Winter Misfire

Not exactly Pulpit Rock, but far enough from my couch that I didn't care. Poor research and a lack of caring on my part brought us to a construction site on Pulpit Rd., not the Pulpit Rock Conservation Area like we had planned. With a few feet of snow covering everything we weren't sure where to start off New Boston Rd, and Pulpit Rd seemed like a good place to look. They are building a subdivision near there, but construction seems to have halted for the winter, turns out it was a great place to test our gear and let Zelda roam off leash for once.

The wife and I followed what looks to be the main road for the subdivision out and back, maybe 3 miles total. Used our new snowshoes starting out, but when the dirt road didn't end anywhere we just barebooted the rest of the walk. Zelda of course is in her element during the winter, must have been out there for 2 hours and no complaints from the princess.

Though it was nice to get out, planning something with an actual trailhead for next weekend. Time to get serious about things before winter is over.

Green Winter

Warmer weather derailed my snowshoeing plans for this weekend. Funny how I'm hoping for precipitation now, kind of a weird switch. Without a healthy layer of snow I'll likely mess up brand new snowshoes, so Zelda and I were absent from the trails this weekend, practicing bareboot around the local neighborhood. Hoping the snowfall picks up with all the planning I've been doing.

Turns out the "Southern NH" AMC guide is a great resource for winter hiking, and I've been able to find quite a few small gems close to the 93 corridor. Pulpit Rock Conservation Area has 200 Acres right on the Bedford/New Boston line! Also something cool I found near the coast is called the Sweet trail, leads from Longmarsh rd in Durham to the Great Bay Estuary in Newmarket. 4.3 miles of trail through several conservation areas, should be cool to see that kind of habitat in the winter. BearBrook and Pawtuckaway round out my warm up list, several hikes in those two parks will help me get my bearings before I start heading north. I figured it safe not to rush out and try to climb Tuckermans Ravine with all new gear, I'll gradually move up through the lakes region before I start hitting 4ks again. Little more long term but I do want to hike Jefferson and Willey/Field before the snow melts, if I have to start from twelve in the spring I'll regret it.

A smaller goal/quest I've undertaken this year is more of a relapse with a cute story. I'm trying to drink at least 1 Guinness everyday of 2011 ending on St. Patricks Day March 17th. Is it foolish? Probably. Will I succeed? Probably.
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." ~T.S. Eliot

Patriots v Jets next Sunday, but now that I found hikes close to home I'm rolling next Saturday snow or not. See if I cant reawaken the inner hiking animal with these Yaktrax, here's a video from Tubbs on my new shoes I'll never get to use.

The wolf & the winter cold

Its been a long time since I've seen me some woods! Wow, has it really been 3 months! Not planning every weekend around the weather means you lose track of the days I guess. Not a bad hibernation, the Patriots finished 14-2, my gamerscore on the Xbox is up over 30 thousand, and my knee has had a chance to heal a little before I ride it into the ground again. The wife and I just bought our first pairs of snowshoes! Really pumped about trying them out this weekend, probably end up taking the dog back to Bear Brook, pick things up where I left off.

The dog knows what season it is. First sign of a flurry and she's scratching at the door, ready to flip me on my ass in the icy streets of Manchvegas. I think we're finally ready to roll this year, last year Zelda didn't see a lot of snow cause I never had the right gear. This Xmas brought in a Coleman interchange ski jacket, EMS cold weather gloves, TUBBS Flex Alp 24 snowshoes, YakTrax traction aids and new Timberland all leather boots! My wife got me a Suunto Xlander watch with a barometer for altitude! I felt like a little kid again this Christmas, couldn't believe all the hiking gifts. I'll need some waterproof pants and something to protect my face (Zelda ate my goggles), but I've almost got my full winter kit together! Finally!

Everything goes well this weekend I've got some serious scheduling to do, get myself ready for the real hiking when my brother gets back from Iraq. Probably getting back into the weekly postings on here too, see if we can't move that number 12 off the front page finally. Tommy Touchdown's jersey # needs to go, as sad as that will be it must happen. Tom if you're reading this I love you. Like Mark Wahlberg in that crush movie love. mmmmm