P
Paulthenurse
Guest
So I managed to talk Ishouldknowbetter into coming backpacking with me for my 45th birthday. We've gone hiking together before, we did a nice trip in August up Stratton Mt, down to Stratton Pond and back out. And we've even gone out in winter before, a few weeks ago I talked her into heading up to Crawford Notch where we climbed up Willey's Slide. (The look on her face when I pulled a harness festooned with ice screws out of the trunk is why she got the moniker Ishouldknowbetter! "It's just like climbing on rock. Well, ok, it's nothing at all like climbing on rock but you'll be fine. Let's practice self arresting with the ice axe first. Oh, I didn't mention about the ice axes? They're like crampons for your hands... I did mention crampons, right?")
So we stop at REI in Reading on the way up on Sunday, and get Ishouldknowbetter a pair of rental plastic boots, complete with crampons. She had worn them when we went ice climbing, even said she liked how they kept her feet nice and warm. We also picked her up a warm bag for the trip. I couldn't convince her that you don't need five changes of clothing for a three day trip, and she couldn't convince me that I needed a second, so we agreed to disagree on that one. Pack the car and it's off to NH.
We get to the parking area for Zealand on Rt 302 around 4:30pm, divie up the food, stuff the last minute stuff into pockets and head out. We're walking up the road where we meet a couple of skiers coming out. They seemed shocked that anyone would be just starting out at 5:00+ in the afternoon. We made it about 2/3 of the way up Zealand road before it got fully dark, but the moon was already high in the sky, there were few clouds and we were even casting shadows from the moonlight. At my fastest, a herd of arthritic turtles would have me looking over my shoulder, wearing snowshoes, then crampons, then back to snowshoes, and carrying a pack, there are some glaciers that move faster than I do. We make it to the bottom of the hill leading up to the hut by around 8 and grunted our way up the final 1/4 mile to find about a dozen high school kids and their teachers in residence. Ishouldknowbetter is giving me THE LOOK. You know that look! It's the "You dragged me out into the woods in the middle of winter, in the middle of the night, tie an axe, an AXE for Gods sake, onto my already overloaded backpack, make me climb up an icey cliff and bring me to a cabin filled with teenaged boys?" look. Ya, THAT look. I figured that I'd wait till after I made dinner to tell her that we wouldn't just be sharing a cabin with those boys, we would also be sharing a bedroom. Did I mention that the bedroom wasn't heated? And the only bunks not taken are on the top row. Hey, this will be fun! Right? Oh, and about the bathroom...
So after an early night, ("They turn the lights out at 9:00? You're kidding, right?,") it's off to bed. I feel this is probably as good a time as any to apologise to anyone with whom I have shared sleeping arrangement over the years. In particular, I feel bad for my ex-wife, who slept next to me for 18 years and hardly ever complained about my snoring. The teacher who slept directly underneath me was shaking the windows with his snores. Nice guy, but man!!!! Was he ever sawing logs!!! It's unbelievable that that much noise could come out of someone who was asleep!
Anyways, morning comes, and we head out to Zealand Mt. The trail was well broken out but it was quiet warm and the snow was balling up terribly in our crampons. It took me a little doing but I finally managed to convince Ishouldknowbetter to wear the one pair of snowshoes that we brought. General concensus around the breakfast table was that snowshoes wouldn't be needed, enough people had gone thru that way so that the trail would be packed down. Big mistake. The high school boys had taken off before us and torn the trail to shreds as they raced to the top. By the time we were heading down to the saddle between Zealand and Guyot I was about ready to call it a day, but Ishouldknwbetter was a woman possessed. There was no turning back, we were going to Guyot and from the look on her face, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Bondcliff. Once we made the top of Guyot, I pulled out my stove, boiled up some water, and made some soup for lunch. We sat there, gazing out over the back side of the Franconia ridge and enjoyed the 40 degree day, snapping plenty of pictures of the beautiful Pemi Wilderness. Eventually we decided to head back to the hut. We made it back in plenty of time to sit around and shoot the breeze with the Tinman, watch the sun dip over the ridge and rest up.
In the morning, Tinman did a neat thing. We were on the porch in the morning, watching the sun come up, when I mentioned that this was a great way to spend a birthday. After we finished breakfast, Tinman disapeared into the Croo Quarters and emerged a few minutes later with a candle melted onto a Hershey bar, and got the whole place singing Happy Birthday to me. A nice touch by a great guy.
Oh, and if I ever have to be in a cabin with 10 teenaged boys again, I couldn't hope to be with a nicer bunch of kids than the boys from the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA.
As for Ishouldknowbetter, she say's she'll go on vacation with me again, but she's planning the next one and there will be a whole lot more sand than snow.
PTN
So we stop at REI in Reading on the way up on Sunday, and get Ishouldknowbetter a pair of rental plastic boots, complete with crampons. She had worn them when we went ice climbing, even said she liked how they kept her feet nice and warm. We also picked her up a warm bag for the trip. I couldn't convince her that you don't need five changes of clothing for a three day trip, and she couldn't convince me that I needed a second, so we agreed to disagree on that one. Pack the car and it's off to NH.
We get to the parking area for Zealand on Rt 302 around 4:30pm, divie up the food, stuff the last minute stuff into pockets and head out. We're walking up the road where we meet a couple of skiers coming out. They seemed shocked that anyone would be just starting out at 5:00+ in the afternoon. We made it about 2/3 of the way up Zealand road before it got fully dark, but the moon was already high in the sky, there were few clouds and we were even casting shadows from the moonlight. At my fastest, a herd of arthritic turtles would have me looking over my shoulder, wearing snowshoes, then crampons, then back to snowshoes, and carrying a pack, there are some glaciers that move faster than I do. We make it to the bottom of the hill leading up to the hut by around 8 and grunted our way up the final 1/4 mile to find about a dozen high school kids and their teachers in residence. Ishouldknowbetter is giving me THE LOOK. You know that look! It's the "You dragged me out into the woods in the middle of winter, in the middle of the night, tie an axe, an AXE for Gods sake, onto my already overloaded backpack, make me climb up an icey cliff and bring me to a cabin filled with teenaged boys?" look. Ya, THAT look. I figured that I'd wait till after I made dinner to tell her that we wouldn't just be sharing a cabin with those boys, we would also be sharing a bedroom. Did I mention that the bedroom wasn't heated? And the only bunks not taken are on the top row. Hey, this will be fun! Right? Oh, and about the bathroom...
So after an early night, ("They turn the lights out at 9:00? You're kidding, right?,") it's off to bed. I feel this is probably as good a time as any to apologise to anyone with whom I have shared sleeping arrangement over the years. In particular, I feel bad for my ex-wife, who slept next to me for 18 years and hardly ever complained about my snoring. The teacher who slept directly underneath me was shaking the windows with his snores. Nice guy, but man!!!! Was he ever sawing logs!!! It's unbelievable that that much noise could come out of someone who was asleep!
Anyways, morning comes, and we head out to Zealand Mt. The trail was well broken out but it was quiet warm and the snow was balling up terribly in our crampons. It took me a little doing but I finally managed to convince Ishouldknowbetter to wear the one pair of snowshoes that we brought. General concensus around the breakfast table was that snowshoes wouldn't be needed, enough people had gone thru that way so that the trail would be packed down. Big mistake. The high school boys had taken off before us and torn the trail to shreds as they raced to the top. By the time we were heading down to the saddle between Zealand and Guyot I was about ready to call it a day, but Ishouldknwbetter was a woman possessed. There was no turning back, we were going to Guyot and from the look on her face, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Bondcliff. Once we made the top of Guyot, I pulled out my stove, boiled up some water, and made some soup for lunch. We sat there, gazing out over the back side of the Franconia ridge and enjoyed the 40 degree day, snapping plenty of pictures of the beautiful Pemi Wilderness. Eventually we decided to head back to the hut. We made it back in plenty of time to sit around and shoot the breeze with the Tinman, watch the sun dip over the ridge and rest up.
In the morning, Tinman did a neat thing. We were on the porch in the morning, watching the sun come up, when I mentioned that this was a great way to spend a birthday. After we finished breakfast, Tinman disapeared into the Croo Quarters and emerged a few minutes later with a candle melted onto a Hershey bar, and got the whole place singing Happy Birthday to me. A nice touch by a great guy.
Oh, and if I ever have to be in a cabin with 10 teenaged boys again, I couldn't hope to be with a nicer bunch of kids than the boys from the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA.
As for Ishouldknowbetter, she say's she'll go on vacation with me again, but she's planning the next one and there will be a whole lot more sand than snow.
PTN
