Mountain Quest: Barrett Mountain

I drove up to New Ipswich, NH earlier today to climb Barrett Mountain by way of the Wapack Trail going up the Windblown Cross-Country Ski Area. It took 55 minutes to make it to the top, and 45 minutes to complete my descent.

It was a mostly sunny day, and relatively humid. The hike started off so easy (and with a barely noticeable incline for a good stretch), that I was rather disappointed. But as it went on, the steady increase in the degree of incline began to affect me. The worst thing about the climb though was the surface. There was barely any rock for footing! It was mostly spongy moss and grass overgrowing loose stones. I felt like I was climbing a hill of wet sand most of the time, and traction was frequently treacherous. Plus it was muddy. However, the air smelled fantastic, which always puts me in a great mood. The evergreens were giving off that Christmas wreath scent, and the damp leaves, ever-present moss, and running streams & small ponds added their bouquets to the air as well. It felt great to be outdoors, and it was another fortunate climb where there were no other humans in sight all day.

I hiked steadily to the top of the ski area, and then pushed on for another quarter mile to the top of the mountain (1835 feet above sea level, and just over two miles traveled in each direction), but there was no scenic vista (nor was there a marker at the top) once I achieved the summit. What a disappointment! No view, no official confirmation of conquest - what a ripoff! Oh well, it was still an amazing hike, a great way to get exercise, the drives there and back were full of New England autumn foliage, and hey, it was 72 degrees on October 26th. So all complaining aside, it was a worthy way to spend a few hours.

On the way down I ate my traditional apple, and listened to Joy Zipper's "American Whip" album on my iPod. They sound like a cross between Lush and early Pale Saints. A nice dreamy accompaniment to an arduous trek. Toward the bottom of the mountain there were a ton of blue jays - they were an amusing burst of color and noise to signal the end of today's adventure. Next up: Yosemite National Park!

Mountain Quest: Crow Hills

Today's adventure began at historic Redemption Rock in Princeton, MA. I departed my car at 1 pm, with a long-sleeve thermal weave shirt under my brown sweatshirt. Since the temperature was in the high 40's, I had more clothing: thick over the calf socks, with gloves and a t-shirt (in case I needed a 3rd layer) in my backpack. Since Crow Hills isn't a mountain per se (it's a twin-peaked glacial cliff), the hike was a little different than the previous two: It was 3 miles of gradual ups & downs in, then a steep vertical climb, and then 3 miles back. The other two trips were both under 4 miles, but steeper grades overall.

I felt in better shape because of all the prior legwork, which was nice. I am proud to say that except for the vertical climb, I didn't stop once to catch my breath. It was cold out, but not uncomfortably so (I even took off my ball cap a few times to cool down), and the scenery was spectacular. There was a wide variety of tree species (oak, maple, birch, etc...), the leaves of each changing at their own nature-dictated pace. And there wasn't another human in sight the entire three hours I spent walking and taking pictures. Amazing.

It's funny, often there are times I notice that I have what must be a stupid grin on my face when I am doing these hikes/climbs. It's the mix of sunshine, exertion, and fresh air of New England. I was thinking to myself that as much as I love the smell of the ocean, I'd gladly give that up for life if I had to choose between the sea and inland New England in the fall.

Once I got to the summit, I ate an apple (as is my tradition), and as I headed down, the music on my iPod that I chose to listen to this time was The Mark Zaleski Band's self-titled album. It took me 80 minutes to get to the top, and 50 minutes to make the return trip. Total distance traveled: 6 miles round-trip plus and additional several hundred feet (I can't find an exact number anywhere!) vertically up and down, between each 3-mile leg. What a day...

The next few climbs on my planned list before Old Man Winter says "No more!" are Mt. Greylock, Mt. Monadnock, and one of the peaks near Bennington, VT, so I can hit the museum there too. Plus I am going to Yosemite with my youngest brother next week when I am in northern CA, so I will add at least one more while I am out there!

Mountain Quest: Watatic

At 3 pm today I packed my backpack, dressed appropriately, and headed off to nearby Ashburnham, MA to climb Mount Watatic, as part of my 2010 Mountain Quest plan. I had all the stuff with me that I had last time, and in addition I brought a baseball cap to cover my head in direct sunlight, and I applied sunscreen to my nose & cheeks.

The beginning of the Wapack Trail, which is well-marked with yellow triangles, was basically just a rocky dirt road. Then it began to get steep, and I got winded a couple of times. There were several other people making the ascent today, including a kid who passed me doing a cross-country workout for his high school team. About halfway to the summit I got my second wind, and even the 'Heartbreak Hill' section just before the top was pretty easy going. Once I was at the summit I took a bunch of photographs of the blue-skied panorama. I could see Mt. Wachusett off to the southeast, and the rest of the Wapack Range heading north into New Hampshire. I ate the apple I brought with me, drank some water, and after a last look around (I wasn't inclined to use my sketchpad again this time, but better to have it and not use it, than to need it), I made my descent. I had my iPod on like last time, with Colbie Caillat and Cocteau Twins accompanying me down the mountain. A truly glorious day it was, if a bit windy, and since my brother lives practically right across the street from the entrance, I spent an hour hanging out with him and his family afterward. What a great start to Columbus Day Weekend...

Squares - Davis and Central

Tuesday night I headed into the Boston area to have dinner and then see Chapterhouse perform at The Middle East. I met Erik around 6 pm at Redbones, and we caught up over a kick-ass dinner and a couple of beers. I had hushpuppies and catfish fingers (they were out of fried oysters - damn!), and then a small rack of St. Louis style ribs, accompanied by two bottles of one of my favorite beers, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. We took our time, and then hopped the T to Central Square.

We wandered over to The Middle East, but when we got there, we found out that the first act didn't even go on 'til 9, so we headed out into the rainy night to hit a few bars. First stop: The Asgard. When we got inside this rustic Irish bar, Erik headed to the can, and I ordered for us both. Erik wanted something with pumpkin, so the waiter recommended one (I forget which), and I wanted to try a new IPA, so I had a Peak Organic from Portland, ME. It kicked ASS. Best beer I had all night, hands down. Then it was off to the Cantab Lounge. There was a decent folk band (Carter Creek Revival) playing onstage while we had our beers (I had a Long Trail IPA - worst beer of the night, though usually pretty good), and Erik even filmed one of their songs on his cell phone (in between frequent checks for news of Randy Moss' impending trade to the Vikings). We finally left around 9:15 for the club, and the three bands we'd paid to see.

When we arrived, the first band, 28 Degrees Taurus (a fantastic local Boston band), was already into their set. The lead singer Karina had on a white tank top with a huge kitty face plastered across her breasts (which she pointed out to us), and it mesmerized us as she played her bass, belted out her lyrics, and tinked her chimes on the final song. What a great band! Jinsen killed it on guitar, and the drummer went nuts. They were full of energy, and the songs were a motivating mix of thoughtful shoegaze and power thrash. Karina spent the rest of the night buzzing around & through the crowd in an alcohol haze. Erik even chatted her up a bit! Next up was Ulrich Schnauss, who fed us a non-stop 40-minute mixture of pulsing ambient and psychedelic dance music that I couldn't sit still for, but which much of the young, "hipster doofus" wannabes ignored (their loss!). I even spent a few minutes with my eyes closed, just enjoying the "alone in a crowd" sensation. Check his music out, it's amazing.

Finally, it was Chapterhouse's turn! I played these guys' music to death back in college, and had most of their EPs and full-length albums in heavy rotation off & on for many years after. To this day I have the "Mesmerise" EP on my iPod. Long story short: I never got to see them play live back in the early 90's, but tonight I did, and it was SO worth the wait. The entire set was loud and pulsing (though the sound was off a bit at times), and you'd have needed a sandblaster to get the grin off my face when they played "Then We'll Rise" and "Precious One" back to back. Seriously. I was in heaven. They even came out for a two-song encore, which was icing on the cake. What a show. It's definitely in the top ten for this decade, at the very least.

A Turn of Luck

Whoo-HOO! Look what I won :)