52 With A View: Mount Avalon

Thursday, October 2, 2024 - This is a zoomed-in map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View" - only 16 left (yellow). I'm going to hike Mount Avalon today:

Going up through Franconia Notch at 11:30

The Mount Washington Hotel looks great today:

I parked just south of the AMC Highland Center, across from Saco Lake, and walked up the railroad tracks a little bit, then cut left onto The Trail:

It's going to be a lovely day - 3.6 miles round-trip to Mt. Avalon:

This is MY FIRST HIKE since I sprained my ankle in May. Everything seems to be going well (ankle bandage, relatively-slow-pace, CAREFUL foot placement) - Careful crossing brooks, Jessie Bear!!:

Beautiful Day in the woods:

In a little less than an hour, Avalon Trail turns uphill - it gets difficult:

My thinking is that "If stairs are offered, use them."

I kind-of think it is "bad form" to tell me "only 100 yards to go":

On The Summit, with The View:

Heading back down:

Crossing the tracks, and finishing The Hike - 3.64 miles in 2 hours 47 minutes:

So - what made today different from last October 17? I am able to map both tracks in Google Maps - today in red, last October in yellow. Last October, when snow covered The Trail, I started bushwacking, and when I started heading left (east), I just didn't go far enough to "hit The Trail". So I wandered, in a big loop:

Thank You God for this Wonderful "52 With A View" day!

For my listening pleasure today - cds burned or owned::

Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN (4-cds 1991), 1991 box set, last heard (in a blog) never - very good collection of their work together, in pairs, and individually:

Brandi Carlile - Live from Neumo's, 2006 live EP, last heard (in a blog) never - ok, but I don't need to keep it:

Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live (2 cds), 1994 live double-album, last heard (in a blog) 8/13/2021 - some Excellent Stuff!

Counting Crows - Echoes of The Outlaw Roadshow (2013), 2013 live album, last heard (in a blog) - 15 songs, some excellent stuff, some not so much:

Hothouse Flowers - People, 1988 debut album, last heard (in a blog) 5/23/2019 - I have "Home" and "Songs from the Rain", which are much better albums, so delete:

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/

Terrifying 25: Beaver Brook Trail

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - It has been almost 3 weeks since I did a hike, so it is time to hit the trail, and bag a "Terrifying 25" up west of Lincoln, NH: "Beaver Brook Trail".

On the map:
Yellow = "Required", have not climbed
Blue = "Optional", have not climbed
Green = "Have Climbed"

I have climbed 16 of them:

I'll be going up "Beaver Brook Trail" for 1.5 plus 0.4 plus 1.5 miles. The Trail dead-ends into "Benton Trail", but since it is only 0.4 miles to "Mt Moosilauke", let's go for The Summit. At 4802 feet, Mt. Moosilauke is one of "New Hampshire's 4000 footers", and you can read my Sept. 18, 2014 blog here. After The Summit I turn around and head back down 3.8 miles back to the parking lot (7.6 miles round-trip):

I started the day with a nice 6:30 AM walk on Singing Beach:

After breakfast I kissed my wife goodbye and headed up the road - 150 miles in 2-and-1/2 hours, and was in the parking lot at 11:30

Oh, what is that white fuzzy stuff in the upper-left?

I was on The Trail at 11:35

At 13 minutes into The Hike (0.33 miles), I started up alongside Beaver Brook:

4 minutes higher, the waterfalls were ROARING:

The Trail gets a little funky, and I can see why it is on the "Terrifying 25" list (note the iron railing in the rock):

You keep going up (slowly - although the first 1/2 mile took 21 minutes, the next 1/2 mile took 34 minutes):

And then the funny white stuff starts appearing:

Because I was working, I was not cold, and I had my hiking-hat to keep the sleet/snow-melt off me. Going higher, The Trail gets tricky in some places:

Looking east across Jobildunc Ravine at the "Asquam Ridge Trail" area:

Up at the end of "Beaver Brook Trail" (and its intersection with "Benton Trail") there was some blow-down:

No time to stop - just walk around it and keep heading up:

Did I mention that Wendy is back home opening the pool today.

The Summit is above The Tree Line, and the remnants of winter still abound, including wind-blown ice-caked signs:

The Summit at 2:41 (yes, that is a couple of people having lunch down behind the rock):

Heading back down into the woods:

Near as I can figure, this was the summit of "Mt. Blue":

At that point I was about 2-and-1/2 miles from the parking lot. I was Very Careful going down the trail - it was slick, and every step needed attention. Unfortunately, at about 1/2 mile from the bottom, I stepped on a log that was neither as dry as it should have been, nor as flat as it should have been, and I wiped out, spraining my right ankle. I hobbled back to the car and drove home (hey, cruise control on both 93 and 128). X-rays Thursday morning showed NO BREAK, but I did get A BOOT:

At least that has given me the opportunity to finish the jigsaw puzzle:

I finished at 6 PM, hiking almost 8 miles in 6 hours 25 minutes - VERY HARD hike (because every step needed attention):

I grabbed dinner in Concord, NH, and got home by 9, in time for a hot bath. Thank You God for guarding and guiding me, and allowing me to come out of this with only a sprained ankle! Beach in the morning, Mountains in the afternoon!

For my listening pleasure today:

starting my day with jazz - Miles Davis - Seven Steps to Heaven, 1963 album, last heard never (this was when Miles started working with Herbie Hancock [piano], Ron Carter [bass], and Tony Williams [drums]):

Rickie Lee Jones - The Devil You Know, 2012 album, last heard never - an album of covers, including "Sympathy for the Devil", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "The Weight", "Reason to Believe", "Seems Like a Long Time", and "Catch the Wind":

Simple Minds - Once Upon a Time, 1985 album, last heard never - really good album, prequel to their double-live-album Live in the City of Light:

The Decemberists - I'll Be Your Girl, 2018 album, last heard never:

Paul McCartney - Ram, 1971 2nd solo album, last heard 3/07/2017 - still sounds good:

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Rastaman Vibration, 1976 album, last heard 3/07/2017 - excellent Bob Marley reggae:

Dave Matthews Band - Recently (EP), 1994 live album, last heard 8/10/2022 - I really like these 5 live songs:

1 - "Recently" (Edit 2)
2 - "Dancing Nancies"
3 - "Warehouse"
4 - "All Along the Watchtower"
5 - "Halloween"

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/