Paddling on Lake Sunapee

Our final day of vacation we took our new canoe to Lake Sunapee Harbor. The night before we had Sophie climb into the canoe {on dry land} just to make sure she wouldn't freak out on us. She seemed fine, so we proceeded with the plan to take her out on the lake.

Since it was the middle of the week we had the lake to ourselves. Sophie initially seemed nervous but calmed down as we paddled away from dry land.

The lake is beautiful {we just stayed in the harbor, but it is a truly beautiful area}. On our way out, we had a tailwind which made us a bit nervous about what paddling back in would be like.

Sophie kept moving from one side of the boat to the other which meant the boat rocked quite a bit. Thankfully she didn't jump out.

We ordered nice life jackets from REI that will be shipped to our house, but for New England we stuck with cheaper PFD from Walmart. Daniel and I disagreed on what kind to buy, so we purchased two different kinds. We also ordered a jacket for Sophie {we had purchased one at REI that was too big}. Future canoe trips, we will make sure she has a jacket on so we don't have to be nervous if she decides to jump in.

Normally we wouldn't wear life jackets the entire time, but Sophie was rocking the boat a lot and the water was pretty cold so we decided to keep our life vests on just in case we ended up flipping the boat.

Halfway through our trip Sophie decided she wanted in the front with me. So I carefully manuevered her around my seat so that she could sit in the bow. We think she just likes to be in the front. For her, canoeing is similar to hanging her head out of the car window: she gets good views and a strong wind in her face.

Paddling back to the dock was easier than we expected, though it did take some effort and there were a couple of times we thought Sophie would jump out, but she didn't.

We had a lovely time paddling on Lake Sunapee. We were sure to get off of the lake before 2PM when bad weather was supposed to roll in. A good call on our part since most of the afternoon we were under a tornado watch – not something we expected to encounter in New England!

Sophie Learns to Swim

Tuesday night of our vacation, we headed to Woodstock, VT with intentions of grabbing sandwiches at the Woodstock Farmers' Market. Unfortunately they stopped serving sandwiches at 4:00PM. So we drove back to the White Cottage Snack Bar that we had seen just up the road.

The Snack Bar had one window where you could order all things ice cream related and another where you could order food {mostly fried}. I went with the Fried Scallops and French Fries {a Vermont favorite according to the menu board} and Daniel ordered a Fish Sandwich. Our meals were a bit pricey, but good for "snack bar" fare.

I splurged on a waffle cone with a scoop of Maine Black Bear, a scoop of Caramel Caribou and a scoop of Moose Tracks. This cone was totally worth the $4 price tag.

One of the things we really liked about the snack bar was that you eat outside and there was a place for dogs to roam and play in the river. 

Daniel and Sophie ventured into the water and before we knew it Sophie was actually swimming for the first time! When we first got her, she refused to walk across running water of any kind or get anything other than her paws wet. This was quite the accomplishment. 

She didn't panic until she made it into the current {which was not swift}. Daniel had her on the leash so she was fine, but she clung to a rock in the middle of the river for dear life when she got there!

We are so proud of her. This makes us feel better about our future plans to stick her in a canoe with us...

Quechee Gorge

After our long day of hiking we opted to sleep in and take it easy. Over breakfast we discussed what we learned about hiking Mount Washington and what we could do better in the future.

For lunch we made our way to Dana's By the Gorge. After reviewing the menu, we asked our server how big the burgers were. He said "big" so we decided to split the Danaburger. Unfortunately our server's idea of "big" and our idea of "big" are not the same.

Since the burger was not as big as we anticipated, we opted to try the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp for dessert – Daniel had never heard of rhubarb before and now he is a fan.

Overall, we really enjoyed Dana's.

After eating we made our way down to the Quechee Gorge to view "Vermont's Little Grand Canyon." I feel like every state tries to claim their own version of the grand canyon... 

It is a pretty canyon that is best viewed from the bridge. You can hike about a mile alongside it, but we were content with the bridge view {we get a break since we just climbed Mount Washington}.

Chance Encounter

{image via}*

So, you may be wondering what happened after Daniel and I split up on the trail. Sophie and I rode down the mountain in a shuttle bus. The views of the Presidential Range were stunning and I had my own personal tour guide. Sadly I didn't get to share this experience with Daniel. The 7-mile drive to the bottom took about 40 minutes {the shuttle driver was also responsible for making sure everyone was off the mountain as the Mountain Washington Auto Road closes every night at 6PM}.

At the bottom of the mountain, I paid my shuttle charge, grabbed some local tour guide pamphlets and got comfortable on a wooden bench and waited.

While I waited, lots of worst-case scenarios kept popping into my head. Most involved Daniel having an unexpected encounter with an animal and/or getting hurt trying to make it down the mountain. I had to work hard not to let my brain panic too much.

Right about dusk I noticed that Sophie was getting really nervous and upset. I tried to verbally calm her down. Then I looked across the parking lot and saw a bear lumbering towards us. OH.MY.GOODNESS. I tried my best not to panic. Sophie started barking like a maniac and I let her. I made sure I had control of her leash and moved us both over to a wall behind a bench. With Sophie's leash in one hand, I picked up my trekking poles with the other hand {I was planning to use them as a make-shift weapon if necessary. I also had pepper spray in my pocket}.

From my vantage point, the bear appeared to be about 4-ft tall at the shoulder. Thankfully it was not a fan of Sophie's barking and it wandered away from us {the closest it got was about 120 feet from us}. It just sauntered away and Sophie kept barking and snorting and I let her. After that my heart was pounding and I was terribly nervous about more encounters.

Sophie barked and sputtered at every little shadow and I had to work hard to keep us both calm. Before I knew it, it was dark and I passed the time singing songs, hoping that my voice would keep any critters from bothering us. I have never been so thankful as I was when I got the phone call from Daniel saying that he had made it to the car and was on his way to pick me up. Praise the Lord. I was ready to be in the safety of the car and back with him again.

I can now mark #100 off of my life list...

*The picture above is not one I took, since it was dusk lighting was poor and I was more concerned with me and Sophie's safety than I was with pulling out my camera. I admit I considered the camera, but not enough to get it out.

The Rock Pile

One of the draws of New England for this particular trip was Mount Washington. It is the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi {behind Mount Mitchel, NC and Clingmon's Dome, TN}. But because of its location, it has alpine terrain and some of the most brutal weather in the world. Up until recently, it held the record for highest observed wind gust of 231 miles per hour.

The reason this mountain is a draw is that it is a high point in one of the 50 states {#5 on my life list}. Coming to New England meant a chance to bag it and see some beautiful scenery.

Upon further research, I came across warnings about weather {Backpacker named it one of America's Ten Most Dangerous Hikes} and the brutal steepness of the trail. One post I read described New Hampshire as not knowing how to build a switchback... they just build their trails straight up the side of the mountain – this is no lie.

So with this information in hand, we began planning our hike. Daniel and I have been hiking for decades. We are experienced and in decent shape. That being said, I am also pregnant and we wanted to make sure that weather wouldn't be an issue. We also had Sophie to consider.

The night before our intended hike, we realized that the weather observetory was calling for rain and fog early in the morning, but it was to clear up that afternoon {normally bad weather rolls in later in the day}, so we planned to make a later start than we normally would have.

After sleeping in and packing our gear, we were at the trailhead parking lot, ready to make our summit bid at 12:30 PM. We were greeted by a staunch warning about weather and the importance of being prepared. We felt prepared and headed out onto the Jewel Trail.

The Jewel is the easiest of the trails that ascend Washington. That being said, it climbs 2,800 in 3.5 miles. The mosquitoes and tiny black flies were brutal – we really couldn't stop to break without being eaten.

Once we made it to the Alpine Zone, the bugs disappeared and we enjoyed amazing views. We climbed through scrub for a little while before reaching a boulder field and the Gulfside Trail leading to the summit.

The Gulfside Trail tacks on another 1.7 miles and an additional 1,000 feet of elevation gain. At this point you are fully exposed and your "trail" is all a huge boulder field {the boulders are the reason it is called The Rock Pile}.

At one point we considered turning back for Sophie's sake – she was struggling with picking a route over some of the bigger boulders. But she was a champ and we kept going.

We passed many people coming down the trail. They all looked fresh – like they had just stepped off of a train... We are guessing they road the Cog Train up the mountain and walked down.

The weather was perfect all afternoon.

Daniel and Sophie were making good time, but I was really struggling with speed on those boulders. I am slow going up steep sections of hill and this entire trip was just that, a big continuous hill. In addition I am pregnant and really had to think about every step because of balance and fatigue.

We briefly discussed turning back, but we were so close to the top that we thought we should go ahead and approach the summit. Part of our reasoning was there would be a chance that we could ride the railway back down OR possibly hitch a ride from the people who drive to the top to visit the observatory and experience the high winds.

So we pushed on.

And on.

We both finally reached the top after 5 hours of hiking {mostly because I was slow}. We decided to check about the railway so I went to speak to the ranger. Unfortunately, the last train had left 20 minutes before we arrived – we had actually watched it go down the mountain and we both knew that we had probably missed it.

The ranger told me about the possibility of riding a shuttle down, but it was on the other side of the mountain and we wouldn't have a way to get to our car. This put us in a bit of a bind. We quickly discussed and agreed that Sophie and I should ride down and Daniel would hike. 

It was a hard decision, but since it was late in the day, I was tired and we didn't know how Sophie would do climbing down the boulders, we decided it was the best option. Daniel could make it down the mountain fastest without us and we would wait at the Mount Washington Auto Road tour guide post.

Thankfully Daniel made good time down the mountain, but it was a nerve-wracking separation for both of us. Splitting up was not our preference, but it was the best choice.

Mount Washington is dangerous {like any mountain or outdoor activity} because the weather can change on a dime. The day we were there, the winds were blowing 65mph at the top. You have to be prepared. We were prepared for weather, but we didn't make the wisest decisions about time. If we had left earlier in the day, we would not had to make the difficult decision to separate. In the wilderness you have to be smart and on top of your game ALL of the time.

We learned a lot from Mount Washington.

--- Highest Points I have been to at the time of this post: Mt. Magazine, AR; Mt. Elbert, CO; Mt. Mitchel, NC; Mt. Rogers, VA; Clingman's Dome, TN; Mt. Washington, NH ---

Live Free or Die

One of our first days in New Hampshire, Daniel noticed the state motto on a license plate:

"Live Free or Die." I think he is ready to move here.

{image via}

Sovenier From Vermont...

One thing we have noticed in Vermont is the abundance of Subarus {we fit right in}. The other thing we noticed is the plethora of canoes and kayaks atop of these Subarus {and other vehicles}.

On a whim, Daniel decided to check out local Craigslist postings. We have been considering buying a canoe for a while, but haven't found the right opportunity yet. Well, that opportunity presented itself on day #2 in Vermont. Initially we went back and forth because of having to haul it home, but on the plus side we can use it while we are here.

We found a great deal on a Mad River Canoe in LondonDerry, NH {just outside of Boston}. Daniel contacted the seller and left a message. We didn't hear back right away so we decided to go hiking. We were 30 minutes from our trailhead when we received the call that the canoe was available. Score.

We turned around and headed south. The canoe is 16-feet long {so it will accommodate Sophie}. It has only been used a few times and the paddles and a Yakima roof mounting system came with the boat. We are stoked to get it on the water.