disney4dan

I am avoiding the stores on Black Friday as well. I plan on hiking with a friend and getting some fresh air and sunshine before the snow flies.
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I am avoiding the stores on Black Friday as well. I plan on hiking with a friend and getting some fresh air and sunshine before the snow flies.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am avoiding the stores on Black Friday as well. I plan on hiking with a friend and getting some fresh air and sunshine before the snow flies.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was able to register myself and two kids.  Would not have done this race if we hadn't already had plans to be in Florida for a cruise that leaves that weekend.  Looking forward to this event!  Anyone else going to stop by to cheer on Jason, Sil, me and the kids?  I'll be easy to find, the 50+ yo guy running with a coffee mug and gasping for breath.

Finally caught up!  Great report TCD, but the Davy Crockett Ranch looks so sad, neglected and kind of like something out of a B movie.  I expect to see a hoard of Zombies lined up for gruel at the breakfast shack.

I am going to have to start putting some $$ away for a trip like this some day. Those photos are so nice!
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Love local camping. And long distance camping. And tent camping. And hammock camping. I like all camping!
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Regarding the cold nights - one thing that I discovered recently in scouts are the hand warmer pouches you can get at the bargain stores. They look sort of like tea bags, but generate heat for up to 6 hours when exposed to air. We use them for winter backpacking trips to warm up sleeping bags before climbing in. A lot less to pack
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Boots on the ground at MCO! Got a text that the room is ready, can go straight to the 90's bldg, 4th floor!
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Some of you will remember that Matt and I went on a hike last August to get used to backpacking in all the gear we would need for an overnight stay in the wilderness.  Matt is in Boy Scouts and I have had the pleasure of getting to learn a lot by hanging out with these guys and Matt.
 
Well, last years trip was a learning experience where we discovered that a comfortable pack was important.  The pack he was carrying did not fit right and he was uncomfortable shortly after we started.  On that trip we did get to the shelter, put on a lot of miles on the trail and overnighted in a really nice place.  BUT…, we never made the summit.
 
Two weeks later we returned to the area with the Boy Scout troop and climbed the same mountain (not a very challenging mountain either).  Matt was still not a happy camper after the prior attempt and stayed near the base working on orienteering skills with another group while I went with the rest of the kids and other adults to climb to the summit.  We made a rookie mistake of not verifying that each kid had enough water for the hike. Lesson to other adults out there, simply asking the kids if they have enough water is not enough.  Two of the kids that were in our group only had one small water bottle with them on a hot sunny day, and we had to turn around at about half a mile from the summit because the group was running low on water. 
 
So, over the winter we were complaining about our failures and decided we would have to give this a third try.  Matt is now a year older and growing like a weed.  One of his friends in the troop and his Dad (both were on the second attempt to summit) and the troop leader agreed that this would have to be planned.  So, starting in mid-February, we all put together our calendars and lined up a date to get the job done.
 
Our plan was to take the Piper Trail up to Penacook Shelter again, just a three mile hike, and set up camp mid day.  Then we would take off for the summit with just water and maybe a few other items and finish the last 1.5 miles without the 30 pounds on our backs.
 
We started from central MA at 7:00 on Sunday morning for the three hour drive up to the parking lot.  The weather was great on the way up and we were really stoked for this trip.  Matt and I had picked up two more modern packs through the scout shop last year during a fantastic clearance sale that our local scout outfitter told us about (two customizable Osprey packs that can be adjusted to different sizes over the years for less than a cost of a single pack at the local outfitters).
 
Some signs at the trail head:
 

 

 
Think the Fort will ever go to self service pay stations?  In case you are wondering, they do check and anyone who does not pay will get a hefty ticket or towed out of the parking lot.
 

 
As you can probably tell, the weather was great.  Temperatures in the high 70’s, partly cloudy with a little bit of a breeze.  After having three weeks of 90+ degree humid days, we were enjoying this change.  The trail starts out fairly well maintained with a gradual incline for the first mile or so.
 

 
We cross over brooks several times or near them on the climb.  Another reason why this hike is good for the first few pack trips – if you bring a filter you don’t need to carry a lot of water to drink.
 

 
 
And then we start to climb, gradually at first:
 

 
And then the real dreaded switchbacks as the trail gets steeper:
 

 

 
 
And higher we go, like stair climbing on rocks:
 
 

 
 
At last we reach the 3.1 mile mark where the junction to the spur trail takes off toward the shelter.  That is such a welcome relief to know we can drop 30 pounds at the shelter and finish with nothing but a water bottle!
 

 
But they don’t give up the shelter that easily, you have about a half mile scramble over little used or maintained trail to get there:
 

 
following little signs like the yellow paint on the tree (above photo) or small signs like this which are hard to notice if you aren’t looking for them:
 

 
Matt knows we are close, and is a lot happier on this trip:
 

 
Finally we get a break and take some time to eat lunch:
 

 
 
It was about this time that we notice clouds beginning to roll in, so we decide to head for the summit.  The radar (this side of the mountain also has spotty cell phone coverage and we could check the radar on our phones) shows some good rain heading east, but near the border of NH and VT, so we feel confident we can make it in time.
 
A pause along the ridge headed to the summit:
 

 
Then the clouds really roll in.  Matt pretending to be the character on the advertisement for the video game “Assassin’s Creed”:
 

 
 
And finally we find the highest point while wandering around in the clouds.  Sort of creepy but cool to have “fog” rolling around and partially obscuring your line of sight.  The peak of Chocorua seems very steep and very unusual for northeast mountains which tend to be round tops or not so steep.
 

 
Then we headed back down to start dinner before the rains come.  I grabbed a few more shots along the trails that run the ridge between Middle Sister Mountain and Chocorua:
 

 
I didn’t get any photos of dinner, but it was another one pot meal cooked over the alcohol stove followed by granola bars for desert hunkered down in the shelter while the rains pounded the metal roof.  One of the adults also brought out a surprise flask so that the adults could have a small celebratory toast of Jameson!  That hit the spot.  An added bonus of sleeping on a wood floor with very thin sleeping pads – the kids said none of us really snored that bad!  We typically snore so bad that the trees shake, but not this night!
 
It rained hard all night but we stayed dry in the shelter.  We had draped our rain fly tarps over the entrance to keep the blowing mist out and we were very comfortable.  I woke in time for sunrise the next morning and grabbed this shot while waiting for the coffee:
 

 
and the shelter:
 
 

 
Coffee above the clouds – can you smell the aroma?  Wish you were there?  I do.
 

 
 
We finished breakfast, grabbed our gear and some extra trash others left at the shelter and off we went to the base.
 

 
We always find a great local spot along the trip home to tank up after our camping trips and we stopped at a 50’s style diner for a brunch at noon. 
 

 
And what would a trip report be without pood forn?  Useless in my mind, so here is the long awaited obligatory shot of Matt’s small little nosh called the Cadillac special.  He finished.  I paid J
 

 
It’s not a fort trip, but I needed to prove we could summit that mountain.  Now we can choose our next peak adventure and climb even higher and gain more experience.
 
 
 
 

Some of you will remember that Matt and I went on a hike last August to get used to backpacking in all the gear we would need for an overnight stay in the wilderness.  Matt is in Boy Scouts and I have had the pleasure of getting to learn a lot by hanging out with these guys and Matt.
 
Well, last years trip was a learning experience where we discovered that a comfortable pack was important.  The pack he was carrying did not fit right and he was uncomfortable shortly after we started.  On that trip we did get to the shelter, put on a lot of miles on the trail and overnighted in a really nice place.  BUT…, we never made the summit.
 
Two weeks later we returned to the area with the Boy Scout troop and climbed the same mountain (not a very challenging mountain either).  Matt was still not a happy camper after the prior attempt and stayed near the base working on orienteering skills with another group while I went with the rest of the kids and other adults to climb to the summit.  We made a rookie mistake of not verifying that each kid had enough water for the hike. Lesson to other adults out there, simply asking the kids if they have enough water is not enough.  Two of the kids that were in our group only had one small water bottle with them on a hot sunny day, and we had to turn around at about half a mile from the summit because the group was running low on water. 
 
So, over the winter we were complaining about our failures and decided we would have to give this a third try.  Matt is now a year older and growing like a weed.  One of his friends in the troop and his Dad (both were on the second attempt to summit) and the troop leader agreed that this would have to be planned.  So, starting in mid-February, we all put together our calendars and lined up a date to get the job done.
 
Our plan was to take the Piper Trail up to Penacook Shelter again, just a three mile hike, and set up camp mid day.  Then we would take off for the summit with just water and maybe a few other items and finish the last 1.5 miles without the 30 pounds on our backs.
 
We started from central MA at 7:00 on Sunday morning for the three hour drive up to the parking lot.  The weather was great on the way up and we were really stoked for this trip.  Matt and I had picked up two more modern packs through the scout shop last year during a fantastic clearance sale that our local scout outfitter told us about (two customizable Osprey packs that can be adjusted to different sizes over the years for less than a cost of a single pack at the local outfitters).
 
Some signs at the trail head:
 

 

 
Think the Fort will ever go to self service pay stations?  In case you are wondering, they do check and anyone who does not pay will get a hefty ticket or towed out of the parking lot.
 

 
As you can probably tell, the weather was great.  Temperatures in the high 70’s, partly cloudy with a little bit of a breeze.  After having three weeks of 90+ degree humid days, we were enjoying this change.  The trail starts out fairly well maintained with a gradual incline for the first mile or so.
 

 
We cross over brooks several times or near them on the climb.  Another reason why this hike is good for the first few pack trips – if you bring a filter you don’t need to carry a lot of water to drink.
 

 
 
And then we start to climb, gradually at first:
 

 
And then the real dreaded switchbacks as the trail gets steeper:
 

 

 
 
And higher we go, like stair climbing on rocks:
 
 

 
 
At last we reach the 3.1 mile mark where the junction to the spur trail takes off toward the shelter.  That is such a welcome relief to know we can drop 30 pounds at the shelter and finish with nothing but a water bottle!
 

 
But they don’t give up the shelter that easily, you have about a half mile scramble over little used or maintained trail to get there:
 

 
following little signs like the yellow paint on the tree (above photo) or small signs like this which are hard to notice if you aren’t looking for them:
 

 
Matt knows we are close, and is a lot happier on this trip:
 

 
Finally we get a break and take some time to eat lunch:
 

 
 
It was about this time that we notice clouds beginning to roll in, so we decide to head for the summit.  The radar (this side of the mountain also has spotty cell phone coverage and we could check the radar on our phones) shows some good rain heading east, but near the border of NH and VT, so we feel confident we can make it in time.
 
A pause along the ridge headed to the summit:
 

 
Then the clouds really roll in.  Matt pretending to be the character on the advertisement for the video game “Assassin’s Creed”:
 

 
 
And finally we find the highest point while wandering around in the clouds.  Sort of creepy but cool to have “fog” rolling around and partially obscuring your line of sight.  The peak of Chocorua seems very steep and very unusual for northeast mountains which tend to be round tops or not so steep.
 

 
Then we headed back down to start dinner before the rains come.  I grabbed a few more shots along the trails that run the ridge between Middle Sister Mountain and Chocorua:
 

 
I didn’t get any photos of dinner, but it was another one pot meal cooked over the alcohol stove followed by granola bars for desert hunkered down in the shelter while the rains pounded the metal roof.  One of the adults also brought out a surprise flask so that the adults could have a small celebratory toast of Jameson!  That hit the spot.  An added bonus of sleeping on a wood floor with very thin sleeping pads – the kids said none of us really snored that bad!  We typically snore so bad that the trees shake, but not this night!
 
It rained hard all night but we stayed dry in the shelter.  We had draped our rain fly tarps over the entrance to keep the blowing mist out and we were very comfortable.  I woke in time for sunrise the next morning and grabbed this shot while waiting for the coffee:
 

 
and the shelter:
 
 

 
Coffee above the clouds – can you smell the aroma?  Wish you were there?  I do.
 

 
 
We finished breakfast, grabbed our gear and some extra trash others left at the shelter and off we went to the base.
 

 
We always find a great local spot along the trip home to tank up after our camping trips and we stopped at a 50’s style diner for a brunch at noon. 
 

 
And what would a trip report be without pood forn?  Useless in my mind, so here is the long awaited obligatory shot of Matt’s small little nosh called the Cadillac special.  He finished.  I paid J
 

 
It’s not a fort trip, but I needed to prove we could summit that mountain.  Now we can choose our next peak adventure and climb even higher and gain more experience.
 
 
 
 

Well, enough distractions from the important stuff! I was about to launch into what I recall about a several month trip across country when I was a kid. Sort of a very late trip report I guess, seriously cut back due to the effects of time on memory and old age setting in!
If I recall correctly, it was between 2nd and 3rd grade for me, 3rd and 4th for my brother. Parents took us out of school probably early May with the blessings of our teachers and school system. My parents told us the teachers thought it was a great idea because we would learn so much more on the road. I think the teachers were just happy to see us go and not return!
This was the early 1970s, we had a Chevy truck with a cap on it pulling a pop-up trailer. The gear was stored in containers on the top of the cap and in the PUP, back of the truck had a section of plywood decking placed sideways across the top of the bedrails with a mattress on the floor of the bed, misc. gear and clothing stored on where it would fit. This was in the day when seatbelts were almost never used and my brother and I rode on the plywood "shelf" laying on bedding and were able to talk to the parents through a slider window between the cap and truck. When we started fighting and arguing, they closed the window. Problem solved! The plan was to use the PUP most of the time, but staying the back of the truck would work on long mileage days when we just wanted to park for the night and go in the morning. It ended up that we spent most of the nights in the back of the truck due to the convenience and comfort; wanted to spend more time seeing the sites around each area.
On a practical side, my parents bought dozens of prepaid film envelopes and saved them up for the trip, would drop of the roll wherever we were and the pictures got delivered to my father's parents back home - they loved this, sort of like an early photoblog delivered every once in a while to their mailbox. That was how they followed our trip. My brother and I sent post cards to our class mates as part of the "early release" agreement.
My parents also set aside a savings account with my grandfather on the account. They would transfer money to us via Wells Fargo whenever we pulled into different cities.
The good:
* We saw 21 states, multiple National Parks and incredibly scenic areas that I may never get back to see again
* It instilled a wanderlust in me that will never be quenched. I still dream of road trips and adventures
* I have vivid memories of many things like hiking in Glacier National Park, swimming in Lake Tahoe, the smog of LA in the early days that would make my eyes water, street side bands in Tijuana and the smell of camping in the redwood forests.
* To this day, whenever I smell a skunk smell, I have a picture perfect memory of the last part of our hike back from Grinnell Glacier along this beaverdam pond that had a mirror finish with a long v-shaped ripple from the beaver heading across the pond - there just happened to have been a skunk spray somewhere in the area that I associate with that memory. It was a great day.
* Learning how to cook outdoors and adjust to being so close to family for so long - I think this is missing now with all our distractions like smartphones and laptops.
* Watching my dad deliver hot food to a young couple in the site next to us while we all waited out a daylong downpour in Washington state. We watched them spend a long time in the deluge trying to light a cook fire in the rain with gasoline, so my dad broke out the coleman stove underneath a tarp off the back of the truck and fired up a hot meal on the tailgate.
The bad:
* the Arab oil embargo hit while we were on the road and getting fuel became a challenge and downright dangerous at times. With vehicle plates from Massachusetts, I still recall our family being told to leave and go home in several western states as everyone fought to get fuel and waited in long lines. Long haul truckers had begun to carry firearms to defend their fuel while stopping to rest.
* I recall hiking out of the Grand Canyon after sunset (to avoid the heat of the afternoon) listening to the sounds of people throwing beer bottles over the side. Only two trails were open that summer because the trail crews could not keep up with the volume of trash being thrown on the side of the trail. Remember "Give a Hoot, don't pollute"?
* Clean water was not always available, some places had some foul water supplies.
* Tony Orlando and Dawn "Tie another ribbon round the ole oak tree" - years of therapy and drinking will not scrape that from my grey matter. And it was on AM radio. In every city. In every state.
The ugly:
* I still gag when I see cans of Ravioli
* Walking to an outhouse in the pouring rain when the call of nature will not be ignored.
I guess if you are seriously considering this, I can say that there will be a boatload of memories made as a family that will not be possible any other way, and it will be a life changing experience. Not always fun or easy, but my morning commute isn't easy every day either. I say, dare to be different. Let me know how it goes! Send pictures.

Well, enough distractions from the important stuff! I was about to launch into what I recall about a several month trip across country when I was a kid. Sort of a very late trip report I guess, seriously cut back due to the effects of time on memory and old age setting in!
If I recall correctly, it was between 2nd and 3rd grade for me, 3rd and 4th for my brother. Parents took us out of school probably early May with the blessings of our teachers and school system. My parents told us the teachers thought it was a great idea because we would learn so much more on the road. I think the teachers were just happy to see us go and not return!
This was the early 1970s, we had a Chevy truck with a cap on it pulling a pop-up trailer. The gear was stored in containers on the top of the cap and in the PUP, back of the truck had a section of plywood decking placed sideways across the top of the bedrails with a mattress on the floor of the bed, misc. gear and clothing stored on where it would fit. This was in the day when seatbelts were almost never used and my brother and I rode on the plywood "shelf" laying on bedding and were able to talk to the parents through a slider window between the cap and truck. When we started fighting and arguing, they closed the window. Problem solved! The plan was to use the PUP most of the time, but staying the back of the truck would work on long mileage days when we just wanted to park for the night and go in the morning. It ended up that we spent most of the nights in the back of the truck due to the convenience and comfort; wanted to spend more time seeing the sites around each area.
On a practical side, my parents bought dozens of prepaid film envelopes and saved them up for the trip, would drop of the roll wherever we were and the pictures got delivered to my father's parents back home - they loved this, sort of like an early photoblog delivered every once in a while to their mailbox. That was how they followed our trip. My brother and I sent post cards to our class mates as part of the "early release" agreement.
My parents also set aside a savings account with my grandfather on the account. They would transfer money to us via Wells Fargo whenever we pulled into different cities.
The good:
* We saw 21 states, multiple National Parks and incredibly scenic areas that I may never get back to see again
* It instilled a wanderlust in me that will never be quenched. I still dream of road trips and adventures
* I have vivid memories of many things like hiking in Glacier National Park, swimming in Lake Tahoe, the smog of LA in the early days that would make my eyes water, street side bands in Tijuana and the smell of camping in the redwood forests.
* To this day, whenever I smell a skunk smell, I have a picture perfect memory of the last part of our hike back from Grinnell Glacier along this beaverdam pond that had a mirror finish with a long v-shaped ripple from the beaver heading across the pond - there just happened to have been a skunk spray somewhere in the area that I associate with that memory. It was a great day.
* Learning how to cook outdoors and adjust to being so close to family for so long - I think this is missing now with all our distractions like smartphones and laptops.
* Watching my dad deliver hot food to a young couple in the site next to us while we all waited out a daylong downpour in Washington state. We watched them spend a long time in the deluge trying to light a cook fire in the rain with gasoline, so my dad broke out the coleman stove underneath a tarp off the back of the truck and fired up a hot meal on the tailgate.
The bad:
* the Arab oil embargo hit while we were on the road and getting fuel became a challenge and downright dangerous at times. With vehicle plates from Massachusetts, I still recall our family being told to leave and go home in several western states as everyone fought to get fuel and waited in long lines. Long haul truckers had begun to carry firearms to defend their fuel while stopping to rest.
* I recall hiking out of the Grand Canyon after sunset (to avoid the heat of the afternoon) listening to the sounds of people throwing beer bottles over the side. Only two trails were open that summer because the trail crews could not keep up with the volume of trash being thrown on the side of the trail. Remember "Give a Hoot, don't pollute"?
* Clean water was not always available, some places had some foul water supplies.
* Tony Orlando and Dawn "Tie another ribbon round the ole oak tree" - years of therapy and drinking will not scrape that from my grey matter. And it was on AM radio. In every city. In every state.
The ugly:
* I still gag when I see cans of Ravioli
* Walking to an outhouse in the pouring rain when the call of nature will not be ignored.
I guess if you are seriously considering this, I can say that there will be a boatload of memories made as a family that will not be possible any other way, and it will be a life changing experience. Not always fun or easy, but my morning commute isn't easy every day either. I say, dare to be different. Let me know how it goes! Send pictures.

Well, enough distractions from the important stuff! I was about to launch into what I recall about a several month trip across country when I was a kid. Sort of a very late trip report I guess, seriously cut back due to the effects of time on memory and old age setting in!
If I recall correctly, it was between 2nd and 3rd grade for me, 3rd and 4th for my brother. Parents took us out of school probably early May with the blessings of our teachers and school system. My parents told us the teachers thought it was a great idea because we would learn so much more on the road. I think the teachers were just happy to see us go and not return!
This was the early 1970s, we had a Chevy truck with a cap on it pulling a pop-up trailer. The gear was stored in containers on the top of the cap and in the PUP, back of the truck had a section of plywood decking placed sideways across the top of the bedrails with a mattress on the floor of the bed, misc. gear and clothing stored on where it would fit. This was in the day when seatbelts were almost never used and my brother and I rode on the plywood "shelf" laying on bedding and were able to talk to the parents through a slider window between the cap and truck. When we started fighting and arguing, they closed the window. Problem solved! The plan was to use the PUP most of the time, but staying the back of the truck would work on long mileage days when we just wanted to park for the night and go in the morning. It ended up that we spent most of the nights in the back of the truck due to the convenience and comfort; wanted to spend more time seeing the sites around each area.
On a practical side, my parents bought dozens of prepaid film envelopes and saved them up for the trip, would drop of the roll wherever we were and the pictures got delivered to my father's parents back home - they loved this, sort of like an early photoblog delivered every once in a while to their mailbox. That was how they followed our trip. My brother and I sent post cards to our class mates as part of the "early release" agreement.
My parents also set aside a savings account with my grandfather on the account. They would transfer money to us via Wells Fargo whenever we pulled into different cities.
The good:
* We saw 21 states, multiple National Parks and incredibly scenic areas that I may never get back to see again
* It instilled a wanderlust in me that will never be quenched. I still dream of road trips and adventures
* I have vivid memories of many things like hiking in Glacier National Park, swimming in Lake Tahoe, the smog of LA in the early days that would make my eyes water, street side bands in Tijuana and the smell of camping in the redwood forests.
* To this day, whenever I smell a skunk smell, I have a picture perfect memory of the last part of our hike back from Grinnell Glacier along this beaverdam pond that had a mirror finish with a long v-shaped ripple from the beaver heading across the pond - there just happened to have been a skunk spray somewhere in the area that I associate with that memory. It was a great day.
* Learning how to cook outdoors and adjust to being so close to family for so long - I think this is missing now with all our distractions like smartphones and laptops.
* Watching my dad deliver hot food to a young couple in the site next to us while we all waited out a daylong downpour in Washington state. We watched them spend a long time in the deluge trying to light a cook fire in the rain with gasoline, so my dad broke out the coleman stove underneath a tarp off the back of the truck and fired up a hot meal on the tailgate.
The bad:
* the Arab oil embargo hit while we were on the road and getting fuel became a challenge and downright dangerous at times. With vehicle plates from Massachusetts, I still recall our family being told to leave and go home in several western states as everyone fought to get fuel and waited in long lines. Long haul truckers had begun to carry firearms to defend their fuel while stopping to rest.
* I recall hiking out of the Grand Canyon after sunset (to avoid the heat of the afternoon) listening to the sounds of people throwing beer bottles over the side. Only two trails were open that summer because the trail crews could not keep up with the volume of trash being thrown on the side of the trail. Remember "Give a Hoot, don't pollute"?
* Clean water was not always available, some places had some foul water supplies.
* Tony Orlando and Dawn "Tie another ribbon round the ole oak tree" - years of therapy and drinking will not scrape that from my grey matter. And it was on AM radio. In every city. In every state.
The ugly:
* I still gag when I see cans of Ravioli
* Walking to an outhouse in the pouring rain when the call of nature will not be ignored.
I guess if you are seriously considering this, I can say that there will be a boatload of memories made as a family that will not be possible any other way, and it will be a life changing experience. Not always fun or easy, but my morning commute isn't easy every day either. I say, dare to be different. Let me know how it goes! Send pictures.