Dennis Dixon is heading North!

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!

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, September 19, 2024

52 With A View: Mount Martha (Cherry Mtn.)

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024 - This is a zoomed-in map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View" - I have climbed 30 of them so far (green). I'll make it to Mount Martha (Cherry Mtn.) today (yellow):

A nice Good Day-Hike:

I left my Breakfast-in-Boston at 8:45 AM:

And was up at the trailhead at noon:

Real pretty going up The Trail, with a babbling brook down to the right keeping me company:

After an hour, I noticed The Trail had a lot more vertical to it:

10 minutes later I was up at the intersection with the trail that went up to Mount Martha (Cherry Mtn.):

10 minutes after that I was up at The Viewpoint for Mount Martha (Cherry Mtn.):

Well, this was nice, but my 52-With-A-View book says: "The best viewpoint along the Cherry Mountain ridge is not from Mt. Martha itself, but from neighboring Owl's Head, reached by "Martha's Mile Trail". The true summit of Owl's Head is wooded with a few restricted viewpoints, but open ledges just below the summit provide one of the most scenic vistas in the White Mountains." Since it is only 1:20 in the afternoon, Owl's Head is my next stop! "Martha's Mile Trail" is a nice trail:

Over at Owl's Head I found a USGS Marker:

And the The Ledges were RIGHT THERE:

I even had another hiker up there, who had taken the trail down from the north:

I was done for the day, so I hit Owl's Head, and back to Mount Martha's "true summit" (with support girders for the long-gone fire tower):

I left there at 2:23, and was back at my car at 3:05 (5.09 miles):

At 6:45 I was back at Singing Beach:

PRETTY COOL - climb a mountain in New Hampshire, and swim at Singing Beach, BOTH IN ONE DAY!!! Thank You God for this wonderful "52 With A View" day!

For my listening pleasure today:

The Beatles - The Beatles' Second Album, 1964 2nd album, last heard 10/03/2016 - 11 songs in 26 minutes 25 seconds. 6 covers, plus 5 Lennon/McCartney songs:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?, 1967 debut album, last heard 10/05/2016 - yea, it stills sounds good:

Q-Burns Abstract Message - Oeuvre, 1998 3rd album, last heard 10/09/2016, house/trance music - I like it:

After the hike:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love, 1967 2nd album, last heard 10/03/2016 - yes, their SECOND ALBUM IN THE SAME YEAR (1967)! The Music Business moved fast back in the '60s. And YES, it still sounds great:

Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky, 1974 3rd album, last heard 10/02/2016 - a wonderful album:

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, recorded 1979, released 2021, last heard NEVER. On September 21 and 22, 1979, at Madison Square Garden, Bruce and The Band were "headliners" (among dozens of other performers) at the No Nukes Concerts (the organizers specifically told the media that Bruce would play for over an hour at each show). Wendy and I saw the show on the first night (Sept. 21), and the whole concert was awesome! This download contains all of the unique songs they played over the 2 nights, amounting to 13 songs (90 minutes) of ON FIRE MUSIC! What can I say - just "roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair":