Category Archives: Hiking

Go Outdoors, Whatever the Weather May Bring

Catherine: Back in early May, despite the weather reports, Andrew and I decided that we would go through with our plan to bike and camp the Cape Cod Rail Trail; a 26-mile route that goes from Dennis to Wellfleet. The weather didn’t lie, and it rained a lot, although we had pretty good luck with timing. We were able to set up our tent site at Nickerson State Park right before it downpoured. But then it basically rained the entire rest of our trip – stopping, of course, as soon as we reached the car Sunday morning.

Our campsite arrival

After setting up our site

Reaching Coast Guard beach

Andrew’s fire starting skills were tested in the rain, and he passed.

Andrew: Biking in and out of Nickerson was the hilliest part, but after we diverged from the rail trail and headed for Coast Guard beach was when it really turned into an adventure. The winds picked up and threatened to blow us over.

We met up with some of Catherine’s friends in the evening who were kind enough to provide us with comfort foods: delicious snacks and beers.

All in all a great weekend, despite the rain.

Sea of Change

Don’t worry, Winter is still here. Due to some constraints and the rain up north last week, Catherine and I spent the day hiking instead, while I wait for Mt. Washington to recover.

Catherine showed me a side of Cape Cod I wasn’t familiar with, including some trails outside of the tourist trap, left especially empty since it’s so early in the season. It was a great day for a low-key adventure without the crowds.

First we checked out a trail down one of the prominent sand deposition features down the Cape. We saw plenty of wildlife and soaked up the views while skipping stones as we walked down the shore.

We wandered through scraggly trees and found our way back to the shore.

Next we went down the street to an entirely different locale, almost like something out of fiction.

I couldn’t believe there was so much variety packed into such a small area of the Cape. Hopefully our trip doesn’t usher in the warm weather yet though, I haven’t nearly gotten my fill of touring, and spring skiing has barely begun!

If anyone is interested in repeating this hike, I’ll update with some clues, but I don’t want to give it all away without a bit of googling.

Not Much Skiing to be Had? Time for a Hike

The time was ripe for a nice weekend hike two weeks ago. Prior to the big storm we just got in NE, the snow situation was getting a bit depressing.

We picked our target-Cannon, and packed for a two-day stay on Fraconia ridge. We started the hike along with a big group decked out in the latest and greatest REI gear, and set out at a steady pace for the AMC hut at Lonesome Lake. When we reached the Lake about an hour later, there were a number of other people gathered, like us, excited to be there. We could see the hut just peaking out from the trees across the lake.

Takin’ a short break at the Lake

Catherine, as we reached Lonesome Lake.

The view from our bunkroom

We quickly got to the lodge to warm up, and drop our gear in a bunkroom, so we could start up the High Cannon trail to the summit. We knew we were in for a bit of an adventure when the only set of tracks ahead of us were a single trail of crampon points, though armed with microspikes, we steadily ascended.

Soon we burst out of the trees onto a cliff trail, ascending via worn 12+ ft ladder. The trail then flattened out through thick woods.

It felt very secluded nearing the top of Cannon.

At the summit, it was cold. Blowing snow clung to the lookout tower, and the lifts on the Cannon resort side were nearly empty at 2pm. There was one other couple at the top, who kindly took our photo….12 times.

One of…several shots at the peak.

I tried getting a better look at the slides, across the notch, but they looked pretty gnarly. Hopefully the situation is quickly changing this week.

Attempting to scope out the slides across the ridge as the fog rolled in.

As soon as we started the descent, we were excited about the thought of warming up at the hut, but the trail made for very slow going. Water ice covering the steep trail met us at every turn, causing me to bushwhack around more than once.

This was the actual trail, descending on the kinsman side. We had to bushwhack around.

A trail junction on the hike back.

We decided to mosey back to the hut rather than continue to North Kinsman, due to the fact I’d heard of no fewer than 4 separate groups saying they’d attempted the trail and were turned back.

Back at the lake enjoying the afternoon

Back at the lake we snacked and watched some kids play on the ice. The hut was Catherine’s favorite part. It was filled with Boy Scouts playing games, their leaders, one other couple, and a very over prepared group of eight. We shared food, exchanged stories, and generally had a great time. The lone caretaker was hard at work, providing hot water and keeping things moving.

Perusing some old logbook,s we discovered the origins of ‘tweeting’

In the un-heated bunk-rooms we threw on layers and arranged my assortment of sleeping bags, since neither of us own a winter bag. Luckily it worked out, and in the morning we rolled out of back, had a hearty breakfast with some warming tea, and headed out.

Daybreak across the ridge

The morning brought clear skies and warmer temps, making for a beautiful hike out.

Although we were cautious at first, after 30-50 people made it across the lake, we walked straight across in the morning.

Looking back at the Hut on the hike out.

Tucks and Lion’s Head Trails

The objectives were two fold: peep some leaves and get in another more pre-season conditioning climb up a big mountain. The weather was essentially horrendous, with visibility approaching nil at the summit and winds gusting in the 60s, to say nothing of the driving rain. Despite the inclement weather I was rewarded with a few glimpses out of the Ravine and across the Notch. These are the ones that made the cut: