Mt. Liberty

This past Columbus Day weekend I headed up to the White Mountains with a few good friends for a weekend of camping and hiking, during arguably the best weekend for fall foliage. Unfortunately the weather wasn't exactly the best, but that didn't stop us from doing everything we set out to do. As a precursor to this post, I'm moving and I've had very little free time in the past couple of weeks, and while I know I need to write some posts before the memory of the trips start to fade, I'm lazy and this post will prob suffer due to that. While we hiked a few short side trips along the Kancamagus highway, the main event was Mount Liberty, part of the Franconia ridge, which I've been somewhat obsessed with this past year as I've done Lincoln, Lafayette, Garfield, and now Liberty, along this ridge. The hike up wasn't too bad in my opinion (although a few members of the group might beg to differ a bit) we took the Liberty Springs trail up, not too steep and the rain held up for the most part as we made our way to the summit. While the main allure of hiking a mountain is for the incredible views at the top, there is still something to be said about a summit surrounded by fog, which is good because since it was in the clouds we couldn't see jack shit. After eating some heavily processed, loosely deemed chicken products and 3 pounds of golden grahams the rain picked up quite a bit and we were forced to make our way down the mountain. Now a hike in the rain sounds awful, but with the proper gear it isn't all that bad, but if your rocking some homemade jorts, a band tee shirt, and Wal-Mart brand boots it can be the worst experience ever, just ask Patrick. Although the jorts could have been replaced with a open-assed kilt, it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference, and needless to say by the time we made it back to the car, people were ready to go. After getting back we booked it to Oktoberfest at Loon Mountain, pounded some beers on empty stomachs that had just hiked 9 miles and swerved our way over to the Woodstock Inn for some dinner and further drinks, the best end to a day of hiking in the rain you could possibly ask for. The Woodstock Inn is perhaps the best restaurant I have even eaten at, and I've done so every time I've been hiking up there for this blog. I may or may not have already spoken about this place, but I don't care. Go there. Eat some damn meatloaf. Smile. Pass out. Thank me later. And if you don't like meatloaf, well then, get the hell out of here. I'm sure they make good Apple-tini spiced baby sauce that you might enjoy better. All and all awesome weekend with some good friends. Camping is just awesome, and it is possible and enjoyable to do so after Labor day, just as long as you don't wear white. Cheers!

Mileage: 9 Miles

Victors.

Gothic Peak.

Fall Awesomeness.

Strike a pose.

Fall is good.

"That's water"

Wanderlust 2012!

So I realize it’s been pretty damn quiet on Wanderlust lately, but I can assure you a lot is happening. The only good excuse I could possibly have for not putting up posts is that I’ve been too busy exploring to write anything up, and in this case that’s the truth. I’ve spent the better part of the last three weeks hiking in New Hampshire, Exploring in Philadelphia, and traveling in Texas/Oklahoma, and due to this I’ve had absolutely no time to write a post. The bad news is I still haven’t had time to write up any summaries from the trips in question. The good news on the other hand is that I have been spending what little free time I have working on something for the blog. As a preface to this project I bought a GoPro back in January in order to film some of the trips and hikes I would be doing over the course of the year, some of the footage has made it into the past few posts, but the fact of the matter is I have hours of video from just about every trip I’ve done over the past 10 months and I’ve compiled all of it into a five minute video for the blog. The reason being? This last year has been nothing short of amazing, and I’m completely lucky to have such good friends and family who have supported me in my quest to see and do literally everything. You’re the reason I made this blog, you’re the reason I’m able to go on all of these trips and experience all of this awesome stuff, so friggen thank you all for allowing me on short notice, without much information, in all manner of weather conditions, to convince you to go on whatever crazy adventure I happen to have planned, you guys are awesome. And hopefully you have all enjoyed yourself too.  All sappy shit aside, enjoy the video, and please, please keep joining me for the ride.

P.S. If you’re wondering why I made this video in October and not the end of the year it’s because I’m impatient and require instant gratification when I think of an idea. Deal with it. Also keep doing stuff with me for the rest of 2012.

Without Further Ado: Wanderlust 2012

Willowdale State Forest

I've been pretttty busy the past few weeks doing tons of fun things. In fact the last two months have been completely non stop, no complaints mind you, it has been an awesome time full of trips, hikes, parties, adventures, festivals, hanging out with good friends, and of course burn out mode activities. I was however able to squeeze in a hike two weekends ago at Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, MA. I ended up going on this one by myself which was good because I got to clear my head and think about some stuff, blah blah. I don't really have all that much to write about this hike, although it was just shy of 7 miles in length, there really wasn't to much to see along the way. This however wasn't a bad thing, just different from my hikes of late. It was great fall weather, perfect for hiking and the trails here are well marked. The only downfall of the trail system within the park is that there are so many trails and trail intersections that it would be quite easy to get turned around if you were trying to attempt a designated hike. I say this speaking from experience of course, on account i got turned around as shit for about 45 minutes before, after a series of complete guesses, I ended up back on the trail I was suppose to be on. I may or may not have yelled "fuck" a few times. After completing the loop I went to a nearby farm stand/hay maze/familyashellthingtodo and bought a root beer and a pie. I took said pie with me over to a friends house to watch some football, which is where I learned that bringing a pie to a football game makes you gay. All and all it was a good hike, not the best I've been on in the area, but with miles of trails and a surprising sense of remoteness while hiking them, Willowdale State Forest is worth a visit. Also this hike put me over my goal to hike 100 miles this year, which is awesome and I'm grateful to everyone who has come along with me so far. There is still 3 months left in the year and I intend to crush that goal and go for as much as possible before years end, so dammit people, keep hiking with me. Cheers!

Mileage: 6.5 Miles

Fall Path.