Whitecap. Late Fall.

The ascent of Whitecap Mountain today felt like a perfect summer day even though the temperatures hovered around 35 degrees. I worried bit about icy spots and Bailey's footing/hips, but he managed the hike well. I didn't see him slip at all. I wore microspikes on the way down, and in retrospect, I should have worn them up staring at about 1/2 way. Not sure if we'll be up this mountain again this winter--we'll see how the trail and this old dog hold up.  

Class Bench Project

 

The Rumford High School Class of 1972  celebrated our 50th class reunion by donating a steel bench to the new Alumni Welcome Garden at Mountain Valley High School. I also invited Mexico High School to join us.  Then I asked brother Rob and his friends in the RHS Class of 1973 to join in and donated a bench. 

I like the idea of today's kids seeing alumni celebrating their former high school. Who know what impact that could have on a 21st century student. Or, maybe it's just a place to sit... there's something to be said for that. 

  

Catching up

From today's hike on Whitecap Mountain 

"We just wandered around today. I worried that the old dog would slip on the leaves coming down Yellow, so we turned around and crossed on the Connector over to Orange and down. We’ve had 13+ good years hiking Whitecap and many other mountain trails. Those days are slowly coming to an end. We’ll keep doing what we can, knowing any time on a trail is a good time. HYOH, Bailey Tuckerman and Rich"

These past three weeks since the Germans left have been light hiking days. As you can see by the Whitecap post above, Bailey's slowing down and I'm being more cautious with him. I just bought a rug for the kitchen's wooden floor. Slipping is a problem for his back legs.   

These past few weeks we've done Whitecap 7 times, the mountain bike trail (Pennacook Trail) 4 times, Black Mountains XC trail 1 time, Mystery Mountain 1 time, and the Weld trails once. Only one hike would prove to be formidable: Whitecap to the Yellow overlook where Bailey's cairn is. Here are a few photos from these days. We're at 138 mountain hikes for the year.