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"