Monday, October 24, 2011

Mt. Willey (4255')

Overview
Amy, Leela, Mary, and I climbed Mount Willey via the Ethan Pond Trail and Willey Range Trail. NOTE: The trailhead for the Ethan Pond Trail is off of the Willey House Station Rd. which is also the road with the sign for Ripley Falls off of 302.

  • TIME: 6 hours (including breaks)
  • DISTANCE: 5.4 miles
  • ELEVATION GAIN: 2,850
  • DATE: 10/23/2011


Note that I no longer create Google Maps for my hikes.  If you need trailmaps, get the AMC Guide to the White Mountains, which is what we use now (or another similar resource), or see if you can locate the trails on the old (possibly outdated) maps on the topographical views at msrmaps.com.


Trail Conditions
Lots of autumn leaves on the ground now, causing occasional slips on unseen damp rocks.  Worth it for the beauty.  Overall both trails were wet from recent rain and the Garfield Ridge Trail section we used was occasionally very eroded, but never too difficult.  The ladders/stairs were in fine condition, though slick from the wet conditions.  It's a steep hike, but nothing too out of the ordinary awaits.  There was one big tree with big branches laying on the Ethan Pond Trail, but it was easily maneuvered.  Should've brought a saw!


Comments and Photos
I found this hike to be more strenuous than I expected.  Short 4k hikes can do that sometimes.  I loved the ladders, though Leela (dog) was a bit freaked out by them and needed to be lead with a short leash to prevent her from trying to find an alternate, more dangerous and difficult route.  It was a bit cold, but the sun was out for us at the summit, and overall it was a rewarding, somewhat quick hike.  I'd say if you're looking for an easier route to Willey, combine it with Field (and Tom if you're up for it), though I haven't done this so I cannot reliably attest to the difficulty or lack thereof of that route.

Leeeeeeeaves on the generally easy though occasionally steep Ethan Pond Trail

View from East outlook on Willey.  The path to the outlook is marked by a strange sign.

Chocorua from Willey.  Carrigain to the left?

At the "summit" of Willey (still East outlook)

On top of Willey!

The true summit of Mount Willey was marked by this cairn

Here's a photo from the Willey Range Trail.  Steep!

Another photo from the Willey Range Trail.  Very eroded sometimes

Willey Range Trail also has a long stretch of "ladders", which for the most part resembled narrow stairs.

Ladders/stairs on the Willey Range Trail

View of Mount Willey from the parking area at the Ethan Pond Trail trailhead at the end of Willey House Station Road

Final Thoughts
I originally wanted to do the Willey Range 4ks (Willey, Tom, & Field) in one hike, but I like that we have to revisit for Field & Tom. Crawford Notch is a beautiful spot adjacent to the Presidentials.  Plus, we're not in a rush to finish all the 4000 footers.  It's nice to be more casual about it and savor each hike a bit.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

4,267 Hours

I knew
the trap would fail.

Leg pinned,
probably broken,
for hours
before i shuddered,

found you;
barely breathing, you'd dragged the trap.

Not dead.
I killed another mouse when I was seven with

a rock.
Now, twenty years later, 

again.


Assuming an average worldwide human life expectancy of 67.2 years (source) and an average mouse life expectancy of about 2 years (source), one human hour could be considered about 33.6 mouse hours.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

september

a hummingbird makes rounds
checking the deep colored late summer blooms;
and so do i, fishing in my oats for blackberries.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Mount Whiteface (4020') and Mount Passaconaway (4043')

Overview:
Amy, Leela, and I climbed Mount Whiteface and Mount Passaconaway via the Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, and Dicey's Mill Trail.  
  • TIME: 7 hours, 40 minutes (including breaks)
  • DISTANCE: 11.9 miles
  • ELEVATION GAIN: 3,800 feet
  • DATE: 9/11/2011
I've decided to skip the effort of creating a map from now on for these hikes.  It became a minor obsession, and the fact that they just aren't guaranteed to be accurate in any way makes it basically pointless.  If you need trailmaps, get the AMC Guide to the White Mountains, which is what we use now, or see if you can locate the trails on the old (possibly outdated) maps on the topographical views at msrmaps.com

Trail Conditions
Blueberry Ledge Trail: Varied terrain, mostly dry.  Lots of blowdowns from storms, but most were cleared.  There were some wet spots along the way with all the rain we've been getting, but never in spots that caused any safety concern.  There were several spots that were just plain difficult, earning it the description in the AMC guide as one of the more challenging trails in the Whites.  The most difficult spot for me was where there were once steps, but now only holes remain in the very steep rock face.  We used these as holds for our fingers and scrambled up.  There are also some sturdy branches and roots to aid here.  Our dog never needed assistance, though this came as a surprise.  I'm guessing more normal dogs would need at least a boost in a few spots.  

Rollins Trail: Surprisingly steep descent from the summit of Whiteface, but generally a regular old mountain trail.  Some spots were wet and muddy, but never an obstacle.

Dicey's Mill Trail: A few spots to scramble on the rocks, but again, nothing surprising.  Got wetter near the bottom, but as with the other trails, never a cause of concern.

Comments and Photos
The approach to the summit of Whiteface was the best part of this hike for me.  Not to say the rest of the hike was awful, but the difficult climbing on the open rock and fantastic wide views to the south, east, and north along the way made it a mountain worth revisiting.  Passaconaway served us well in giving us decent views to the west, rounding out the views for the hike.  I think we could've seen the presidentials from Whiteface, but they were lost in the clouds.

View of Whiteface (peak further in distance, lit by sun) from the road from the Ferncroft Rd parking area

Early on the Blueberry Ledge Trail

Amy in the first of many stretches of open rock

About 1/3 of the way up, a false summit of sorts

This part of the trail could be awful in wet conditions.  To the left is a big dropoff.

Did not capture the toughest part of the trail (for me) very well.  But you can see it's very steep here!

Another somewhat difficult spot.  Leela hopped right up.

Late blueberries on the Blueberry Ledge Trail as we neared the summit.

View from the summit of Whiteface was great!  But it was also cold up there.

At the summit of Whiteface, Lake Winnepesauke in the distance.

Marker for what is probably the true summit of Whiteface, along the Rollins Trail.

View to the west from the viewpoint near the summit of Passaconaway.  Both true summits on this hike were viewless, but the viewpoints were decent.

Enjoying some apples at the summit of Passaconaway.
Final Thoughts
Whiteface and Passaconaway is a rugged hike at times, but I will remember this hike as 8 hours well spent.  Great to do with a friend to get some quality time in or to do alone for some excellent mountain meditation.  I appreciated the time to catch up with Amy on some deeper conversation than we usually get in at home.  I will say that if you want to try alternatives, take the steepness of the Blueberry Ledge Trail into consideration if you consider going DOWN it.  I'm sure it's possible, but I would never choose to do it.

Friday, September 9, 2011

tree rings

Sometimes
I oil our rings.
A day off the hand,
rain in the forest.

We watch:
the scuffs being sealed,
the color turning deep.


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Poison Ivy Walk

Walked the dog further today,
watching for patches of those
perfect green leaves
nodding their invitations in the morning showers.
Without experience, lettuce
would be more menacing,
while these leaves could easily shine as a houseplant, stepping
from the windowsill above the sink
vying for the delight of a simple forgettable brush
with the back of your hand.


Saturday, July 23, 2011

Married with Children International Remakes

Did you see how William Shatner RTed something I posted on Twitter?
WilliamShatner: “: are you watching  LIVE FROM  LIKE ME CUZ YOU'RE A NERD?! ” Nerds unite! MBB
He even added a comment!  Yeah, I communicated with a legendary space captain from my handheld communication device.  And as a result, he demanded we unite.  (By the way, for those of you not in the know, "MBB" stands for "My Best, Bill".)

To further demonstrate how futuristic I can be, I put my now famous tech skills to work and found some video clips from around the world of remakes of Married with Children.  If you thought seeing the DVD special features with Homer speaking German were funny, or the international variations on Doc from Fraggle Rock were awesome to glimpse (one of them was a lighthouse keeper!), you will probably enjoy these clips.

First, let's refresh on the American original (just the opening credits, there are plenty of other clips on YouTube):

Married with Children
USA, premiered 1987

http://youtu.be/Ze1sx9YR2Ec

And now have a look at my two favorite MWC remakes--one from Croatia (The Waters of Marriage) and one from Hungary (A Terribly Neat Family in Budapest):


Bracne Vode (The Waters of Marriage)
Croatia, premiered in 2008
Bundy = Bandić

http://youtu.be/aJ-ETybNvR0


Egy rém rendes család Budapesten (A Terribly Neat Family in Budapest)
Hungary, premiered 2006
Bundy = Bándi

http://youtu.be/OTuDknjgh6U


While those two are great, there are still so many more...


Married for Life
UK, 1996
Bundy = Butler

http://youtu.be/QpsXJeV9E08


A Guerra dos Pintos (The War of the Pintos)
Brazil, premiered 1999
Bundy = Pinto

http://youtu.be/WjLE5m3Vlpg


Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt (Help, My Family is Nuts)
Germany, premiered 1993
Bundy = Strunk

Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt Intro - MyVideo



Casados con Hijos (Married with Children)
Argentina, premiered in 2006
Bundy = Argento

http://youtu.be/tAUktA0BIR8


Casado con Hijos (Married with Children)
Chile, premiered in 2005
Bundy = Larraín

http://youtu.be/nZtAFkonn28


Բնակարան N2 (Bnakaran N2) (Apartment #2)
Armenia, premiered 2009
The only thing I can find is a wacky music video featuring footage from the show:




Счастливы вместе (Sсhastlivy Vmeste) (Happy Together)
Russia, premiered 2006
Bundy = Bukin

http://youtu.be/5KnaMtYSz3Y


Matrimonio con hijos (Married with Children)
Spain, premiered 2006
Bundy = Cuatro

http://youtu.be/1cgDWoLxqSY


Casado Con Hijos (Married With Children)
Columbia, premiered 2004
Bundy = Rocha


I would watch all of these series if I could find the video with English subtitles!  If anyone has better clips or knows of other remakes let me know, I love these.

I used Wikipedia and Bundyology for the info to find these clips.