Dennis Dixon is heading North!

Thursday, October 17, 2024

52 With A View: not Mount Avalon & not Mount Willard

Thursday, October 17, 2024 - This is a zoomed-in map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View" - only 20 left (yellow). I HOPE TO make it to Mount Avalon & Mount Willard today:

They are 2 separate mountains, but they are very close and can be hiked in a single afternoon.

It is a BEAUTIFUL Fall Day in New Hampshire! I felt really cocky when I saw Mount Washington and The Presidentials "up there" with snow on them - thank goodness I'm not hiking any 4,000 footers today! Just a couple of them little old 52-with-a-view mountains

I parked just south of the AMC Highland Center, across from Saco Lake:

You walk up the railroad tracks a little bit, then cut left onto The Trail:

It's going to be an easy day - 3.6 miles round-trip to Mt. Avalon, then 3.2 miles round-trip to Mt. Willard.

Lovely trail-in-the-woods:

I crossed over a pretty brook:

Mmmm, I started seeing this "white stuff":

I had passed the pair of hikers by the time I hit the "spur-trail" for Mt. Avalon (only 1/2 mile to go!):

3 minutes later I was at the bottom of the rock-climbing-trail:

At the top of this slide, THE TRAIL DISAPPEARED.

The area inside the rectangle is on the north-side of the mountain, meaning THE SNOW DIDN'T MELT. It was 2-to-3 inches on the ground, with snow-ladened fir tree branches, all closely packed together. I bushwacked FOR AN HOUR (soaking wet), and made it back to The Trail, and quit and headed home:

He who hikes and runs away, lives to hike another day. In comparing "my bushwack" with "The Trail", I didn't bushwack East enough, or South enough to hit The Trail. See you in Springtime!

A pretty view in Danvers as I made my way home for dinner:

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

For my listening pleasure today:

Scarlet Haven - Paleologos, 1999 2nd album, last heard 10/09/2016 - Courtney Reid's Rock Band - I really like their 3 albums:

Steely Dan - Countdown To Ecstasy, 1973 2nd album, last heard 10/09/2016 - wonderful album - I'm a fan:

Bonnie Raitt - Give It Up, 1972 2nd album, last heard 10/10/2016. On March 30, 1973 I saw Bonnie (with Little Feat opening) at Irvine Auditorium (Univ. of Pennsylvania) [that was a fun rabbit-hole finding out that date]. She was a solo artist, great show, and was joined by Little Feat for her encore. In the set, she asked for requests - from the 4th or 5th row, I shouted out "Jesus Cried", which is the opening of "Too Long at the Fair", and she said "Sure":

Jesus cried, wept and died
I guess He went up to heaven
I've been downtown such a long, long time
I'll never make it home by seven

Diana Krall - Only Trust Your Heart, 1995 2nd album, last heard 10/10/2016 - I like her music:

After the hike:

Dido - Life For Rent, 2003 2nd album, last heard 10/10/2016 - I like her music:

George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Move It On Over, 1978 2nd album, last heard 10/10/2016 - WOW - I want to learn to play "Who Do You Love?" by Bo Diddley:

John Mayer - Heavier Things, 2003 2nd album, last heard 10/11/2016:

Bill Morrissey - North, 1986 2nd album, last heard 10/12/2016. Never fails to shed a tear:

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/

Thursday, October 3, 2024

52 With A View: Welch & Dickey Mountains

Thursday, October 3, 2024 - This is a zoomed-in map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View" - I have climbed 31 of them so far (green). I'll make it to Welch & Dickey Mountains today:

Although they are 2 separate mountains, they are counted as a single entry because of The (relatively short) Loop Trail that crosses both peaks.

What a WONDERFUL Day-Hike - 4.2 miles in 2 hours 19 minutes:

As opposed to last week (RAINY), it was clear and sunny. I was up at The Trailhead at 11 AM (along with a few other people):

1 Mile in, keep going up, but a lot of nice steps have been laid:

Wow - at 1.3 miles (40 minutes) I hit the First Main Ledge - we all agreed it is a Wonderful Day:

Looking left up into Waterville Valley, and then to the right:

Turn around and see where I am going next:

It is fun making my way across the ledges, and appreciating the views:

Getting near the summit of Welch Mountain:

The Summit at 12:10

Looking across The Valley to see where I was 2 weeks ago:

Looking north - Dickey Mountain - my next stop:

A nice hike through the col:

I hit Dickey Mountain at 12:30 (along with some firends):

Looking northeast at Mount Tecumseh - my 1st 4000-footer (read that blog here):

I couldn't find the back/side-trail off Dickey Mountain, so I headed down, following cairns and 3 guys ahead of me:

People were just hanging out on a big ledge, with a wonderful view down into the Fall Foliage:

I was back into The Forest 4 miles into the hike:

I was back at my car at 1:23 - GREAT HIKE!

Leaving the area, it was beautiful crossing over Mad River:

What a LOVELY Day! Thank You God for this wonderful "52 With A View" day!

For my listening pleasure today:

Afro Celt Sound System - Volume 2: Release, 1999 2nd album, last heard 10/08/2016 - really cool combination of Celtic music with Africian vibes. Having said that, I have 3 of their albums and should probably delete one:

Avicii - True, 2013 debut album, last heard 11/12/2016 - to quote wikipedia "It may be a sprawling hodge-podge, but all this works more often than you'd expect.":

After the hike:

Walter Becker - 11 Tracks of Whack, 1994 debut solo album, last heard 11/12/2016 - Donald Fagen supports on this cd, and it sounds good:

The Steve Miller Band - Your Saving Grace, 1969 4th album, last heard 6/25/2024 - a wonderful album:

Augustines - Augustines, 2014 2nd album, last heard 2/27/2017. I saw these guys on July 20, 2012 - they (and Field Report) opened for Counting Crows at the South Shore Music venue in Cohasset - everybody did GREAT sets!