Tag: fall

Mt. Isolation Hike

On By careofmonIn Hiking2 Comments

This past weekend we finally got some fall weather! My husband, Jon, and I celebrated the fantastic weather by heading up north to hike Mt. Isolation. This particular peak is just over 4000 feet at 4003 feet and is technically in the Presidential Range. I never considered it a part of the Presidential Range because it isn’t named after a president, but it is. Its also in the Dry River Wilderness, which means a couple things- any existing structures will be removed when maintenance is needed and not replaced, no bridges, some planks that are logs not lumber, signs aren’t painted, and not many blazes between signs. There was a shelter built on the trail that has been removed. There are some primitive camp sites up there though. Most people are not huge fans of the hike because it is very long, the river crossings can be treacherous, and the trail is usually muddy and gross. Right now, New Hampshire is in a drought though! So I guess the only good thing that can come from the drought is the pleasant trail I got to hike on?

We took the Rocky Branch Trail to the Isolation Trail to Davis Path up to the summit. That made a 14.5 mi, 9 hour trip. There is a shorter route in both time and mileage but it is harder up and down the Glen Boulder Trail. You gain elevation, lose it, and then gain it again. The crossings over the Rocky Branch were beautiful. Some foliage is starting to turn, mostly the leaves are green and yellow, very few red leaves.

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Rocky Branch. These crossings can be tough in the spring and winter depending on the amount of precip the mountains get!
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My pack and fleece are both from LLBean! 
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The peak just to the left of center is Mt. Monroe. That ravine you can see there is Oak’s Gulf. Mt. Washington is hidden in the cloud in the right center.
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Our boots are La Sportiva Pamirs. These are the boots I would grab if I had to take one pair of shoes for a zombie apocalypse. 
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In this pic you can kinda tell how windy it was, it was crazy up there.

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Mizpah stayed home for this hike because it was just soo long. Now I only have 4 peaks left to have hiked all 48 4000 footers in NH. I need to do the three Bonds and Owls Head. We want to do both of those hikes as overnights, so I probably won’t finish until next summer. It was cold up there, and the winds were gusting up to ~50 mph. The views were so worth is though. I was just a little bummed that Mt. Washington was in a cloud. From Mt. Isolation you can take trails over to Mt. Washington, Mt. Monroe, and to the Mizpah Spring Hut just below Mt. Pierce. I am looking forward to more fall hiking, bring on the leaf peepers!

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Fun Finds for a Friday

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Ohhh the alliteration! Today I am just sharing a few things that have cracked me up from my facebook newsfeed. Buzzfeed lists are hilarious. You can literally lose hours of your life going through them. This one is making the rounds on my facebook feed because for myself and many of my friends, every single one of these is true.

18 Red Flags That You Learned to Drink in Boston

Probably the only one that wasn’t me directly was the hazards of walking on cobblestone because I don’t wear heels BUT I can tell you I have been the support team for many friends struggling down the cutest little obstacle courses in Boston. #13, #15, and #18….oh man. Since I graduated from college, I have done 2 St. Patrick’s Days out of Boston- one was in Mt. Holyoke which was crazy, and one in Manchester NH which was ok, but I def missed Boston.

Another gem that I found on Facebook through my very funny friends is Matt Bellassai and his Whine About It Wednesday videos. They are so funny and usually spot on with what everybody’s REALLY thinking about a topic. He was supposed to take a break this week, but I just heard he posted a surprise video!! I haven’t been able to watch it yet. Here’s his Whine About It for the worst things about fall…..soo good. This is another rabbit hole you can lose a few hours of your life haha. I think there are some swears though FYI…I usually wait until I get home from work to watch them 😉

I have created a new page on my blog: 50 Things I want to See in MA. I am getting started tomorrow, and I can’t wait. There are so many beautiful historic spots and homes in Massachusetts. I can’t wait to see them all and share them with you. Some of the places I actually have been before, but I am looking forward to going again to document the experience!

Hope you all have great plans for the weekend, happy Friday!

c/o Mon

Wednesday woes fixed by a trail run

On By careofmonIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Today was a rough day. I am a high school teacher in a regional district and I always think, man I have seen everything, and then a student’s story will get me. I have been teaching for 8 years….I have had a student whose father died in 9/11, another whose father committed suicide, alcoholic or junkie parents, alcoholic suicidal students, quite a few homeless students, parents in jail, more depression/anxiety than I ever imagined. So today my coteacher and I find out why a certain student has been out for almost a week. He lives with his grandparents (sooo many kids live with grandparents), and his father was released from jail last year. He’s been hospitalized. This isn’t that strange, we have numerous students hospitalized for depression and manic/violent behavior. His grandparents are at the end of their rope and are thinking about handing him over to the state. Mother is MIA, I am guessing Dad is at some sort of home.

Devastating, it literally caught my breath. An angry 15 year old entering the foster care system. He might not even come back to our school depending on where he is placed. I remember the day he got dismissed early because his dad was being released. He came in the next day and said his dad let the dog out and the dog was gone. The thing that gets me is of course this kid is angry!!! I hate that he takes his rage out on his grandparents, but cmon, this kid is in a tough situation. Ugh, this really stayed with me today.

I came home feeling heavy. Tried to read, I am finishing up The Nanny Diaries, made a green smoothie, and then finally decided to take the pup on a trail run. Instantly, I started to feel lighter. Its tough, being a teacher we become invested in the future of our students, and when situations like this arise, I just feel powerless. Running in the woods, watching my dog gleefully run down the path without a care in the world brings me back to my even, happy self. Free therapy 🙂 I didn’t want to go, my heaviness made me feel lazy, but thankfully, I went.

Today reminded me that I haven’t seen it all, but I am capable of coping with whatever comes my way. We don’t have to be happy all the time, but we should learn along the way what brings you back to happy.

Here’s my pup in the late afternoon sun 🙂

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I hope you all had a lovely Wednesday, and if you didn’t, I hope something steered you back to happy by now 🙂

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