to accomplish (an oil change for my car, furniture shopping for him, EMS for me
). We chose the Wapack trail and truly enjoyed traveling like non-hikers for a change. We have both been hiking this little gem for almost 25 years now. I’ve hiked it in every month of the year and know it like the back of my hand. A quick 3 mile hike, which we extended to 4 by going out to the cliffs, we wore jeans, cotton t-shirts, and carried a one-liter nalgene bottle between us, daring anyone to give us sh*t about it. The weather was perfect! I hadn’t hiked North Pack in almost a year and realized this weekend how much I missed it. Hiking this little mountain is like traveling down Memory Lane. When my daughter was little I carried her up this mountain many times in an LL Bean back carrier. She gave each of the ledgy areas a name: the Little Climb, the Big Climb, and the Humungous Climb. At the top of the Big Climb is where a milk snake lives that startled my dog and I one day. At one of the stonewall crossings is where Larry and I once found a small toy elephant that someone had lost. We left it in hopes that its owner would return for it. As I crossed the “meadow” area where the blueberries bushes really start, I recalled turning back there one February and deciding to get snowshoes so I’d never have to turn back there again. New Year’s Day hikes were just as special as trips in late July and early August to gather wild blueberries for the pie we’d make later that night. I can’t begin to relate all the memories that little mountain holds for me, but I can relate that it now holds another very special one. As Larry and I sat on the cliffs overlooking a beautiful quilt of autumn colors below us, he asked me if I’d be willing to scatter his ashes there someday when he passes away. I felt incredibly honored and of course said, “Yes.” Larry and I have known each other for a very long time, and even in moments like that we banter back and forth, so to lighten the mood, I did convey that he’d have to wait for a nice day though because I wasn’t doing it in sucky weather. Then I realized that I had asked him and my daughter years ago to scatter my ashes across the ocean, so I told him he’s getting out of his end of the bargain much too easily and I’ll have to choose a higher elevation. Today Larry and I hiked Garfield for his birthday, his 25th (peak, not birthday), and it was a wonderful hike. The weather was great, temps in the 50s, sunny, and no bugs. Water levels were high, so we used one of the bridges to cross the stream on the lower half of the trail, and splashed in the upper half of the trail which was often very wet. On the breezy summit the views were stunning! Larry was thrilled! He enjoyed seeing the peaks along Franconia Ridge’s eastern side, Owl’s Head where he cleaned my injuries, the Bonds where we’ve both been, and Galehead and the Twins where he has yet to go. We even saw Washington and the northern presidentials sticking up from behind the Twins. Yet this 10 mile birthday hike held nothing over Cadillac and North Pack. Both little mountains hold a larger place in my heart than any 4K has yet earned.
