BIGEarl
Well-known member
My friend Jennifer is in the middle of a fight that none of us would want. She has finished the chemotherapy and is roughly half way through radiation treatments. Jennifer is doing remarkably well. Jennifer loves to hike and recognizes the therapeutic benefits to hiking in the mountains. A few weeks ago she invited me to hike Mount Monadnock with her. A hike up Monadnock is nothing special for most folks, but that’s not the case here. I believe few thought Jennifer would get more than some fresh air and a little exercise, and certainly not the summit. She completed the hike as planned. Things didn’t work out and I was unable to join the hike. A couple weeks ago we started talking about her next hike. She asked me to select a couple targets and plan the hike. Our final decision was to hike Chocorua, a mountain that I’ve never hiked and one that Jennifer had hiked quite a few years ago via the Piper Trail.
Yesterday, (11/26/06), we hiked Chocorua via the Liberty Trail going up and Brook trail coming back down. The day’s weather couldn’t have been better. We enjoyed a low percentage of cloud cover, moderate temperatures, and a light breeze from the south. The trail conditions were generally dry.
We started a little later than planned at 10:30am. The Liberty Trail is in great condition with only a couple blowdowns that were easily passed. It wasn’t until after we cleared Liberty Cabin that we had our first view of the summit cone. It looked interesting. Also after the cabin we started hiking on ledge slabs for the remainder of the ascent. I recall thinking this is probably a fun winter hike. Prior to the cabin we encountered very few hikers but that changed after the cabin. There were a good number of people out enjoying the day just like us. We reached the summit, had some lunch, and relaxed there for a while. We made the summit is just over book time. Considering the speed at which we seemed to be moving and the rest breaks that were needed I believe we were both very pleased.
After roughly 30-45 minutes on the summit we headed down via Brook Trail. This trail is in need of a visit from a brigade of Mountain Beavers. The trail is littered with blowdowns, many of them very large. One blowdown in particular is presenting a very dangerous situation. It has become hung-up in the tops of a couple other trees and the blowdown is actually hanging over and across the trail. Hopefully it comes down when there’s nobody hiking under it. This trail will require a significant amount of work to bring it back to a fully cleared condition. Because of the obstacles it actually took nearly the same time coming down as going up. We hiked the final half hour with headlights. Had the trail been clear, or at least reasonably clear, the loop would have worked out well. As it stands we would have done better with a round-trip via the Liberty trail.
This was Jennifer’s second therapeutic hike which she completed as planned. Clearly, she’s not interested in letting cancer or its treatment take over her life. Jennifer is a strong, inspirational woman that I am extremely fortunate to have as a friend. I look forward to our next adventure.
Yesterday, (11/26/06), we hiked Chocorua via the Liberty Trail going up and Brook trail coming back down. The day’s weather couldn’t have been better. We enjoyed a low percentage of cloud cover, moderate temperatures, and a light breeze from the south. The trail conditions were generally dry.
We started a little later than planned at 10:30am. The Liberty Trail is in great condition with only a couple blowdowns that were easily passed. It wasn’t until after we cleared Liberty Cabin that we had our first view of the summit cone. It looked interesting. Also after the cabin we started hiking on ledge slabs for the remainder of the ascent. I recall thinking this is probably a fun winter hike. Prior to the cabin we encountered very few hikers but that changed after the cabin. There were a good number of people out enjoying the day just like us. We reached the summit, had some lunch, and relaxed there for a while. We made the summit is just over book time. Considering the speed at which we seemed to be moving and the rest breaks that were needed I believe we were both very pleased.
After roughly 30-45 minutes on the summit we headed down via Brook Trail. This trail is in need of a visit from a brigade of Mountain Beavers. The trail is littered with blowdowns, many of them very large. One blowdown in particular is presenting a very dangerous situation. It has become hung-up in the tops of a couple other trees and the blowdown is actually hanging over and across the trail. Hopefully it comes down when there’s nobody hiking under it. This trail will require a significant amount of work to bring it back to a fully cleared condition. Because of the obstacles it actually took nearly the same time coming down as going up. We hiked the final half hour with headlights. Had the trail been clear, or at least reasonably clear, the loop would have worked out well. As it stands we would have done better with a round-trip via the Liberty trail.
This was Jennifer’s second therapeutic hike which she completed as planned. Clearly, she’s not interested in letting cancer or its treatment take over her life. Jennifer is a strong, inspirational woman that I am extremely fortunate to have as a friend. I look forward to our next adventure.
