Adventure #1

First, a note: In case you haven't noticed, I have been changing the blog around a lot. In light of the coming months, when I suspect that many more people will be reading along, I have wanted to make the blog more reader-friendly. I hope you find it as such!

While Chris and I are in Massachusetts, we are planning several excursions so that we don't slip into total sedentary/couch potato mode. Our first adventure occurred yesterday when our friends Simon and Tiffani invited us to hike up Mt. Monadnock with them. I was expecting a tough, rocky hike, but nothing like we actually experienced. It was amazing!

Planning to watch the sunrise at the summit, we left the Freemans' house at 2am on Saturday morning. To the mountain in New Hampshire, it's about an hour drive, and we began our hike with nothing but the moonlight and a few flashlights to guide us at around 3:20am. At this point, I am grateful that we decided to do the hike in the dark, otherwise, I may have turned back before we began...

We hiked at a moderate pace, with a few water breaks along the way. At around 5:10, we reached what we thought was the top, only to realize we had a good stretch of seventy-five degree climb in front of us. We missed the initial sunrise, but when we did make it to the summit, I couldn't believe my eyes; a 360 view of the mist and fog below that made the land appear as a lake was before me. The red-orange sun had only begun to rise above the horizon, and the half moon still hung bright above us.

After we had taken in all that was around us, we picked some wild blueberries (not poisonous, thanks to my eagle scout) and ate the fruit and snacks we brought along for breakfast. It was truly amazing. We rested for about an hour, and then straightened our weary knees for the 2-mile hike back down the mountain. Never before this day had I wished for the sure feet of a horse or a goat...