North & South Pack Manadnocks/Mt. Watatic (pt1)

Mt. Manadnock is the highest peak in the Manadnock Range in Southern NH. Unfortunately they don't allow dogs up the mountain,"Can you imagine!" HA! So since we try to obey the laws of the land we decided to hike North & South Pack Manadnocks instead. (pack means "little" in Indian)
We slept in the van Friday night and had a great breakfast van-side. Off up the Wampac trail to the summit of South Pack. Fairly "little" (the first time anyway...stay tuned) Easy climb to the rock shelter on top, yep that's me hiding in the cornerstones.(see pic) There are radio towers up there too. Met a wicked nice couple, LD (long distant) hikers themselves. Of course they asked about the Appalacian Trail tee-shirt I had on.Well THAT sparked conversation!......... All wished each other well and down South Pack we went and across the ridge. Lots of birds, buds and even a spring salamander. Then we headed up North Pack. "bigger" than South...I think... we were getting hot by then, in the high 80's!!!!!!
A bit from the summit we took a loop trail (Cliff Trail) to, you got it,cliffs. And HOW! The trail wrapped under and up over the cliffs, wicked cool. We ate lunch on top of North Pack.From here we could see back to the towers on South Pack. Mom made me a shade tent and I took a little nap.zzzzzzzz! Then back down North pack and back UP and over South...MUCH bigger this time! Ha! Ha! So much damage to the trees in this area from that ice storm that blanketed New England this winter.
We drove around a bit after we got back to the van. Stopped at an outdoor cathedral to watch the sunset. SPECTACULAR! Then, Sunday morning, early, we trotted up yet another peak, Mt. Watatic. Two rock hummocks. From the first you could look back and see N&S Packs from yesterday...Mom's pointing at the towers,on South pack, in the picture. Another shade rest in the shadows of Dad's new boots on the second hillock, before descending back to the van. Our weekend ended with a chorus of roadside peepers,chirping in another glorious spring!

North & South Pack Manadnocks/Mt. Watatic (pt2)

LLBean (yeah, that's me on the boot)

SHOPPING!!! LLBean, Freeport, Me.

Mt.Chocorua, Brook Trail (pt.1)

Mt.Chocorua in N.H. has many trails to the summit. This trip up we decided to do a loop trail. (click on any picture to enlarge) Now the story goes that a man named Jim Liberty reconstructed an old woods road into a trail for tourists to reach Chocorua's summit. And affixed a toll for all who wanted to use "his" trail. Hence the name "Liberty" trail, one of the most popular trails used today. The locals, not wanting to pay the toll, bushwhacked their own trail up the brook and steep ledges..... well you all know where this story is going.... yep, up the Brook trail we went. Small patches of snow at lower elevations, but sure signs of spring. We saw tons of sprouting acorns, soon to be oak trees,if the snow would just melt. I chased chipmunks all the way up the brook to the ledges, so much fun!(see 1st video) Long steep climb up to the open ledges, but WAY worth the trip up. Stunning view all around and down on Chocorua Lake. The summit is WICKED steep, the last 100 feet did Mom in, Dad summited for pictures and a video.(see 2ond video) Mom and I sat on the ledge and waited for his photo op. Then we all descended down to the Jim Liberty memorial cabin, chained to the rock to weather the winter storms. Cooked lunch outside the cabin, then set off downhill,down the Liberty trail. There was alot more snow in the trail on that side of the mountain. So although the trail was much easier the snow made it slow going. And as we slogged down the mountain I got to meet a really cool dog named Oscar. He was out hiking with his "people" friends. Two very nice guys from Maine. Steep up, GIANT rock scramble,steep down....another day in the life of Moxie the adventure dog, LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

Mt.Chocorua, Brook Trail (pt.2)

Happy Easter 2009

Happy Easter!

Diana's Baths (pt.1)

Diana's Baths (pt.2)

(watch video above) Diana's Bath's in N. Conway, N.H.
Now I don't know who Diana was, but if she took her baths in the pools of this set of waterfalls, then she was one LUCKY girl.
Over the weekend we took a little "loop" trip up through the White Mountains.First stop was Chocorua Lake. We stopped to film a guy paragliding on skis across the lake. Good thing he was well in control because there was open water all around the lake.
Northward to the trail head at Diana's Baths. We walked the ,very icy, trail into the Baths, then...you know us...up to the upper reaches of the falls. Pictures and videos along the way. Also got to meet lots of very nice people. A nice spring day brings everyone out of hibernation. We stopped midway back down, jumped out to a flat rock in the middle of the water (Dad carried me, too big a jump for yorkie legs)and cooked lunch. The video you just watched is our view from where we ate..AWESOME!
Continued our drive up the Kancamangus highway, stopping at Rocky George for more pictures (and a pee) :) Onward through Lincoln and back down through Crawford notch. It was snowing hard on the higher mountain tops, it looked so cool. Our loop trip completed at the vista in Conway, across the fields to the train trestle, with the Presidential Range as the backdrop. Spring was made for chasin' waterfalls....all the rest is BONUS! It was another "tail waggin" weekend with my Mom and Dad.

Diana's Baths (pt.3)

New Tent

I'm really ready to go camping now....I've got a brand new tent of my very own. I LOVE it!

Race Brook Falls/ Mt. Everett (pt.1)

Mom says if we drive south for a while we can jump start spring a couple of weekends early.Mom is right. And just like our "extended fall" weekend we headed to the Berkshires. We left late Friday and drove into the night. We slept in the van in the shadows of Mt. Greylock. The same mountain we climbed and stayed on last fall. We woke to a beautiful spring morning.Continued on up the road to the trail head at Race Brook Falls. Decided to get on the trial, so we packed breakfast into backpacks and headed up the falls. Me, being "Princess" of the day carried nothing more than a smile....SPRING!...HIKING!...LOVE IT! Guide book says moderate climb to lower falls, experienced hikers can follow the trail to the top of the falls, and expert hikers can continue on the trail to the juncture with the Appalachian Trail and follow it to the summit of Mt. Everett, highest peak in the Taconic Range.Well...you know my Mom & Dad by now,What stinking trail? We bushwhacked up the opposite side of the falls and cooked breakfast at the top. Ham and eggs, HOW DECADENT!...did I mention how much this adventure dog loves spring air, waterfalls......and HAM!!!! After breakfast we headed up Mt. Everett. New peak for me but of course Mom & Dad climbed it in 2004 when they hiked the A.T....here come the stories! ha! The views from the summit were fabulous. We all basked in the sun for an hour or so before making the very steep decent back to the van...gonna be some sore legs tomorrow! But one more warm up hike to usher in the spring of '09.

Race Brook Falls/ Mt. Everett (pt.2)