Above: the 2007 expedition team en route to Lake of Clouds Hut

In June 2007, an annoying accident prevented me from being part of a family hike I’d planned on the Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains, New Hampshire, staying at Appalachian Mountain Club huts along the way.  This year Nic and Tim have sweetly taken it upon themselves to organize a repeat of the hike this summer.  It’s planned for this coming July and I’m very much looking forward to it!  [Note: pictures from the 2007 expedition can be seen in three pages at our family website, and there’s also a YouTube video of the second day based on pictures taken by Nic, Alison, Cally, Sylvia, Justin, and my brother-in-law Lee, who fortunately was available to take my place.]

So barring another stupid accident, it’s up to me (now as a retired old geezer) to keep up with Nic and Alison and Tim and Megan this July!  Accordingly, I officially began today my “training” for the hike this summer with a six-mile saunter up our local Crabtree Falls and beyond to Crabtree Meadow and back.  Although there were touches of ice here and there, the temperatures were in the fifties and rain earlier in the week meant lots of water in the falls.  And the lack of foliage meant that the falls were visible through the trees at all times.   Above the falls, the trail runs along the floodplain of Crabtree Creek, which below the falls feeds into the South Fork of the Tye River.  There is a nice mountain laurel forest and pleasant campsites along the way.  An auspicious beginning for my training regime!  A few pictures of today’s hike below.