Mountain Quest: Mt. Grace

Today I climbed Mount Grace, the 3rd tallest peak in Massachusetts. What a great sunny day.

It was very humid, the mosquitoes were out in full force, and I am extremely pleased with myself for thinking to bring both bottles of water instead of the customary one. After the initial 'around the base' trek (some of it actually going downhill) I passed in order: ancient rusty ski lift equipment, an old engine, and a small camp shed with picnic tables and a giant spiderweb (that unfortunately my camera couldn't capture decently). There were a few times below the summit where I was SO worn out, sopping wet with sweat, and fatigued from the muddy slog as the bugs swarmed from all sides, that I thought about turning around.

When after 80 minutes (give or take) I finally reached the summit, I took off my backpack, grabbed my camera and an apple, and climbed 4 flights of the fire tower before a fear of heights (and the hornets!) made me walk back down. But after eating and resting, I knew I couldn't go home without making another attempt. So I walked back up slowly and safely, and made it up all nine flights to just under the locked tower. The view was magnificent. Broad vistas in all directions that I photographed from a sitting position. After a few minutes of taking in the sights (and hurriedly carving a 'Kz' into the top landing), the hornets became too much to ignore, and I proudly marched the 68 feet (vertical) back down to trusty terra firma, quite satisfied with the way I conquered my fear. I know I would have kicked myself forever had I gone home without succeeding in the attempt.

It was way too buggy to read, so I headed back down the trail (70 minutes or so back). I listened to Mojave 3, Nick Drake and Ivy on my iPod, all fitting bands to accompany me on my descent for the laid back mood in which I inhabited. My water ran out halfway down, and there were a couple of places (damn you, humidity!!) I was dying, but I made it back to my car, sweat-drenched and happy. Someday I will make the hike again, but I am going to ensure beforehand that it is going to be a crisp fall day, and not another devilishly humid one...

Mountain Quest: Crow Hills

Redemption Rock - humid - no vertical

Mountain Quest: Wachusett 2

After feeling restless all day I got off my ass around 4 pm and took the Harrington Trail up Mount Wachusett today. It was a humid day, but it didn't affect me adversely until I got close to the summit. There was a lot to see, including two huge windmills that lay still in the non-windy air. About 3/4 of the way up the mountain the route becomes a vertical scramble. I pushed forward with all of my energy and will, and made it to the top, but not without a few stops to catch my breath and drink some water. Once at the summit there were far too many mosquitoes to allow for comfortable reading, so I ate my food, drank my water, and took a few pictures hurriedly before heading back down, with "Hanging Gardens" by The Necks playing on my iPod. As I reached the bottom of the mountain, I was startled by the windmills 'whooshing' in the breeze, especially after one of the giant vanes caught my eye (out of its corner) way up in the treetops. Spooky! By the time I reached my car my shirt and jeans were soaked with perspiration. Hikes like this one are why I always shower just before I leave the house, so it's an honest sweat, and not an end-of-day 12-hour reek. Anyway, the climb was a great use of my time and physical energy, and i felt worlds better after putting forth the effort.

Mountain Quest: Watatic

It was nice and sunny, and dry and brisk too (in the fifties). A perfect day to climb a mountain. I made it up the hill in an enjoyable and steady 45 minutes, beating last year's time. I passed a lot of people (2 duos and a quintet of old folks) on the way up. There were mushrooms all over (like my other recent climbs), and a few spots of running water and/or mud (non-issues). It was definitely a great day, especially since I had the summit to myself! 20 minutes of solitude to take in the view, snap a few pictures, eat my customary apple and almonds, and read some of "King's Captain". On the way down I listened to Vanessa Kafka (mostly the live stuff and the ep), thinking that all of the WPMF bands should cover each others' songs for an album. I would call it something like "Local Musicians Share Under the Covers" (haha).

Concert: Ivy @ Iron Horse Music Hall

A few weeks ago I bought one ticket to see Ivy, one of my all-time favorite bands, at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA. Today I left the house all shiny and clean at 3:30 pm for the 64-mile drive, with camera, book (Dewey Lambdin’s “King’s Captain“), bottles of water,an apple and a scribbled map of downtown Northampton all on the passenger seat beside me. After a pleasant 90-minute drive through western Massachusetts I arrived in town, and found a convenient parking meter just past the Iron Horse. I fed the meter with six quarters (enough to get me to the ‘free-to-park-after-6pm’ mark), grabbed my novel and wandered around the downtown area in search of the Northampton Brewery.

I spent an enjoyable two hours reading, talking to the spunky and very attractive bartenders, devouring my absolutely perfect Green Mountain Burger, and trying a trio of their beers. I had decided to avoid any IPAs since that is my beer style of choice, and so I began with their Altbier. It tasted like the intersection of an IPA and an Octoberfest. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t anything special. Next was the Magic Carpet Rye. It was lighter in color than the Altbier, and had a stronger scent. The aftertaste was good, the flavor complemented my burger, and it wound up being my favorite of the bunch. The last one I had was their Conundrum. I’ll call it a “Guinness Light” and leave it there. Unremarkable. Overall the beers at the oldest operating brew pub in New England were not bad, but rather disappointing nevertheless. However, the service was stellar (thanks Jess and Krissy!) and the burger (beef ground on-site daily from local sources) was easily the best I have had in years. At 7 pm I settled my tab, grabbed my book, and hoofed it across the square to the Iron Horse.

When I arrived the opening act, The Sometimes, were already in full swing. They sounded (most of the time) like a decent blend of Toad The Wet Sprocket and early U2. They had a lot of energy and I was pleasantly surprised with their set. Then, after a 30-minute intermission (and running into Dominique downstairs), Ivy took the stage. They kicked ass.

They played songs from all across their career, including “The Best Thing”, “Edge of the Ocean”, “Keep Moving”, and “Streets of Your Town”, with which they kicked off the show. They also performed several new songs, including “Fascinated”, “Suspicious”, and “Lost in the Sun”. They had a lot of energy, Dominique was as sexy as ever, and the band each had their shining moments (Adam is a killer bass player). Top it off with several good Long Hammer IPAs (home again, home again – jiggity jig!) and a super hot waitress (brown hair, fresh scent, black tights and a black skirt) smiling nearby whenever I needed a refill, and a seamless drive home, and this was the best Tuesday of 2011 by leaps and bounds…

Mountain Quest: Ball Hill

I loaded up my backpack with the usual items and headed over to Leominster State Forest to hike a new (to me) trail, Ball Hill.

It was a nice sunny day when I arrived at 3:30, and there were few people around. The hike was a big loop, with no summit view or clearly delineated high point, but it was a decent walk. There were mushrooms of many varieties and colors, the foliage was still very green, and I found an interesting tree with a very cool bark pattern.

As I've said elsewhere it wasn't annoying, it wasn't difficult, but it wasn't very fun either. I am glad I hiked the trail, but it was very rocky, the footing was uneven, it was humid (not the trail's fault, but it detracted from the experience), and more of the hike was accompanied by unfavorable odors (swamp, animal poop, etc...) than by the clean fresh scent of trees and fresh water bodies. So: a day well-spent, but definitely no repeat value for this guy. When I return I will try yet another trail, or just walk Crow Hills again, which was fantastic last year.

Mountain Quest: Wachusett

Today at 4:30 pm I began Mountain Quest 2011 with a repeat of last year’s first climb. I went up the Mountain House Trail, and though it was very muddy from the week’s rain, I made the ascent in a swift 36 minutes. There were a lot of people on the trail (there were ten cars in the lot when I parked), but they were all headed down so I didn't get passed on the way up like I did last year. The final short portion of the trail above the summit road was closed for construction, so I hoofed it up the tarry surface to the top, which was dominated by a huge fenced-in area full of holes, digging vehicles and other non-naturey eyesores. I spent ten minutes or so enjoying the view (both Boston and Worcester were easily seen on the eastern and southern horizons, respectively), taking a few photographs, and reading while I ate an apple and drank some much-needed water.

 The descent took a startlingly swift 28 minutes. It felt like I hadn’t even made a climb today. On the way down as I listened to Ambrosia, England Dan & John Ford Coley, and Train on my iPod I passed several sets of dogs and their owners making a sunset ascent. I ended the afternoon down at the lake, where I floated in the middle of the water for a half hour, and then read my book (Dewey Lambdin’s “Jester’s Fortune“) for another half hour as I dried off. The sunset was amazing, as always, and I drove home tired and content, from an honest day’s outdoor exertions…

Deluge

It's raining cats & dogs today! I woke up to the soothing sound of a downpour on my roof, and after getting dressed to run out for half & half and pie, I took a few pictures of the morning:

 

You can see where the drops hit the roof of my car. It was coming down super-hard when I snapped this, and as I left the house a local outdoor cat sprang out from under my stoop.

Fantasy Football

I just got done drafting my fantasy football team ("Nantucket Surf") on Yahoo. I set up a league for my brother Jason, his older son Cooper, my nephew Hayden, and my two friends Brian and Dan. Should be a fun season.

A Three Hour Tour

I only had morning appointments at work, so when I got home (after a great lunch of chicken and corn bread shared with my cat) I packed my backpack and cooler and headed down to the lake.

Everything has been packed up for the non-summer, and the big wooden shed is full of everything that used to go in the smaller plastic shed. The hammock is down and the port-a-potty is gone. All the chairs & tables are stacked near the shed too. So I grabbed a chair from the shed, rolled the spool over, and set up camp. I finished the last 20 pages of "The French Admiral" with a Magic Hat HI.P.A. (goooood beer), and then slathered on the sunscreen so I could paddle out to the middle of the lake with another beer to bask in the afternoon sun. There were a lot of planes flying overhead. The lake was deserted except for some jackass mowing the lawn of annoying neighbors on the other side of the cove. I floated for awhile, paddled in for another beer, paddled back out, and headed in for good after an hour and a half of peace.

Later I started a fire and cooked several hot dogs, which weren't very hot when I ate them, and they tasted a bit too much like lighter fluid. I also called Erik, Jay & Brian to see if they want to hang out Saturday night at The Cactus Club. After I ate I began Harry Turtledove's "A World of Difference". It's starting off well but I am going to wait and read the next 'Alan Lewrie' adventure, "Jester's Fortune" first. I left around 7 pm after packing everything up. What a great day.