A"tree falls in the woods" type of question...does it count as camping if you don't stick around long enough to see nightfall? Explanation to come. Answer is up to the readers interpretation. Now, for a tale of adventure, excitement, pain, and blisters.
Trevor and Bettie decide they will drive up to NH to hike the white mountains and try their hand at camping. We decided on camping in Gorham, NH at the Dolly Copp camp ground in order to be close to a trail that Trevor remembers from his Boy Scouting days- the Imp. The name "The Imp" conveys a sensation of easy, casual hiking in the land of the more challenging Presidentials. A measly 6.6 miles. This was misleading. First, Trev and Bettie set up camp.
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| looks dry, doesn't it? comfy, cozy? |
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| wow, looks so dry and conducive to fire-making! |
Alright, camp looks great. Lets check out that vast expanse they call "the great outdoors". Trev channels his inner 8 year old mindset and physique, which lends itself to a speedy ascent. Lets go.
Olive (tentatively) earns her freedom from her obnoxiously overbearing parents, and takes off! For a Chicago city dog, adopted somewhat literally from N Clark in the yuppie haven of Lincoln Park, she loves the outdoors and is exceptionally good at hiking and rock climbing. Go figure.
Bettie and Trevor participate in nature appreciation. This is much easier while the grade is a gentle slope with a soft squishy layer of pine needles.
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| amanita "buttercup" phalloides. Know for its sunny disposition and awkward last name, causing difficulty at mushroom cocktail parties. |
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| I think this was a peace sign at some point. What kind of a hippie actually carves into a tree?! |
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| Strobilomyces
haemorrhoidarius. The old man of the forest. |
We meet some other hikers, who are awesomely nice and tolerant of our repeated requests to take our awkward family photo. They also fall in love with Olive, as anyone with a pulse is prone to do. Olive plays it cool, but spends the rest of the hike trying to run away from her parents and join her new hiker friends, to live in the wilderness forever with granola crunching wool sock wearing NH-ites. Great. Is this like most children's threats to join the circus? or a gang?
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| Bettie wonders...can you get giardia from natural NH water? can dogs get giardia? the world may never know. |
So, right about 1/5 the way into our hike, things start to get...more difficult. Olive tries to join a clearly more experienced hiker dude, and the grade gets steep and stays that way. Hiker dude says there is less than a mile to the summit.
The trail blazers do make an effort to make this uphill battle a bit easier along the way.
We soon realize that the reason they are called the white mountains is because there are so many darn rocks. We continue to ascend, soaked in sweat but sure there will be a reward at the top!
We see light between the trees! Victory is ours!
Woot! made it! Olive's new hiker family is a bit more hiking adept than us, and luckily were just hanging out waiting just to take our photo. The view is perfect, and we can make out all of the Presidents. Whoever they may be.
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| Trevor perches in a spot that makes Bettie mostly uncomfortable. |
We hang out, enjoy the view, and eat some healthy trail mix type stuff. Life is good. Except.... do you hear someone coming?
Olive hears a group with two dogs making their way to the summit, and runs off the investigate. We are soon barraged by about the most blood curdling screams we have ever heard in our lives (including Bettie's professional life). Trev runs to find out who has died, and comes out with a perfectly intact and now overly excited Olive. The horrific screams continue. It becomes clear that the sounds are the product of a poorly socially adjusted beagle, and this is just how "Jazzy" likes to great her new friends. Needless to say, we quickly pack up and head out so that Jazzy's parents don't have to see us laugh hysterically at their unfortunate dog.
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| Olive senses a threat to her dogtastic nature. |
The trip down is lovely- a nice gradual downgrade.
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| terfezia "cute as a button" oreades. Know for its overall charm and ability to shield termites from rainstorms. |
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| moments before Trevor pees on this tree. |
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| toad on a toadstool! this was not staged, at all. |
Olive continues to blaze ahead, probably lapping her parents x2 or 3 on the trail. Her energy knows no bounds!
Our energy, on the other hand, is clearly limited. We had toyed with the idea of heading up to Carter trail and back. Not today...
the birch trees were so interesting and diverse- this one had a pink tinge underneath, while others looked like gold leaf peeling off. Trev found a birch that was dark and is used to make root beer- its roots
literally smell like root beer.
We saw so many different mushrooms! its amazing that we knew all the scientific and common names of all of them, isn't it?
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| condyloma "barky" accuminata. you don't want to know. |
Apparently, Olives energy is not endless, and she begs for a ride for the remaining mile or so of the trip.
Doesn't this whole trip look so dry and pleasant? this was true until about 5:30pm when the rain started...
So, for those of you who are wondering, does it count as camping if you break camp before nightfall? The answer is "yes" if when you return to camp your tent has 4 inches of water on the floor, your cooking pit has becoming a tadpole swimming pool, and there appears to be no end in sight when it comes to rain. We packed up and headed for home with a dry bed and warm showers. We are not done with you yet, camping!
