Another camping trip
Jun. 22nd, 2005 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eorOnce again we tented out in the White Mountains.
Saturday we arrived around 2pm. The campground was maybe half full, which is relatively empty for a Saturday in summer. It was sprinkling/raining so we put on the rain gear and tied up the tarp. We did a good job this time, got it up just right the first time and pitched the tent underneath it.
I used one of those store-bought firestarter bricks to get the fire going in the rain and managed to keep it going the rest of the night. We had a big meal and waddled into the tent.
Sunday we awoke to chilly sun. In a fit of ambition we took the boots and headed for Franconia Notch to do Canon Mountain. At the trailhead the air was cool, but the sun was working at burning off the low cloud cover. We started up the trail and quickly concluded we weren't up to it. One of my heels was having a very bad interaction with the boot and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
derien mentioned her knee was bothering her. If she mentions something early in the trip it's not a good sign because she usually only ever "mentions" regardless of severity. I bagged the trip after a couple hundred yards.
On our way back to the campground we stopped at the Basin which is... well... a bunch of rocks with water pouring through them. It's not like a rapids, it's like what might have provided inspiration for those flume rides at the amusement parks. I dubbed the "No Swimming" signs "No Drowning" signs. Took lots of pictures which I knew would not come out because the sun was now out quite bright and the trees provided very dark dappled shade. Here are a few of the better ones, click for the large version.
After the Basin we headed back to the Conway area and went on a quest for gas for the camp stove. As it turns out the canister didn't run out until Tuesday, but we didn't know how long it would last. As it turns out almost no one carries those particular containers. Thankfully IME (International Mountain Equipment) still carries them, "because no one else does." We also bought some more candles for the candle lamps that have become our primary lighting. We were glad to get out of North Conway traffic and back to the campsite. We had another big meal, read, talked, watched the campfire, and took a moonlight walk down to the river. The night was chilly and the campground was almost totally empty.
Monday we had a very leisurely day. A lot of sitting around the campsite having tea, reading, talking. We did make a trip into town to buy groceries. I tried to get the padded tongues sewed into my boots, but the guy who usually does that wasn't in so we made a plan for the next day. A lot of sitting in the sun. A few short walks around the campground. Watched the chipmunks who were extraordinarily shy.
Can you see him?
Zoomed in
Tuesday we slept in, then headed into town to get my boots done. After dropping them off we headed up to Pinkham Notch because we had an hour to kill.derien still hasn't found a Mt. Washington T-shirt to her liking, but I think she liked the Tilly hats. We stood and looked at the big relief map of the Presidential Range and noted how very steep that bit on the Tuckerman Ravine is. That bit that we hiked last fall and killed our knees. Our knees didn't wimp out on no shallow slope.
After we got back to the campground and having some food we were feeling some energy so we decided to hike the Church Pond Loop Trail. I'll post about that separately because it turned out to be quite a different experience from what we are used to hiking. We came home tired, fired up the campfire, and didn't even bother with supper. It was quite a warm night, which really meant one thing...
Wednesday, we awoke to the drumming of rain. We had been thinking of taking a short hike up Iron Mountain but with the wet we decided to pack up and head straight home.
Overall, we spent a lot of time sitting around watching the campfire and reading. The experience of the last weekend made food planning much quicker and easier although it didn't help preparation and cleanup any. I would still like the van back in action. Oh, and yes, there were plenty of insects, but that is to be expected in New England in June especially with all the rain we've had.
- Short version:
- Saturday: arrival, rain, campfire
- Sunday: bagged attempt at Canon Mt., visited Basin scenic area, quest for gas for stove, campfire
- Monday: bought some groceries, hung out at the campsite, campfire
- Tuesday: visited the Pinkham Notch AMC center which involved a nice drive, got tongues sewed into boots, hiked Church Pond Loop trail (2.8mi), campfire
- Wed: rain, departed as soon as things were packed
Saturday we arrived around 2pm. The campground was maybe half full, which is relatively empty for a Saturday in summer. It was sprinkling/raining so we put on the rain gear and tied up the tarp. We did a good job this time, got it up just right the first time and pitched the tent underneath it.
I used one of those store-bought firestarter bricks to get the fire going in the rain and managed to keep it going the rest of the night. We had a big meal and waddled into the tent.
Sunday we awoke to chilly sun. In a fit of ambition we took the boots and headed for Franconia Notch to do Canon Mountain. At the trailhead the air was cool, but the sun was working at burning off the low cloud cover. We started up the trail and quickly concluded we weren't up to it. One of my heels was having a very bad interaction with the boot and
derien mentioned her knee was bothering her. If she mentions something early in the trip it's not a good sign because she usually only ever "mentions" regardless of severity. I bagged the trip after a couple hundred yards. On our way back to the campground we stopped at the Basin which is... well... a bunch of rocks with water pouring through them. It's not like a rapids, it's like what might have provided inspiration for those flume rides at the amusement parks. I dubbed the "No Swimming" signs "No Drowning" signs. Took lots of pictures which I knew would not come out because the sun was now out quite bright and the trees provided very dark dappled shade. Here are a few of the better ones, click for the large version.
After the Basin we headed back to the Conway area and went on a quest for gas for the camp stove. As it turns out the canister didn't run out until Tuesday, but we didn't know how long it would last. As it turns out almost no one carries those particular containers. Thankfully IME (International Mountain Equipment) still carries them, "because no one else does." We also bought some more candles for the candle lamps that have become our primary lighting. We were glad to get out of North Conway traffic and back to the campsite. We had another big meal, read, talked, watched the campfire, and took a moonlight walk down to the river. The night was chilly and the campground was almost totally empty.
Monday we had a very leisurely day. A lot of sitting around the campsite having tea, reading, talking. We did make a trip into town to buy groceries. I tried to get the padded tongues sewed into my boots, but the guy who usually does that wasn't in so we made a plan for the next day. A lot of sitting in the sun. A few short walks around the campground. Watched the chipmunks who were extraordinarily shy.
Can you see him?
Zoomed in
Tuesday we slept in, then headed into town to get my boots done. After dropping them off we headed up to Pinkham Notch because we had an hour to kill.
derien still hasn't found a Mt. Washington T-shirt to her liking, but I think she liked the Tilly hats. We stood and looked at the big relief map of the Presidential Range and noted how very steep that bit on the Tuckerman Ravine is. That bit that we hiked last fall and killed our knees. Our knees didn't wimp out on no shallow slope. After we got back to the campground and having some food we were feeling some energy so we decided to hike the Church Pond Loop Trail. I'll post about that separately because it turned out to be quite a different experience from what we are used to hiking. We came home tired, fired up the campfire, and didn't even bother with supper. It was quite a warm night, which really meant one thing...
Wednesday, we awoke to the drumming of rain. We had been thinking of taking a short hike up Iron Mountain but with the wet we decided to pack up and head straight home.
- Things we didn't do:
- Ride the scenic railroad
- Go to the playhouse (I thought it might be cool, but we never got around to it)
- Much of anything (we really didn't do much of anything, but then again, it was a vacation)
Overall, we spent a lot of time sitting around watching the campfire and reading. The experience of the last weekend made food planning much quicker and easier although it didn't help preparation and cleanup any. I would still like the van back in action. Oh, and yes, there were plenty of insects, but that is to be expected in New England in June especially with all the rain we've had.
