hiking

Scully is losing weight and gaining a healthy appreciation of the local trails Mr. Fletcher enjoyed so well.

Always followed with a nice post-hike nap (of course!).

There’s a lovely non-profit working farm and educational center just outside Keene, NH called Stonewall Farm. Scully needed a morning hike, and I knew just the place…

Time to work on Scully’s hiking skills for our upcoming adventures.

As far as I can tell she’s a Jack Russell Terrier and Pug mix. Or maybe she’s a Frankenweenie? Whatever the case, she’s got quite a bit of strength and stamina in those little legs!

Located on Medicine Mountain, the Medicine Wheel is one of North America’s most well preserved Native American sacred places.

It’s at least 250 years old. Even today, the site is sacred to many different tribes across the US.

Offerings tied to the rope fence or left within the wheel are from those who have made the pilgrimage to the site. Ceremonies still take place here regularly.

I was accompanied by crows during my hike out. A few even stopped and talked with me for a while.

High on my list of “Fun Things To Do In Your Own Backyard During A Pandemic” is to visit Eastwood Metropark. You’ll forget you’re anywhere near a city…

I spent an absolutely lovely week camping at Algonquin Park in southeastern Ontario. Canada is so incredibly beautiful and Algonquin is one of Ontario’s many highlights.

While I barely scratched the surface of all that there is to see and do, I did manage to take in a few scenic hikes including: Bat Lake, Lookout Trail, Big Pines Trail, Track & Tower Trail, and I enjoyed a refreshing bike ride from the Lake of Two Rivers down to Whitefish Lake.

I enjoyed a brief visit to Wellesley Island, one of the largest of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River. Wellesley Island State Park has a fantastic visitor center complete with 8 miles of easy, well-marked trails and a butterfly house!

The Madame Sherri Forest is named after Madame Antoinette Sherri, a Paris-born theatrical costume designer who worked in New York City during the early 1900s. She and her husband built an elaborate French-inspired chateau summer house just outside Keene, NH where they lavishly entertained their New York City friends at parties during the Roaring 1920s.

All that’s left are the stone ruins, but it’s a pilgrimage every good Keener (or Keenite?) must make.

I would never call myself a hiker, but for some reason, I decided to push myself a little bit on the trails recently.

Specifically, I headed over to Grafton Notch and hit a couple of the “moderate” loop trails around Old Spec Mountain. Both trails I took joined forces with the Appalachian Trail at certain points.

Table Rock Trail

Table Rock Trail is a 7.2 mile round trip that climbs 1,964 feet to the 3,124 foot summit of Table Rock Mountain. The trail ends 700 feet past the summit with spectacular views of Raven Cliff Falls, the Table Rock Reservoir, and the Caesars Head escarpment.

Eyebrow Loop Trail

The Eyebrow Loop Trail is considered more difficult than Table Rock and rises steeply to a 2,900-foot shelf-overlook on Old Speck Mountain.

These were quite challenging trails for me, so I was glad to have a nice fire and good food at the end of each day.

We spent an early fall weekend camping on the nearby coast of Maine.

With more than 3,478 miles of coastline, we always find something new when we visit. This trip we camped at Bradbury Mountain State Park and spent a long day hiking the Oven Mouth Preserves.

The fall color was just starting to hit in places so even a casual drive to the sample the local brew was full of interest.