One-horse open sleigh ride

Lanterns in the woods. A fur blanket in our laps. A bottle of champage. A 2,300-lb. Belgian draft horse named Barney. European fallow deer eating from my hand. Under a clear sky filled with stars.

Mt. Hedgehog and Mt. Willard in snowshoes

This is the view from Mt. Hedgehog (in NH's White Mountains). There are clearly many more mountains that are higher -- easily done in the summer, but you won't catch me climbing them in the winter!

I was terrified coming down from Mt. Hedgehog on snowshoes. Going up in snowshoes (about 1,500 foot elevation gain) was hard work, yes, but no problem. Coming down? Yikes! The trail seemed so steep on the descent! Too steep for my comfort. I was definitely way outside of my comfort zone, but I made it down safely -- only one fall. And I was more tired that night after 5 hrs of snowshoeing than I've been after hiking in a very long time!

That was Saturday Jan. 31st. On Sunday Feb. 1, we did a more modest mountain in the Whites -- Mt. Willard. It takes just under an hour to get to the top. At the summit we spotted what I thought was a weasel. But after looking it up, we learned that it was a pine marten! Even better than sighting a deer or a moose. How many people can say they've seen a pine marten? In the wild, not in a zoo??

Snowshoeing & hiking in below-zero wind chill

Saturday we attempted to snowshoe up Hedgehog Mountain and Sunday we used StabilICERS on the trail to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain, which has fine views over Squam Lake (completely frozen this time of year).

We weren't breaking trail up Hedgehog, but it was definitely more work than bare-booting it. We decided to turn back after two hours of climbing up due to fear of frostbite on my toes, which had gone numb from the bitter cold. It was frankly difficult to keep my hands warm given the extreme cold. Thank goodness for hand warmers!

We got too late of a start on Sunday to finish the Rattlesnake Mountain loop, where we would have been breaking trail after the first summit. Views over Squam Lake (in photo) were beautiful!

In memory of Mark Podsedly (1962 - 2008)

The day before Thanksgiving last year, Mark lost his courageous battle with cancer. He was a dear, dear friend and he will be sorely missed.

I’ve known Mark for 15 years. I first met him in 1993 when we were working together in product marketing at Sun Microsystems. From the first time I met him, he struck me as an incredibly smart, highly motivated guy:

• he had surprising influence among the engineers at Sun, an engineering-driven company
• he was instrumental in developing the SPARCstation X-terminal – a product that was very advanced for its time… now, 15 years later, the latest technology buzz is about “cloud computing” and virtual desktops. His product, the X-terminal, would be a perfect thin client. In other words – it was a product ahead of its time.
• he was way out front with technology. I understand that he was one of the first people to get a PC -- even among his engineering friends. He was doing things with the Internet in 1993 that no one had even heard of. He taught me about URL links, for example.

Mark also had a good sense of humor. I remember the Sun Product Marketing holiday party in 1994. There was another Mark in the group -- I'll call him Mark F. -- who was especially arrogant, unprofessional, lazy and even mean. This Mark was the exact opposite of Mark Podsedly. My husband at the time knew how upsetting this other Mark (Mark F.) was to me, and wanted to put Mark F. in his place. So at the holiday party, after a few drinks, my husband started changing "Dead Meat. Dead Meat. Dead Meat." He meant it for Mark F., but confused the two Marks and accidentally directed his tirade at Mark Podsedly. So he was chanting "dead meat, dead meat" to the wrong Mark!

Mark took it all in stride, laughing about it at the time -- though I'm sure he was puzzled -- and then REALLY appreciating the humor of it when he learned my husband's intentions -- he held the same opinion of Mark F! That was a good night -- a night of comradery for all of us working in that group at Sun.

It was at that Sun holiday party, that I met Melisa Stern. They got married the next year, 1995, and Mark was as happy as I'd ever known him.

Mark was one of my best platonic guy friends. He was so fiercely protective of me -- supporting me through difficult times and always asking if there was anything he could do for me. That was Mark -- selfless and full of grace and dignity to the end.

Mark was a determined man. Determined to fight his tumor ... Determined to be a loving husband to Melisa ... Determined to be a dedicated father to his daughter Natalie. And determined to be an incredible friend to me and many others ...

Friends are the family we choose. Mark and I, as friends, became family. In finding him as a friend, I found a treasure.

To paraphrase Adlai Stevenson (1962) -- I have lost more than a friend. I have lost an inspiration. He would rather light candles than curse the darkness -- And his glow has warmed the world.

May the glow of Mark's memory live on in all of our hearts.

Mt. Potash - my first winter hike of the season!

At long last, the White Mountains again! It was only about 12 degrees, but without the wind we were warm enough. We broke trail for most of the hike, snowshoeing the entire way, and seeing not a soul the whole time. One of the three brook crossings was a bit difficult, but doable.

With few yellow blazes along the way, the Mt. Potash trail is a bit difficult to follow. Thus it took us about 3 hours to get to the top. After lunch on the summit, we snowshoed back down. Because we had a clear trail by following our tracks, we made it down in just two hours. This is a great winter hike.

I am now fairly comfortable on snowshoes. I can now handle the steep inclines and declines that last year caused me to either hesitate (and proceed slowly and carefully) or to retreat. I just bagged my first "mountain" on snowshoes!

4.4 miles, 1,500' elevation gain
Summit: Mt. Potash = 2,680 feet high
Route: Downes Brook and Mt. Potash trails, starting from the Kancamangus Hwy.

NEB with the Gold in the NYC Marathon

I was very nervous before the New York City Marathon on Sunday, counting down the hours, then the minutes, until race time. But I wasn't running the race -- I was anxious and excited for my friend Nancy E. Battey, who decided to run the marathon one year ago to the day.

NEB, my friend for 20 years, was running the race for Team Tillman. Team Tillman was formed to support the Tillman Foundation, in honor of Pat Tillman. Pat, a linebacker for Arizona State University, went on to join the Army Rangers, dying tragically and heroically in Afghanistan in 2004, when his unit was ambushed.

I am thrilled that I was able to cheer her on and actually see her on the course -- around Mile 17, First Avenue at 69th Street. Even better is that she saw us! I was so happy to give her a hug that I found myself crying with joy and anticipation.

NEB's goal was to finish the marathon in under five hours. Her 12 months of training paid off -- her time was 4:58:19! She was listed in the New York Times on Monday Nov. 3rd, for completing the marathon in less than five hours. Unfortunately the New England edition of the New York Times did not carry the list, but the important thing is that NEB got her copy!

Congratulations, Nancy! I am so proud of you!

Mt. Holyoke and the Seven Sisters Trail

The Seven Sisters, part of the Holyoke Range and located within Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley, are a series of basalt ridgeline knobs next to Mount Holyoke. In addition to Mt. Holyoke, there are seven distinct peaks; the only two that seem to be named are Mt. Hitchcock and Bare Mountain. Though none of the seven peaks is much higher than 1,000 feet, our walk along the ridgeline gave us an overall elevation gain of 3,700 feet -- more than I've done in any single day this year, even in the White Mountains!

Several of the peaks, particularly Mt. Holyoke and Bare Mountain, offered scenic clifftop views of the season's fall colors. The walk was made particularly pleasurable by the hike leaders, Steve Harrison and Sue Warthman, and the members of the AMC Naragansett Chapter (see photo of group).

5 miles, 3,700' elevation gain
Summits: Mt. Holyoke = 935 feet, plus seven "sisters", including Mt. Hitchcock = 1,002 feet; and Bare Mountain = 1,014 feet.
Route: The Seven Sisters are traversed by the Metacomet- Monadnock Trail.