An electrifying storm

Lightning struck one of the chimneys in my condo building yesterday, sending bricks flying hundreds of feet away. One of the bricks flew into my door, breaking the glass. The impact was so great that it jarred part of the door handle inside loose. Fortunately, no one in the area was hurt.

The chimney itself is in a precarious position, ready to fall at any moment. The area below the chimney has been sealed off with yellow police tape; residents won't be able to enter through their front door until the chimney is either stabilized or repaired.

The storm tore through the Boston area about 3:30 p.m. and dropped nearly an inch of rain in less than an hour. Wind speeds in some parts of Greater Boston hit 45 miles an hour. Ten people in Dorchester were injured when lightning struck the tree under which they were standing. Across the region, the storm downed trees and power lines, washed out streets, and knocked out traffic lights. Several boats in Boston Harbor sent out distress signals. Part of I-93 flooded near Columbia Road, backing up traffic for miles.

My first real hut experience

Yes, I did huts on my Grand Traverse trip in New Zealand. But those were luxury huts, complete with hot showers and even a drying room! No showers in the AMC hut system, including the hut I stayed in on Saturday night.

How did I do, without a shower? Better than I thought I would. But the jury is still out as to whether I'll do it again. Maybe ...

The Gale River Trail to the hut followed the course of the Gale River. It is a moderate wooded trail, with some steepness at the end--but not nearly as steep as the Sunset Ridge Trail or Laura Cowles on Mt. Mansfield.

Galehead Hut is at 3,800' elevation, with some nice views south. Unfortunately, due to haze, visibility was limited to about 10 miles, so the farthest mountain we saw was Mt. Flume. Mt. Kearsarge was not visible.

No views on Galehead Mountain's wooded summit, but there was a nice outlook east to the hut.

On Day 2, we weren't able to summit Mt. Garfield, despite being only about 0.2 miles and about 200' elevation from the top. The weather was threatening, with low foreboding clouds and very high winds, and we knew the forecast was for thunderstorms. Not worth the risk.

The Garfield Ridge Trail is challenging, with some very steep sections. Yet all were doable. We are thankful that we did those steep sections before the rain came. It rained on us on most of our trip down on the Garfield Trail. A nice couple from Franconia named Brant and Minnie drove us the ~1.5 miles from that trailhead to the Gale River Trail lot. A good day, despite not making the summit and getting rained on. There's never a bad day when you're on the trail! (Or at least, almost never :-)

14 miles (over 2 days), ~2,500' elevation gain (2,200' to Galehead Hut + 300' to Galehead Mt. summit) on Day 1; ~500' elevation gain on Day 2
Summit: Galehead Mountain = 4,024 feet
Route: Gale River Trail and Frost Trail to Galehead Hut and Galehead Mountain; Garfield Ridge Trail to Garfield Trail

Mt. Mansfield, Vermont

The crest of Mt. Mansfield, which is Vermont's highest mountain, resembles the profile of a human face. The mountain's highest point is the Chin, at 4,395 feet. From the chin are promontories for the nose, forehead and even the Adam's Apple.

Like Camel's Hump, the views are 360 degrees around. On Saturday, from the Chin of Mt. Mansfield, we looked southwest to see the majestic double summit of Camel's Hump, the summit we climbed to on Friday, July 4th. Just as we did when on top of Camel's Hump, here on Mt. Mansfield, we could see Lake Champlain, the city of Burlington, and New York state's Adirondack Mountains.

Cantilever Rock off of the Sunset Ridge Trail is worth the side excursion. It's a truly amazing 30 foot rock monolith jutting from the face of a barren cliff (see photo). It's so massive and apparently precariously situated that I felt uncomfortable standing beneath it.

A warning -- don't descend via the Laura Cowles Trail! And don't rely on the map you purchase at Underhill State Park! The map leads you to believe that the grade for both the Sunset Ridge Trail and Laura Cowles Trail is the same, as the contour lines look nearly identical. Beware! While the Sunset Ridge Trail is rated as difficult, with rock scrambles and rough footing in many sections, the Laura Cowles Trail is extremely steep and FAR more difficult. It is truly a challenge to descend on the Laura Cowles Trail. If you want to do a loop to the Chin from Underhill State Park, ascend the Laura Cowles, and return via the Sunset Ridge Trail. Your knees will thank you.

7.0 miles (with side trip to Cantilever Rock), ~2,500' elevation gain
Summit: Mt. Mansfield (the Chin) = 4,395 feet
Route: Sunset Ridge Trail to the Chin; Laura Cowles Trail back to Underhill State Park lot

Stunning views from Vermont's third-highest mountain - Camel's Hump

After walking through a forest of moss, lichen and ferns, and navigating many water-covered rocks (which fortunately aren't too slippery), one reaches the summit of Camel's Hump with moderate effort on the Monroe Trail. Many dogs on this trail have their own packs, and inevitably ascend faster than their owners. They have four feet after all! :-)

The 360 degree views from the summit of Camel's Hump are stunning -- west to Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in New York (see photo), north to Mt. Mansfield, and east to the White Mountains. You really feel like you're on top of the world!

7.4 miles, 2,600' elevation gain
Summit: Camel's Hump = 4,083 feet
Route: Monroe Trail

Great B&B in North Conway, NH

If you're in North Conway, I highly recommend the Wildflowers Inn. The rooms are nice, and the breakfast delicious. But what makes this B&B stand out from the rest is the ambiance. The owners are extremely friendly and personable, and make you feel at home as soon as you walk in the door. They accommodated our request for early, pre-hike breakfasts and even upgraded us to a suite with an in-room jacuzzi when they found out we were celebrating Mike's birthday! You won't be disappointed if you stay at Wildflowers!

South Moat Mountain in the fog and mizzle

Approaching thunderstorms on June 21st prevented us from summiting South Moat, but we made another, more successful attempt on June 28th, walking in mizzle and dense fog. We're told that there are amazing views both from the ridge and from the summit, but alas, the fog was too thick for us to see them.

It is a very pleasant path, with a short (1/4 mile long) talus slope and a moderate incline. No rock scrambling.

On the way back down, we stopped to find two "Moat Mountain Challenge" geocaches (#4 and #6), supplementing the two we'd found the weekend before.

5.4 miles, ~2,200' elevation gain
Summit: South Moat Mountain = 2,770 feet
Route: Moat Mountain Trail from Dugway Road