chinooktrail
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- Feb 27, 2004
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Well, Geneva was in a holding pattern at 46 for a wicked long time. So we finally got her to 47 on Mount Washington on St. Patrick’s Day.
The original plan was to meet up with friends who were doing a partial Presi Traverse and hike with them from Washington to Monroe, where 2 would finish their Winter 48! But, as we all know, the best laid plans of mice and hikers… it didn’t work out that way.
Geneva and I had a nice leisurely start up the Ammo trail around noon, since the crew wasn’t planning on hitting Washington until around 3 or 3:30. I’ve been doing a lot of new and different trails lately, just to try different things and see new places. But there really is something to be said about hiking along a familiar trail as well. I have done the Ammo trail far more times than I would care to say. Lots of great memories on it. And it was interesting yesterday to get to certain spots of the trail and think ‘oh yeah, this was where someone stuffed an entire package of bologna in their face! Or this is where we were laughing so hard Gatorade came out someone’s nose! Yeah, there is something to be said for doing new trails never seen, as well as doing very familiar trails where you know almost exactly where you are on the map.
We made it to the hut a little before 2 and had a nice little break and a good look around at the amazing day! It was really tough to believe it was still winter. By now we had heard from friends that they were running a little behind schedule and were going to be a little later than planned. I figured we would just really take our time getting up to the summit and enjoy all the views and the sunshine.
It was easy to take our time, there were a lot of people coming down, and a lot of them wanted to stop and chat about Geneva and the amazing weather and other trail chit chat. Eventually we made it to the buildings and towers and the tanks and the covered wires and pipes. And somehow Geneva, who never ceases to amaze me, bobbed and weaved her way around all of the people and tracks and buildings and ‘stuff’ and made a bee line for the summit sign and just sat under it for her big photo opp. Perhaps I read too many ‘Olivia’ books to her when she was a puppy…
The summit was a little crowded for us, and I wanted to get back to the hut before we took a good long break. I guess I just wanted to get by the wicked slushy part of the hike first. And it was even slushier on the way back down! Stopped and chatted a lot on the way back to the hut as well, maybe it was the warm sun and end of cabin fever, but people sure seemed to want to talk!
Finally back at the hut we settled in on a nice warm sunny rock and broke out some yummy treats for us both. Nice to just sit back and relax and take in the views and watch all the people skiing all over the place! Skis seemed to be the mode of transportation choice! I was feeling a little gear envy, until I remembered that had I attempted to ski up there I would by lying in an intensive care unit today with multiple broken everything! That took care of the envy right away!
After soaking up some sun and the views we got a voicemail saying plans had been altered a bit again. Modern technology is an amazing thing. So we packed up leisurely and slowly made our way down the steeper sections of the now completely skied off trail. It was a nice walk back out to the muddy parking lot with visions of the next hike already being formed in my head.
I am happy for Geneva that she has now visited 47 of the ‘48’ in NH. I am quite certain she could not care any less about it. She would probably be happy to climb Chocorua every single day. I’d like to think she enjoys seeing different places, or at the very least sniffing around all the different places we go! I know for sure that she enjoys meeting up and hiking with more people and other doggies. She gets excited when she sees me start to pack up one of my packs, or start gathering up camping gear. And when I get her harness out she usually tries to jump right into it.
It has taken me a long time to get her to 47, but only because it was never the main goal hiking with Geneva. Making hiking fun and enjoyable and most importantly safe for her is always the main goal. She really seems to love being out hiking and backpacking and I hope she always will love it.
So, one more to go…
The original plan was to meet up with friends who were doing a partial Presi Traverse and hike with them from Washington to Monroe, where 2 would finish their Winter 48! But, as we all know, the best laid plans of mice and hikers… it didn’t work out that way.
Geneva and I had a nice leisurely start up the Ammo trail around noon, since the crew wasn’t planning on hitting Washington until around 3 or 3:30. I’ve been doing a lot of new and different trails lately, just to try different things and see new places. But there really is something to be said about hiking along a familiar trail as well. I have done the Ammo trail far more times than I would care to say. Lots of great memories on it. And it was interesting yesterday to get to certain spots of the trail and think ‘oh yeah, this was where someone stuffed an entire package of bologna in their face! Or this is where we were laughing so hard Gatorade came out someone’s nose!
Yeah, there is something to be said for doing new trails never seen, as well as doing very familiar trails where you know almost exactly where you are on the map.We made it to the hut a little before 2 and had a nice little break and a good look around at the amazing day! It was really tough to believe it was still winter. By now we had heard from friends that they were running a little behind schedule and were going to be a little later than planned. I figured we would just really take our time getting up to the summit and enjoy all the views and the sunshine.
It was easy to take our time, there were a lot of people coming down, and a lot of them wanted to stop and chat about Geneva and the amazing weather and other trail chit chat. Eventually we made it to the buildings and towers and the tanks and the covered wires and pipes. And somehow Geneva, who never ceases to amaze me, bobbed and weaved her way around all of the people and tracks and buildings and ‘stuff’ and made a bee line for the summit sign and just sat under it for her big photo opp. Perhaps I read too many ‘Olivia’ books to her when she was a puppy…
The summit was a little crowded for us, and I wanted to get back to the hut before we took a good long break. I guess I just wanted to get by the wicked slushy part of the hike first. And it was even slushier on the way back down! Stopped and chatted a lot on the way back to the hut as well, maybe it was the warm sun and end of cabin fever, but people sure seemed to want to talk!
Finally back at the hut we settled in on a nice warm sunny rock and broke out some yummy treats for us both. Nice to just sit back and relax and take in the views and watch all the people skiing all over the place! Skis seemed to be the mode of transportation choice! I was feeling a little gear envy, until I remembered that had I attempted to ski up there I would by lying in an intensive care unit today with multiple broken everything! That took care of the envy right away!
After soaking up some sun and the views we got a voicemail saying plans had been altered a bit again. Modern technology is an amazing thing. So we packed up leisurely and slowly made our way down the steeper sections of the now completely skied off trail. It was a nice walk back out to the muddy parking lot with visions of the next hike already being formed in my head.
I am happy for Geneva that she has now visited 47 of the ‘48’ in NH. I am quite certain she could not care any less about it. She would probably be happy to climb Chocorua every single day. I’d like to think she enjoys seeing different places, or at the very least sniffing around all the different places we go! I know for sure that she enjoys meeting up and hiking with more people and other doggies. She gets excited when she sees me start to pack up one of my packs, or start gathering up camping gear. And when I get her harness out she usually tries to jump right into it.
It has taken me a long time to get her to 47, but only because it was never the main goal hiking with Geneva. Making hiking fun and enjoyable and most importantly safe for her is always the main goal. She really seems to love being out hiking and backpacking and I hope she always will love it.
So, one more to go…
