I’ve been itching to get out on the Presidential Traverse since last fall. The last time I hiked the traverse was at least 7 years ago. To make it a full adventure; my colleague from Summit Achievement (Eric) and I started the trip at 7pm at night. We did the entire traverse in the dark with windy, slow conditions. (It was certainly an outing to remember; the clouds were gusting so intensely at the summit of Mt. Washington that we couldn’t see from one large rock cairn to the next.)

A panoramic paradise.

This trip would be better. It would be faster, more fun, and with perfect daytime conditions.

Going up…

Bridget, Joanna, and I set out at 6 am from Apalacia. We began hiking with two other teachers from the Littleton area, Erin and Liz.

Bridget, me, & Joanna.

For me, the day started a bit earlier than that. It was a true alpine start: up at 3:30 am and out the door just as the sun was rising. An early morning drive up highway 93 through Franconia Notch turned into a lucky opportunity for a moose sighting. Fortunately, my moose friend was safely off the road, on the other side of the median.

The traverse itself is about 20 miles long. It covers 8000+ feet of elevation and offers amazing views of the notches and valleys below.

My favorite smell.

Headed down.

We had sunshine, blue skis, and barely any wind. The company was terrific… and we finished the traverse in about 11 hours.

Really, we’re good with a map.

(We didn’t use the map until almost the end of the hike.)

Some people include Jackson in their traverse, as Eric and I had done.)  But we opted to end this hike with Pierce and hiked the Crawford Path back to our parked car (in the lot across from The Highland Center). We celebrated our awesome day with some strategically stashed recovery beers at the car. It was another great adventure with some amazing adventure ladies!

Love these!

Notice Mt Washington summit in the background.

One of the things I really wanted to do this summer was the Baldface Loop in Evan’s Notch, NH. It’s been years since I’ve been up there. It’s a beautiful area with open, exposed rock along the upper reaches of South Baldface. It looks to be above tree-line, but don’t believe what you may read on the internet. According to the AMC White Mountain Guide, there was a fire in 1903 that uncovered the summits and upper slopes.  (What a fire it must have been!) But this loop is not above tree-line.

South Baldface view

I did this hike as a last minute day trip with Todd Flag, a friend & neighbor of my parents. Todd is a Maine guide who loves to hike & fish. While searching for someone to go with my dad shared that, “Todd’s a fast hiker.” That’s exactly what I was looking for- someone who’d speed around the loop with me. I didn’t want an all day adventure… just a quick outing.

Todd, smile.

Me. 🙂

I showed up in sneakers and with my new Ultimate Direction hydration vest; Todd had on his heafty hiking boots and a small backpack. He wasn’t too sure about someone hiking in sneakers (for good reason, trail running in sneakers can be tiring on the ankles). But I felt confident in running what I brung. More often than not, I hike in sneakers. If nothing else, adventure racing has toughened my ankles.

I encouraged the pace. Just below the South Baldface summit, Todd told me not to wait. If I wanted to run up ahead and meet him at the summits, I could. That’s exactly what I did.

From South Baldface looking at the ridge line over to North Baldface. Moon in the background.

It took us just under 5 hours to run/ hike the loop. South Baldface to North Baldface with a quick stop for something to eat on North Baldface and a photo at Emrald pool before heading to the car.

Looking out at the mountains.

Trail sign on South Baldface with Mt. Washington in the background.

The view from North Baldface looking back towards Evan’s Notch.

Trail sign on North Baldface. Headed down the Baldface Circle trail.

Bluebird day!

Emerald pool. Burr!

TransRockies was the biggest adventures of 2012- and an amazing adventure it was. As with any special occasion, when the dust settled and the race had ended, it felt like something had vanished into thin air. Life was different. Preparations for TransRockies were intense; there were months where day-to-day life revolved around waking up, working, riding bikes in accordance with specific training plans, eating, and sleeping… only to do it all again, day after day, for weeks at a time. Life without that routine seemed, at first, depressing. I needed something more- something to look forward to- something that would keep my cascading need for adventure from drying up.

Trail running in New London

Skin/ski at Mt. Sunapee

Skate skiing at Solitude in Utah

Part of the problem with being an athlete in love with adventure and racing, (although it’s hardly a problem) is that you’re always thinking about the next trip, race, outdoor excursion, or a way to get that adventure high. There’s something about being free in the woods, letting endorphines loose, that brings me back for more. It’s a need that I wouldn’t want to live without.

Hiking up Mt Washington with my best girl, Dudli

An icy trail run up past Zealand Falls hut with my friend, Sandra

In the months following TransRockies (and until now) there have been many fun adventures. There were trail runs at night and during the day- runs through snow, along pavement, and in mud; a cyclocross race; mountain bike races; a 6 hour adventure race in Dover, NH; and the 30-hour USARA Adventure Race Nationals in Kerhonkson, New York.

I wasn’t sure how 30 hours would treat me. Not only was this a LONG race- my longest race ever- but I’d be competing with amazing athletes on the same team. An actual “team”- eeks. It’s one thing to race as an individual where the only expectations are self driven. Things get a little more complicated when other people are relying on you to keep up and keep it together.

Untamed New England- Team #1
Dave, Me, Chad

Untamed New England- Team #2
Molly, Jason, Tracyn

Fortunately, this team- Untamed New England- is a group of people that immediately felt like family; a family that I could get lost in the woods with.

… and that is exactly what we did. (More on the USARA Nationals to come…)

Looking back to warmer weather…

Much of our time last summer was spent away. More often than not, I’d find myself saying, “another weekend away from the house to ride bikes.” It’s really not something to complain about. I love riding- whether we were packed up for a long weekend in Bar Harbor, exploring new trails in Sedona, AZ, or taking long road rides around New London. Since January, when training became our top priority, Jeff and I traveled to (and rode around) some amazing places.

This particular weekend in July was the Cannondale demo at Millstone Hill in VT. Millstone is an awe inspiring area of land, clustered with piles of granite and flooded quarries. Evidence of the granite mining is everywhere as riders zip through the woods along well-developed single track (occasionaly getting a glimpse of the intense blue and green pools of quarry water).

We’ve ridden here many times and know the trails fairly well. This time, however, was a party. Cannondale was there with demo bikes. The demo truck was huge- carrying about 50 new 2013 mountain bikes. They had 29er Scapels, Flash 29ers (my personal favorite), the new Trigger, Jekyls, and the ladies Lexi.

Fun times!

That first night in VT we picked out a campsite, set up the tent, and settle into our sleeping bags. There’s plenty of space for Jeff, Ryder, and me in my monstrous 8 person tent. I love that tent.

“What the heck was that?!” I nudged Jeff, not realizing in my sleepy state that he was already well aware of the noise.

In the not so distant woods we heard the screetching of, what sounded like, a monster. It was a shreek, or a cry… maybe a barking?! Whatever it is, it sounded really displeased that we had pitched our tent in it’s space.

I shut my eyes, feeling safe in the hugeness of the circus tent and fell back to sleep, hoping whatever it was would move along and not eat us. The next day, with input from other people and a Google search, we solved the mystery; we had heard a fisher cat!

Not ‘the’ fisher cat, but it’s what we heard!

The weekend was full of fun and festivities: riding with friends, taking a quick pedal on a tandem mountain bike (after my Whiteface incident it only seemed appropriate), and a little chill time with friends.

Just down the road from the Millstone Touring Center is a great little antique mall. Jeff isn’t a big fan of antiquing… so while he was out for a mellow ride with Ryder, I made a quick trip to peruse by myself.

To my surprise, Jeff walked in while I was in the back room. This is great, I thought to myself, he’s changed his mind and come shopping with me!  

… So why does he look so distraught?

ouch!

Ugh. A little fumble on a long narrow bridge- that’s why.

We made our way to the emergency room just down the street. It looked bad, but a quick relocation and some tape did the trick.

Just another adventure.