Mount Washington - 6,288

Sunday on a picture perfect September day Jen, Danny, Cara and I along with Koda the wonder beagle set out to climb to the top of the northeast. We took the Tuckerman Ravine trail up and then descended on the Lions head trail, passing a waterfall, alpine lakes, ravines and treeline along the way. Mt. Washington is the most prominent peak east of the Mississippi and tallest in the northeast at 6,288 feet. It's also home to the worlds worst weather and we got a little taste of that, as while we were on top the temp was only 42 degrees and clouds socked in the summit with 35-45 mph winds dropping the wind chills below freezing. Of course as soon as we hiked down a few hundred feet the clouds cleared, temps rose and the winds died, but it was interesting to get a small taste of the extreme weather this mountain is known for. The hike other than the summit was perfect. Cool but not cold, sunny, scenic and challenging. Everyone had a fun day and Jen brought her total up to 8 of the 48 4000 footers in NH also and Danny got up to 3. Cara had already hiked them all but these trails were new to her so there was something for everyone. For more pictures of the day (a lot more) you can click right here.

Labor Day Weekend 2014

First school starts and now Labor Day Weekend has come and gone. Looks like summer is unofficially over now, even though we're in a little heat wave here lately. Thursday to escape that heat I took Em and Ashley on a trip out to Peaks Island in Casco Bay to give Jen a day to herself with Brooke in School for a full day finally. We caught the morning ferry over and wandered around the island, having a picnic at picnic point, beach combing and hiking a few of the trails on the island. We finished it off with an ice cream while we waited for the ferry to come back for us.

Then Saturday afternoon we had to be in Portsmouth for Danny's birthday dinner so Jen decided we should hike somewhere nearby. I picked Wagon Hill, which is one of the best preserved coastal farms in New England. It sits on the shores of Little Bay and the Oyster River with large open fields and a few miles of trails that are mostly flat enough that even Ashley could walk them. It's capped off with a sandy little beach at the picnic area on the bay and was a nice way to pass a few hours before heading to town for dinner.

Finally on Sunday we headed up to Vermont for a visit, where we got to go to the fair for free thanks to Katie's fudge bartering. We saw the animal exhibits, ate some fudge and the kids got to ride ponies both real and fake on the merry go round and the real mini horse rides, again paid for in fudge. The next day we went for a hike in Stowe up Stowe Pinnacle, a fairly short but steep hike up to the 2600+ foot rocky summit with amazing views of the valley. It was about the same length and steepness of Mt. Major, and if you're ever in the area looking for a scenic 3 hour hike this is a great one and all the kids did great going up. Only Emily who was tired and hungry but refused to eat complained at all and we capped it off with a picnic lunch on top in the 80 degree sunshine. After that we stopped at Cold Hollow for some cider slush and donuts before hitting the road home.There was no traffic at all and we never even had to hit the breaks for an easy cruise home to end the weekend. Busy but lots of fun. There's a lot of pictures from all that too so you can click here to look at them. That's all for now but check back next week. We have some stuff scheduled and should have more to share if you're interested soon.