Saturday 8/16

tMail is motivating... we're on the move... ideas are coming ... stay tuned.

my maps have been gathering dust, but from memory, here are some of mutha's suggestions (old ideas that keep floating around). these are all pretty big hikes:

• from rte 112 outside of north woodstock, in Kinsman Notch, take Kinsman Ridge trail north all the way over the Kinsmans, Cannon and end at Cannon Mtn parking lot. requires spotting car. alternatively, take kinsman ridge trail north to South kinsman, turn around and head back to car. trail looks very different in either direction - doesn't feel like round-trip on same route.
  
• mt. carrigain (signal ridge) to nancy pond trail via stillwater junction. requires spotting a car. trail around nancy pond/norcross pond may be submerged.
• shoal pond/thoreau falls trail loop (from 302)
• signal ridge to wilderness to thoreau falls trail, ethan pond to rte 302. or the reverse of that. requires spotting a car.
• from the end of sawyer river road, hancock notch trail to cedar brook trail to wilderness to desolation to signal ridge and back to sawyer road. haven't counted, probably almost 25 miles.
• Hale brook to Hale, over Hale to Lend-a-hand, twinway, zeacliff, ethan pond, back to car.
• Rocky Branch (from Jericho Rd off 302 right before rte 16) to isolation trail to Davis path, davis path back to stairs mtn and stairs col trail, return to car.
• more to come ...

[Update 8/14/08] We're going Low Gear. We're turning our first post-Jay outing into more of a take-a-deep-breath and enjoy the sights kind of hike. tMail and I will probably be joined by at least three others including Spanky The Wonder Dog. The pace will be casual and the route may end up being different for different folks. The basic route will be:

• From Crawford Notch at the Mt. Clinton parking area (across the road from the AMC Lodge), take the Crawford Path north over Pierce & Eisenhower, return the same route.
• Variation 1: For those interested, continuing on and hitting Nixon and Monroe with an option for Lake of the Clouds.
• Variation 2: Return via the Dry River Wilderness and the Mt. Eisenhower cutoff to Mizpah Hut.

I'm going to be test-driving a brand-new pair of boots. Oh yeh, and for the record, the big-toenails I destroyed on each foot have been removed. I used a pair of needle-nosed pliers to pull them out since my tweezers couldn't grip hard enough. It didn't hurt that much, but my toes are a bit unprotected. I did a 40mile bike ride the same day and they got kind of sore, but not infected. I may post a photo. (Click toenail to enlarge.)

[Update 8/14, 9:30pm] Could have some thunderstorms on Saturday. Be prepared to seek shelter off the bare ridge.