52 With A View: Sugarloaf (Stratford ) 2

Thursday, June 30, 2022 - This is a map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View":

It turns out that I have climbed 17 of them so far.

I have no plans for today, so after my Breakfast-in-Boston I'm going to tackle Sugarloaf (Stratford) - the northernmost mountain I have not climbed. a pretty-straightforward up-and-down hike. 4.13 miles in 2 hours 6 minutes:

Lovely drive up through Franconia Notch at 11:05:

An hour later (on Route 3) I see North Percy Peak (on the left) and South Percy Peak (on the right):

North Percy Peak is one of the 52-With-A-View, so "another peak for another day".

The last 8 miles to today's Trailhead are on Nash Stream Road which runs right along Nash Stream. I was able to pull-over and walk over to the stream:

Good driving-time for a mountain that is so far away - at the Trailhead at 12:41 PM

Pretty walking through the woods:

10 minutes from the Summit, I'm hiking along a really nice "high altitude" trail:

This was about where a guy passed me, heading downhill. I caught up with him back down at the Trailhead - only person I saw all day.

The Summit at 2 PM:

Back down on a beautiful trail:

Just 5 minutes from the bottom I twas alongside a babbling brook/waterfall:

I was nicely banging out 20-minute-miles coming down, so back to my car at 2:47, and homeward bound! Thank You God for this wonderful "52 With A View" Day!

For my listening pleasure today:

The Hooters - Nervous Night, 1985

The Hooters were a good band from Philadelphia (mid-1980's, after my time there), and had great local support: 26 million entries in radio station WMMR's contest to win a Hooters show at a local high school! Nervous Night sold over 2 million copies in the US, and the band was named by Rolling Stone as the Best New Band of the Year for 1986. I really only like the first song ("And We Danced"), which is on The '80s: The Box Set Series (4 cds), so I'm deleting the album from my iPod.

Frank Sinatra - Songs For Young Lovers, February 1954

Frank Sinatra - Swing Easy!, August 1954

I like the swinging aspect of the 2nd album much better than the 1st, but I'll be keeping both for now.

Frank Turner - Poetry Of The Deed, 2009 3rd album

I wanted to delete this, but there are too many good songs.

Dispatch - Silent Steeples, 1996

No music on my hike.

Driving Home:

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here, 2010 15th and final album

Drive-By Truckers - Ugly Buildings, Whores And Politicians - Greatest Hits 1998 - 2009, 2011

Dave Matthews Band - Live At Wrigley Field (2 cds), 2011

After listening to this, I deleted it - a fine album, but how many live Dave Matthews Band albums do you need? I have:

Live At Red Rocks 8.15.95 (2 cds) (released 1997),
Listener Supported (2 cds) (released 1999),
Live In Chicago 12.19.98 At The United Center (2 cds) (released 2001),
Live At Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado (2 cds) (released 2002),
The Central Park Concert (3 cds) (released 2003),
The Gorge (2 cds) (released 2004),
Weekend On The Rocks [Live] (2 cds) (released 2005),
Live At Piedmont Park (released 2007),
Live At Mile High Music Festival (3 cds) (released 2008),
Live In New York City (2 cds) DMB (released 2010), and
7/8/2006: Fenway Park, Boston, MA (4 cds) (released 2006)

Gee, maybe I can thin out some more ...

Counting Crows - Hard Candy, 2002

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

52 With A View: Blueberry Mountain

Saturday, June 18, 2022 - This is a map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View":

It turns out that I have climbed 16 of them so far.

Wendy is hosting a Retreat at our house today, so I'm going to tackle Blueberry Mountain - a pretty-straightforward up-and-down hike. 3.7 miles in 1 hour 36 minutes:

Beautiful early-morning hike on Singing Beach:

These New Hampsire mountains are kind-of far away - at the Trailhead at 1:52 PM

Pretty walking through the woods:

Scrambling up the rocks:

it is hazy, but I'm hoping the clouds are above me, and not around me.

There is no sign for the little trail off to the Summit, so I kept going along the mountain, getting to see a nice view (looking north) when I decided to turn around:

The Summit at 2:55 PM

Kind-of a pretty view over the treetops:

Back to my car by 3:30, and homeward bound! Thank You God for this very nice "52 With A View" Day!

For my listening pleasure today:

Aqualung - Memory Man, 2007

Bill Morrissey Standing Eight, 1994

It has been 7 years since I have actually listened to this album. A Beautiful Masterpiece - Chills and Tears. Wendy and I first saw him at a club in Cambridge right around when this album came out, and we saw him a number of other times over the years (Hingham, Vineyard Haven, ...). Bill Morrissey died in his sleep in a hotel room in Georgia on July 23, 2011, at age 59.

Cyrus Chestnut - Genuine Chestnut, 2005

Excellent jazz piano player.

Curves Cardio - Vol 22 - Latin Music, 2005

I only kept "Gloria Medley", "Calypso Bananero", and "Mamasita", but they are LOTS OF FUN.

No music on my hike.

Driving Home:

Elton John - The Complete Thom Bell Sessions, 1977

In the late-70's (October 1979) Wendy and I saw him downtown (NYC) at The Palladium.

Drive-By Truckers - The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008), 2009

Excellent cuts include "Rebels" (the Tom Petty song), "Play It All Night Long" (the Warren Zevon song), and "Like a Rolling Stone" (yes, the Bob Dylan song).

Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys, 2011

20 years ago, a friend said I would like Death Cab for Cutie. Hearing this album, he was right - I'll have to get some more of their stuff!

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

52 With A View: Mount Roberts

Thursday, May 12, 2022 - This is a map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View":

It turns out that I have climbed 12 of them so far.

Today I'm going to tackle Mount Roberts - a pretty-straightforward up-and-down hike. 5.13 miles in 2 hours 36 minutes:

Nice drive today - down into Boston, then up 93, over to the hike, then continuing over to 16 south back to 95, and home:

View of Lake Winnipesaukee going up, and out to the north at the top.

Nice view of Berry Pond in Moultonborough:

Nice views at the beginning of the hike:

The trails in this neck of the woods are old carriage trails:

A nice start for the first hike of the year.

First Viewpoint:

and yes, that's Lake Winnipesaukee down there:

You keep heading up, at a nice easy pace, on the very-well-marked trail:

I reached the summit around 1 PM:

with it's SUPER view of Mount Washington off to the north:

Excellent view on the way back. Maybe I'll do Mount Shaw next week:

When I got back down I found the REAL map:

After hiking, my route home took me right past Merrowvista:

Easy drive home for dinner. Thank You God for this Great "52 With A View" Day!

For my listening pleasure today I am going to be listening to compliation albums ("Various Artists"):

2012 Grammy Nominees, 2012

Pure 90's, 2007

On The Charts: I.R.S. Records 1979-1994, 2005

I did not take any music on my hike, and it was great having "Mexican Radio" and "Rain in the Summetime" in my head the whole time.

Driving Home it was time for Saturday Night Fever, 1977

Shape Cardio One

Shape Fitness Music Cardio 1 '80s/'90s Hits, 2004

Slam Jams, Vol. 1, 1997

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/