July 2003

Crotched Mt. - July 26, 2003
Activity and trip report by Ken L.

Mt. Monadnock

It was another excellent day for a hike in the Monadnock region, and this time it was Crotched Mt.

Our trip took us from the Rehab Center to Shannon's Trail and up to the junction with Cindy's Trail for lunch. Then it was over Cindy's Trail, down Miki's Trail, and back on Nancy's Trail.

Joan, Dawn, Ellen and Nelson, Your Webmaster

The hike up Crotched Mt. is relatively easy. There are views along the way, and most of the climbing is saved toward the end, where you can munch blueberries as you gain a few hundred feet in altitude.

The trail is marvelous (see my rave from the first hike there a while back), although we were a little disappointed by Nancy's Trail coming back. It seems to be relatively new, and it's pretty dark in there. I enjoyed going out to the old farmer's road better (which we did the last time), but it is a lot longer.

Near the summit of Crotched Mt. we paused a while for lunch. I didn't get a picture of another canine friend who joined us---a "Labradoodle". Yep, a cross between a Labrador and a poodle, a breed they have started in (where else?) Australia.

Dawn had to leave after lunch, but Ellen, Nelson, Joan, and Your Webmaster completed the loop. We weren't disappointed by the view:

...and it's not often you run across something like this out there:

Whew...it started to get really humid when we started our way back along Nancy's Trail, and Your Webmaster stopped getting rid of heat. We had to pause for a while, but soon enough we were back out on Shannon's Trail and in the open where it was much less humid.

Another excellent hike with a little elevation without a ton of effort.

...Nelson says, "Cheese!"

Mts.Skatutakee and Thumb - July 19, 2003
Activity and trip report by Ken L.

Continuing in the round of hikes in the Monadnock area, Your Webmaster and a great group chose Mts. Skatutakee and Thumb, and it turned out to be a wonderful loop hike with great views of the Monadnock region, especially from Mt. Thumb. We took the Harriscat Trail up Mt. Skatutakee, then over to Thumb, then back down in a loop.

Dawn, Pam, Randy, Jen, Tom, John, Wilson, Lorelei, and Your Webmaster
Our furry friends are Shadow, Bobo, and Ra

It was a sunny day, warm but not too hot (not 'til the summits anyway), and the trail was not difficult.

<-- Pam and Randy stopped for a photo op, and you can kinda see Shadow in there somewhere.

Along the way there were some friendly critters and some bright shrooms.

	John and Bobo posed for a pic at the top of Mt. Skatutakee.
Shadow is one hot dog!	A nice, refreshing treat awaited us at the top of both Mts. Skatutakee and Thumb.

We decided not to have lunch on top of Mt. Skatutakee. It was a bit early, and we thought that we might like the view better from Thumb. Wilson had a prior appointment, so he headed back, not without grabbing a bunch of blueberries first!

So we wandered over to Mt. Thumb......and, boy, were we right about the view!

There was also a little shade--a great spot for lunch. Oh, right, blueberries, too.

Ra, Tom, and Lorelei found some rocks in the shade...

...and the lunch bunch (Randy, Pam, Dawn, Jen) found their own spot.

Your Webmaster. That's Mt. Monadnock in the background.

A pause for the paws on the way back down.

The Harriscat Trail for Mts. Skatutakee and Thumb start at the Harris Center. Worth it for a relatively mild but worthwhile walk in the woods to some great views.

Kidder Mt.- July 13, 2003
Activity and trip report by Ken L.

Chin, Li, Jan, Joan, Pam and Shadow, Laura, Sasha, Your Webmaster

Unlike our March adventure , the trail to the summit of Kidder Mt. in Temple, NH didn't present us with any surprises this time.


	Instead we were greeted with a nice, sunny day.

At the top we broke for lunch. Nice views from up there, and despite a bit of haze we could just make out the Boston skyline on the horizon.

Chin and Li gathered up plenty of blueberries. The rest of us just picked them and munched.

Mt. Monadnock

Kidder Mt. is an easy hike with a great view and a nice, sunny spot for lunch. The trail we took is not far from the center of Temple, NH.

Camping in Rangeley Maine - July 4 Weekend, 2003
Activity, trip report, and photos by Carol F.

Sunrise on Rangeley Lake

Eighteen AMCer�s, GONewEnglanders, and friends joined us for our second Annual 4th of July Camping trip to Rangeley Maine. We stayed in the beautiful Rangeley State Park campground. There was something for everyone--we swam and canoed in Rangeley Lake, hiked to Saddleback Mountain and Angel Falls, biked around the lake, ate lobster and duck eggs, saw moose, and relaxed on the beach and of course by the fire. The weather, for our second annual trip, was again spectacular, and those little black flies evacuated before we got there. Everyone had a great time!

Monica, Brenda, Joanne, Vicki, Henry, and Jaques chow on lobstah

Monica and Aree rock climbing at Angel Falls

Cliff watches at Marguerite (bravely) cooks 16 lobsters!

Aree is "creating" a birthday card for Jacques.
Monica, Joanne, Brenda, Henry, Vicki, Jacques, and Dave eat lobster while Rachel and Lynn relax.

Rangeley Lake