A repeat of Summer Goal #2 (climb every/some mountains) Mt Madison adventure

Last weekend, Eric, my Dad Lee and I climbed Mt Madison.

We somehow managed to time this perfectly, on the coolest day of the summer. It was an overcast day, about 65 degrees at the base, and a chilly 48 at the summit. No wind to speak of, except in the last half mile, when it was quite blustery. Several pop up showers made the going slick in places, which doesn't help me much since I am a clod.

We set off early. REALLY early. We picked Lee up at 2:55 (AM, yes. early)

This is how dark it was

We took some guesses on how many cars, and hikers we would see in the Appalachia lot. I guessed "a few cars and two crazy people.) 
WRONG. The lot was packed, and cars basically poured in behind us. It was a decent enough day to take a crack at a traverse, and people were getting after a 4AM start.

Three weirdos

Armed with headlamps, we ambled off into the night. We pulled over several times to allow faster hikers to pass by us. Trail traffic was certainly heavy, but with the exception of seeing people pass us, we hiked alone. We had decided to take Valley Way all the way to the Madison Hut, and this seemed to be a good choice.

The footing on the trail was excellent for dark hiking. We were well into daylight hours by the time the typical White Mountain rock-heap nonsense became an issue. So, we enjoyed a lovely start, gradual incline, nice dirt path (some roots but nothing stupid) and the sounds of a river close by (I tried for quite some time to catch a glimpse of it- and discovered on our descent that it was literally right next to the trail....) I'm sure that in wet weather this river could cause some soggy terrain (there were several signs of "stream crossings" but this summer is dry as a bone- no wet feet for us!)

Just after sunrise (which we completely failed to capture evidence of, except for this late to the game pic) the real hiking began.
And it should be mentioned that, in my sleep deprived state, I could not FOR THE LIFE OF ME say "sunrise". I called it "sunset" no fewer than 8 times. UGH #dementia

The post *sunset* photo op

The first rocks we encountered were a decent warmup for things to come. And actually, this is a solid trail in that regard. You get off to a fairly easy start, hit the odd rock or two, then shit gets real. It breaks you in gradually. There was a solid amount of climbing up the *shit gets real* section of this mountain. Not like the death-terror-caps of Jefferson, but in the "giant stone stairs for forever" manner.

These are the polite, small rocks. 

By the time we reached the "giant stone stairs forever" portion of our day, we were about halfway there. Good news! Also, bad news because it meant a lot of straight uphill walking was still to come. We were having a good time though, there were so many toads (21!) and the weather was quite reasonable.

Selfie break time. 

Lee and I were both grouchy about the food we packed. Who really can guess what will taste good, when you force your body to get up at ass o'clock and hike? Neither of us guessed correctly, so Eric got to listen to a long Bradley list of complaints about dry sandwiches, and dry candy bars, and dry goldfish. It was pretty funny at the time. And DRY.

This was where shit began to get real

Suddenly (although not all that suddenly, after 3 plus hours of hiking haha) the trees got tiny and the famous "you're f***ed" sign popped up. Almost there! Almost somewhere, anyway.

DO NOT CONTINUE! CERTAIN DEATH AWAITS!

We reached the Madison Hut right on schedule (actually, ahead of schedule. We ran about 15/20 minutes ahead of *book time* all day.) There were a GAZZILLION people at the hut, because it was breakfast time. There were another billion people bagging the peak, or whatever it is that real hikers say. Maybe I will make my own catch phrase for this event. (smashing the summit? tumbling at the top? I don't know, this requires some thought. )

Eric and Lee, on a properly nice stretch of trail. #norocks

So. We still had a half mile climb up the giant rocks that apparently are called *trails* around here. Lee ditched his pack like the smartest person ever, but Eric and kept ours because we are foolish. Or, trying to get better at rock scrambling with a 12.2 pound pack (not that I weighed in, or anything.)

It was chilly. And rainy! And WINDY!!! Very exciting. We watched a guy wipe out and fall straight into a shrub, which seemed a much better choice than straight into a boulder.

Lee, casual in the wind 

We summited successfully! Bagged it! Tagged it! #orsomething

Mt Madison Summit

Then, we spider monkey climbed down, and sat at the hut for a bit. Eating DRY food and making new friends, like crazy Sean, who was planing to low key traverse in less than 10 hours. Mental!

Then, we walked back down. Down is tricky because rocks are hard, water is wet, and when you combine the two it can be problematic!

Whoops. Typical....

We met more hikers on our way down than we had encountered (passing us) on the way up. We did not see any more toads. We saw two people hiking in sandals, but they looked confident so good for them (ouch. not recommended by me considering I can barely stay upright in shoes.)

It was fun checking out the final mile of so in the daylight! It was really pretty, and a really enjoyable part of the hike.

This was what we hiked in the dark, basically a 5 lane paved highway! 

We detoured just a few steps to check out a pretty little waterfall. So nice!

I love waterfalls

And then, 8 hours later (7 hours moving time, 1 hour futzing around) we MADE IT BACK!!

YAY! 

It was a good hike, and a fun hike (despite my continued skepticism about the "trail" of massive beast boulders.... *sigh*) We figured out a few gear issues that we can improve before the next trip. We decided to bring some less dry snacks next time. We shared one beer (so tired!) stopped and ate a whole pizza (not dry!) and went home for naps. Except for Lee, who somehow managed to stay up partying until 9:30PM which is just ridiculous!

Mt Madison:
Miles: 8.5
Elevation gain: 4,056 ft
Time: 8 hours (7 moving time)
Rocks: so many
Challenge level: moderate for sure. it's just a long, rocky climb. not terrifying.

Summer Goal #3: Race ALL the Bradbury Mt Races

Well. This is part 1 of 3 of this particular goal. (two more races at Bradbury before I can claim my "Badass" status!)

After a week of HIDEOUSLY SWELTERING HEAT AND HUMIDITY, the disgusting weather finally broke, and we got some relatively cool air. (relative is the word.) This was a relief, first of all because the weather SUCKED, and secondly, we had some "racing" to do!

The first race of the Bradbury series was last Sunday, and Eric and I arrived ready for the challenge.
Neither of us have ever done this first race before- the Scuffle? The shuffle? However, we both did a good amount of trail running/biking of the "other side of the road" at the park last year. Despite this being our first trip of the season, we basically knew what to expect.

As is often the case, June was not a month of serious training for me. (and let's be real, July will not be either!) After the whole marathon training winter, and a high mileage May (culminating in a 50k) rest and sloth was on the agenda. So yeah, I'm an unfit mess of a woman.

We managed to see a few friends before the start (Hi Jen! Michelle! Wade/Ward or whichever one is Jen's husband!) and then we were off.

The "other side" of Bradbury does not contain the mountain. What is has, instead, are miles of twisty, rooty trails. And little bouncy bridges. Lots of fun, especially if you are not trying to win (we were not.) The Bradlowski's made some bad choices while preparing for this event. We neglected to carry snacks (mildly dumb) or water (incredibly dumb) so as it turned out, there was some level of suffering.
Eric fell down. I did not. This is a complete reversal of our usual trail running adventures!

I certainly noticed my lack of fitness for a good part of the race. (and a real lack of trail running practice, the agility it requires takes more than a few minutes of racing to lock down....) But really, a tough day of trail running is much better than a hot, gross summer day of road running! Eric and I enjoyed running together (basically all alone) for about 4 of the 6 miles. If we hadn't been as confident in the excellent trail marking, we would have thought we were lost!

For whatever reason, I gained a second wind sometime during the final mile.  (or my legs finally woke up? who knows.) I was aided by a delightful downhill gravel path, and I managed to kick up a little speed (which was really quite fun!)

I finished feeling good (dripping, dripping sweat) and my time was 58 and change.
I can tell I am still secretly in road running mode, because I usually pay zero attention to my fun trail race times! (by August I will have mellowed out!)

OMG WINNING (but like, not)

Eric finished right behind me, and we took a sweaty selfie (as we always do) We also ate almost the whole jar of pickles that the post race snack station had. They were delicious.

#hot 

We then proceeded to hike around lugging heavy packs for a bit. With basically zero snacks, which was STILL a horrible plan!!

Prepared to climb Mt Everest, from the looks of things

So thus far, summer has been busy. Really busy. I am back in the zone of trying to hit 4 workouts a week (or some sort) and mostly failing (but I honestly blame the shitbag 96 degree weather for that.) (and also working well over 60 hours a week) I have been out on the bike a few times now, and I absolutely hate the summer traffic! OMG PEOPLE, please for the love of baby geezes get off your damn phones!!!!

Biking to the PUB!!! Shocking!

Road running has taken a backseat (thank heavens) to other activities but will pick back up in the fall, or whenever I feel like dealing with it again!

Eric and I have been to 2 of the Bethel/Mahoussuc trails "races" this summer. One was hot, so hot that I legit ran 10:43 pace and still hated it.
The next week was cooler, and I managed a 9:07 pace, but only due to shame. Shame is an incredible motivator!

Bethel trail Friday nights!

Oh, and I also went to another horse show, and kept the 2nd place streak alive for the first day! Then I blew it, by getting one 4th (SHAME, hahaha) and winning a couple classes! YAY!

Ohhhhhh AND a Tricolor ribbon!!!!

So, Stats:
Hottest day this summer: 96. Fucking 96.
Number of 2nd place ribbons: 2
Trail races that caused me to fall: 0 (thus far)
Longest bike ride: 19 which felt like 100
Longest run on the road: like, 5 which felt like 30
Longest trail run: 6 which felt like 6 because trail running is my jam in the summer
Current fitness: Excellent for riding horses, just dreadful for running

Summer Goal #2: Go climb EVERY mountain! (or one)

Before the world turned to molten lava (seriously, it has been 95 degrees here in Maine since Saturday. Basically pure torment for us cold blooded Northeners) Eric, My cousin Evan, My Dad Lee and I climbed Mt. Jefferson.

This was a last minute opportunity for me. I managed to finagle things in my schedule enough to be able to take a rare (and kind of needed) day off. I was very excited to be able to include myself in this adventure, as hiking was on my must do list for 2018.

We got off to a decently early start, (although not that early) and hit the trail around 9:00. 

Pre hike excellence 

The day was just perfect, 50 degrees at the start. Forecast to be about 80 at "sea level" and between 50-70 degrees for the climbing duration. 

I certainly was the least experienced, and least bold hiker in the group. The only thing I really had going for me was my ability to actually hike (because I am reasonably fit) and my ability to carry snacks in my bag. At least I had something to offer. 

We definitely picked a great day for views and weather, it was dry, clear, and perfect!

The trail (Caps Ridge) began pleasantly enough. Typical White Mountain, below tree level path. Some roots, rocks, and elevation gain but nothing to get too hyper about. 

As we rose above the treeline, the views (and the warmer sun) became apparent!

Scenic Vista #1

Generally speaking, if I was given a route choice I would always pick the easy, and less death defying option. Evan, NOT so much!! He was like a little mountain goat, filled with climbing skills and boundless energy. 

King of the mountain

What nobody mentioned to me about this trail were the "caps". I assumed that since I was hiking with both my father and husband, nobody would have a death wish for me. For a moment, I thought I was BADLY mistaken. 

I have some issues with heights, and fears of falling backwards to sudden and certain death. There may have been a moment or two where I had to talk myself down. (not literally) Luckily, more fearful of shame than death, I motored up the beasts and we hiked onward. 

Just some caps. NBD. Or.... SCARY.

There were a lot of rocks to climb over. At some points in the final half mile I was laughing at the absurdity of the "trail" that we were on! (and yes, I know all the White's are just giant rock piles.) I would look up, at the endless heaps of boulders and think that if someone before me had not deemed the heap a trail, I certainly would not attempt to struggle up it. It was rather amusing. 

We made it to the top, where it was closer to 50 degrees than 80, and we hunkered down for a rest. We had made it to the summit in exact book time even with our snack/scenic vista stops (and my less than speedy trip up the scary caps.)

Challenge Complete!!!! Well... Half way. 

Wo relaxed for a few minutes, ate some huge sandwiches, and watched the train head up Mt Washington (no pics of said train I am afraid....)

The rocks are the trail

The trip down was a good time. 

Evan, as usual, did some nice core strength work...! (photo cred to the super nice group of women that we met on the way down. Hikers are very nice, fun people!)

OMG EVAN!!!!!

I managed the caps much better on the way down, although I still was not exactly cozily inside my comfort zone. 

Lee is casual. I am hanging on. 

We made a spectacular finish, keeping our book time pace alive! 

We celebrated with a beer, as one should. 

Victorious!

Stats:

Mt. Jefferson:

4.8 miles

2,679 ft elevation gain

4:04
Challenge level: pretty high. the caps are a bitch. don't do this if you don't want to feel a little scared! (or, do it if you want to feel like a badass!!!!) 

No falls off cliffs and only one scraped ankle! Winning!