Day 11.233: Fungus NH

We saw some pretty amazing fungi on our New Hampshire vacation:

I was nearly fooled again by the one that looks like a discarded burger roll/bun.

And then there was this one that sprung up seemingly overnight looking like a plastic pie and then got even more impressive. These were taken about 36 hours apart:

Day 11.232: Back to school

It's back to school time! E5N1 and Exile #4 started at their new schools yesterday - although for E5N1 it was a half day due to the heatwave we are experiencing.

They were joined by their sister this morning and all set off together (since they are all on the same bus now):

And with one or two days done, they now all have a four day weekend to recover!

Day 11.231: Lost River Gorge recap

With another day of good weather, we decided to make the early start that we'd originally planned to use for our trip to Mount Washington to drive back along the Kanc hoping to maybe see a moose in the early morning light. We didn't - but we did see a lot of turkeys! We had a diner breakfast at the western end and then with a few minutes before we could head to our planned destination, we returned to the closest day-use area to that end - Otter Rocks where someone had moved a lot of sizable rocks to make this popular swimming place a bit more deeper at this relatively dry time of year.

We stayed dry however, and didn't stay long, heading to Lost River Gorge around opening time.

The story is that it was discovered by someone falling through a mat of vegetation into waist deep water and it's not too hard to imagine. We enjoyed squeezing through the caves (all of which were short, but some were quite challenging:

The above-ground experience was rather excellent too:

Day 11.230: Mount Washington recap

On the fourth day of our trip, with the weather forecast not looking good we planned a quiet day with the idea of getting up early the following day to head up Mount Washington. However, we woke to clear skies and decided to seize the day and venture up New England's highest peak a day earlier.

We knew from early in the planning phase we would like to get to the summit, but there was some doubt about how. We dismissed the idea of hiking fairly early, leaving the auto road or the cog railway.  The terrifying pictures of the railway and the price made the decision easy, but there was still a little trepidation about the drive.

The toll includes a certificate, a bumper sticker, admission to the museum at the summit and a CD with a reassuring man telling stories of the mountain - half to listen to on the way up and the the other half on the way down. We're pretty sure it's partly to calm everyone's nerves.

I enjoyed the drive - except for the first few minutes part way up when the road turns to dirt rather than a proper surface for a while anyway. Here are some pictures from the stops on the way - the views were close to perfect:

Right at the end of our ascent, we drove into the clouds, so we got the full Mount Washington extreme weather experience. We enjoyed exploring and ate our lunch in the car watching the clouds roll by.

We didn't stop as much on the way back down, but this stop - still in the Alpine zone above the treeline was spectacular and we stopped again at the bottom to look back at the mountain:

Definitely a highlight of the trip!

Day 11.229: Echo Lake recap

We hoped to do another hike on day three of our trip, but the weather was not great first thing, so we stopped into the weather museum confusingly named the Mount Washington Observatory Weather Discovery Center but situated on the main street in North Conway. It was a fun museum with lots of interesting weather related exhibits and lots of hands-on fun. Yesterday's photo is of the kids in the hurricane simulator there.

As the weather started to clear out, we headed to Echo Lake State Park where we first set off around the one mile flat loop around the lake, before striking up the steep and challenging Bryce Path to the summit of the smaller of the two ledges that overlook the lake. Spotting an old truck a very long way away from any obvious route to get there, lots of small and hard to photograph frogs and a very impressive millipede (oh yes, did I mention it was steep?!):

The views from the top were great - down to the lake:

and on the other side across the valley to our home for the week (on the side of the mountain we climbed in the clouds on the first day - still in the clouds!):

We decided to walk back down the longer but easier road route rather than attempting the steep trail in reverse. E5N1 and I went on ahead - including some power walking and a little running so that we could have a quick swim in the lake when we made it down.

The mound on the right is the one we climbed - the lake looked perfect:

We had a short but very welcome swim in the water which was the perfect temperature for two hot hikers.

Here is the view back across the valley from out of the back of our apartment building when we made it back. The lake is out of sight but the two ledges are in the middle of the photo in front of the larger ridge:

Day 11.228: Exile #2's Sunday Column #217

Exile #2 writes...

Everyone’s shaping up for the new term. Exile #3 made it through her dance intensive, getting progressively more and then less sore as the days went by. It paid off though, with the company managing to learn a Modern piece, a Brazilian piece, and an excerpt from Giselle. There is a little bit of polishing to be done, but it was a solid start. Exile #4 shook off the summer karate cobwebs to become a youth black belt candidate, and E5N1... is squeezing every last drop out of summer by spending as much time as possible outside. Oh, and he has just about got his mouth around God Bless America, the piece that the Middle School band will be playing in the Veterans’ Day parade. Now he just has to figure out how to do it whilst marching!

So, freshman Exile #4 and Middle School newbie E5N1 are off to school Wednesday and Junior Exile #3 joins in on Thursday (only for one day though because of Labor Day weekend!).

Time to buckle up! We’re off.

Day 11.227: Beach trip

I had begun to wonder if I would fail to keep up my record of swimming in the ocean every year since we moved to Maine with our late summer trip to the mountains and somewhat mixed weather but today I kept my streak alive (properly dressed - I even wore a hat).

We also built a sandcastle (even though it was close to high tide):

and although Exile #3 elected to stay at home, Exile #4 and E5N1 had a great time in the water.

Day 11.226: Karate testing time

Exile #4 did her last regular kyu-level karate test. The next stop from here is junior black belt. It went well. Here she is doing Dan Kumite (scripted sparring) with her sensei:

Day 11.225: Kancamagus recap

After our hike in the clouds, we took it easier the next day, with a scenic drive starting - slightly surprisingly - at the Saco Rangers' Station someway upstream from the town that bears the same name.

I've already mentioned our visit to Sabbaday Falls, but here are some of our other adventures.


Broken rocks and a pile (by E5N1):

Albany Covered Bridge:

Dragonfly in the bridge

View from the bridge

Rogues' gallery

Lower Falls - a popular swimming spot, but we decided to stay dry:

Rocky Gorge - not a swimming area!

Falls Pond loop (by the gorge):

Strange fungus (even by fungus standards):

A couple of bonus photos from Sabbaday:

Day 11.224: Kearsarge North recap

Our apartment was on the side of Kearsarge North (not to be confused with Mount Kearsarge!), so the 3.1 mile hike to the top (and 3.1 back) was an obvious choice for our first full day. The weather was not entirely cooperative, and six miles with a lot of climbing was a challenge, but it was a good hike. I posted about it at the time, but here are some more pictures and memories.

E5N1 was a little grumpy on the way up (and a lot grumpy towards the end):

I think it was Exile #3 who pointed out these trails in the wood under the bark of this tree:

Someone also spotted some Indian Pipe - a favourite saprophytic plant of the whole family(!):

Everyone appreciated a break from time to time:

When the trail marks turned to arrows on open stone areas, Exile #4 helpfully pointed out what they meant every time:

Walking up into the clouds was a magical experience at times:

Enjoyed by some more than others:

I posted summit pictures last time. E5N1 was much happier on the way down:

I spotted some flowers:

and some berries:

and the occasional glimpse of a view beyond the clouds: