North & Middle Tripyramid: 40 & 41 for round 2 of the NH48

The Tripyramids are a couple hills that don't offer a high bang for your buck value. There is a great deal of work getting to the top, and neither summit is particularly delightful. 

This being said, we have hiked these monsters several times. so something keeps us coming back, but who knows what it is. 

The majority of this hike, on June 12, may have been one of our better trips up these two dumb mountains. Not the whole hike, but some of it was decent. 

I'll admit, it was a nice day and pleasant to be out and about. 

We went up Pine Bend Brook trail, as we avoid the infamous slides. Pine bend brook starts innocently enough and then is just steep and rocky and annoying. And THEN you are the top of North Tri and it's not a big event. 

THEN you walk over to middle tri, and THAT is not a big event either! (the walk between peaks is pretty nice though. A decent time.)

THEN you walk down Sabbaday Brook trail which is stupid for two reasons. ONE is that there is a stupid steep slidey dumb section of trail. And TWO you seriously cross the brook a zillion times. Back and forth, back and forth. And if the water is a little high it is a pain in the ass (probably impossible if the water is very high!) And if you are like me, you lose your balance and fall IN the brook ass over teakettle and are dripping sopping soaked. 

At the very end Sabbaday Brook trail is amazing and lovely and one might forgive it, if one did not have a gallon of water still in each shoe.

Anyway. Got it done. Check for this round, for June and maybe for Spring (can't remember)

Stats:

Miles: 10.75

Elevation: 3219

Time: 5:04:02

Fun:

Sara: 5

Eric: Negative 4 

Cannon #39 of round 2 of the NH48

Cannon is not our favorite.  Not every mountain can be, after all, and there's something about the short, steep climb followed by droves and droves of people who take the tram to the summit that we find off putting. Weirdly, when I blogged about our maiden voyage up Cannon back in 2020, we didn't mind it and I believe I may have absurdly rated it easy. I can only assume now that I did so due to the fact that it is short, most of it is relatively protected and because I was young and dumb. 

Short and sweet: Sunday June 11 we had very limited time, and we were already camping in the area. So, Cannon it was. We got up there early and made short work of it. There was literally nobody at the summit, and we barely saw anyone until the descent.  It was steep and dumb and generally annoying. 

Good weather. 

No crowds. 

And we still don't like it. 

But it's done for this round, for Spring and for June

Stats:

Miles: 4.25

Elevation: 2306

Time: 2:23:56

Fun: Sara: 6

Eric: negative one million

North and South Kinsman, #37 & 38 of round 2 of the NH48

There are a few ways to Hike the Kinsmans. Sitting across the street from the famous Franconia Ridge, "That" side of the mountain tends to see some pretty heavy traffic. (a popular route is from the Lafayette place campground, and follows the Basin-Cascade train to the infamous Fishin Jimmy.) Another pretty horrible route takes you over Cannon, and then over a rather horrendous stretch of trail and a couple sub peaks called the Cannon Balls. If you take that route, don't be like us and try it in a very hot day. It's really hard and not awesome when you are dying of heat and swatting at horse flies. 

Anyway, I digress. To take the road somewhat less travelled, simply drive to the "other" side and take the Mt Kinsman trail.

We did this hike on June 10th on a fairly decent weather day. When we did this hike last year it was completely socked in- just one big cloud. 

Honestly, with the exception of having to cross several streams (all of which were running high due to the previous days rain) the hike is pretty uneventful. 

A fairly easy start on what must have been a logging road eventually turns into a fairly long and steep grind. None of the shenanigans of Fishin Jimmy, just a long walk uphill in the (very pretty and mossy and flowery) woods. 

After about 3.75 miles you'll intersect with Kinsman Ridge Trail and find your first view. 

About a half mile later you'll come to the blink and you'll miss it summit of North peak. There is a little overlook right in the vicinity that we did not check out, as a few of the only other hikers of the day were out on it. 

Then, you walk another mile up some rocks and down some rocks (hahah)

And then you'll find your throne on the summit. (FYI) maybe 200 yards or so before the summit is an overlook that VERY easily could be mistaken for the summit if it is cloudy. The first time we did this mountain we almost stopped early because we could not see the slightly higher summit. 

If you're lucky, you'll see some gliders out taking a spin. 

We took a quick detour on the way down to check out Bald Peak which is DEFINITELY worth doing!

Anyway, after that we scooted right down.

To be honest, this hike was a low key mess because I ended up having enough cell service to deal in real time with a multi hour work emergency that took place when we were as far away as possible. Fortunately, all was resolved prior to us getting off the trail but it was not a great way to spend a couple hours!

This hike crossed this off the list for this round of the 48, for Spring and for June. 

Stats:

Miles: 10.6

Elevation: 3979

Time: 5:44:27

Fun: Sara: 4 (just a lame day)

Eric (7) unaffected by work crisis 

Eisenhower and Monroe, #35 & 36 of round 2 of the NH48

May 29th brought us the sudden and unquestionable onset of Spring to the mountains! After a very typical "spring", that was slushy and snowy and icy and freezing, this was a delightful change. 

With perfect weather in the forecast, we headed up to do Eisenhower and Monroe. We have never done the two of these mountains together, so it was kind of a new adventure! 

We didn't start the hike until about 9:30 and we could tell that along with Spring, the fair weather hikers had arrived. We quit counting when we passed the 100th person- it was quite a busy day but we still had a nice amount of quiet time, especially past Eisenhower. 

The trek up Edmands Path was pleasant- we always enjoy this trail. 

It was so nice to see green leaves, dry trail and NO SNOW!!! It was just the morale boost we needed after the rough go in the Northern Presis a couple weeks earlier. 

New England is funny. One weekend you are in your winter coat and the next weekend you are all up in your summer kit. (and then the next weekend you'll be back in your big puffy coat!)

Once we were above treeline it cooled off a bit was was still just a lovely day. We made the final ascent to Eisenhower and it was kind of a zoo- definitely a holiday weekend vibe (it was a holiday weekend!)

Next up was the walk to Monroe which was just fabulous. There was absolutely nothing for us to complain about.

Spring was everywhere, yay!!

UGH STOP!!!! 

Just going to let the photos take us to Monroe....

So, we made it to Monroe after a very pleasant walk that was done in perfect weather in gorgeous scenery with lovely alpine flowers blooming. 

We summited happily!

After tagging the peak, we wandered down to the hut. It was not yet open but there was plenty going on, with people prepping the hut for a busy season. 

From there, we began the walk back. Since we have never taken Gulfside Trail around Monroe, we choose this route and really enjoyed it. 

We trekked over the low key summit of Franklin before heading back towards Edmands.

There were some shenanigans along the way....

And more pretty things to look at!

The remainder of the hike was uneventful (other than Eric was mercilessly hounded by black flies once below tree line. Another, less wonderful, part of Spring!)

The three of us all felt that this had been one of the best hikes of Spring. My foot was feeling better, Ellie loved playing in the streams on the warm day, and none of us missed the tedious snow. Ellie had no trouble with her feet (we used some mushers wax, but this was not nearly the beast of a hike of the northern peaks.) So for sure, a super day. 

Miles: 10.7

Elevation: 3967

Time: 5:21:50

Fun: Sara: 9.5

                 8

Update on pesky foot problem

We are in the midst of a mini break from hiking prompted initially by the onset of 90 degree temperatures, that only arrive for the weekends. Bullshit! Very similar to January when every weekend was -32 degrees and 67MPH winds, just on the opposite spectrum. 

Last October prior to my surgery I was having foot pain which seemed to be directly related to trail running/hiking and twisting my ankles and generally beating the crap out of myself. It was less that idea but I certainly could understand why it was happening (gone are the days of my early 30's and the "oh gee I have noooo idea why I could possibly be hurt- insert random bullshit reason instead of saying "I'm going too hard." Anyway, long story short is that we went pretty hard last fall and it made sense that I was having some pain and suffering. 

Fast forward to late winter. I had recovered from surgery and was literally a blank slate. Brand new woman. I figured it was a good time to rebuild in a super smart way (again- I'm not 30 anymore. No more "accidentally" running long miles on untrained legs.)

I did everything SO correctly. Walking before running, teeny tiny runs, smaller hikes building to larger ones, and extremely regular trips to see my top notch Chiropractor to get my body running like a well oiled machine. Early on in the winter, I damaged my rotator cuff and subsequently fucked up my back. This was a drag but actually demanded that I make a return to strength training and really prioritize continuing with Chiro/massage/PT etc. 

So long story SHORT. After all this love and care and legit couch to 5k return to athletics, HOW PISSED WAS I when my damn foot began to hurt back in April. I was pretty pissed but figured if I did my due diligence it would go away. So, I iced, stretched and rolled. Did my exercises. Backed wayyyy off on the 3 miles a week I was running. And nothing helped. 

Off to my PCP I went (unless I have bones sticking out of my body I try to go through the steps at home before wasting time to have a Dr tell me to ice/stretch/compress/rest.) My PCP sent me for an x-ray (looked good as expected- although it seems that I fractured my big toe at some point and have a couple extra foot bones. Go figure.) And then she sent me to see a Sports Medicine Dr. 

The Sports Medicine Dr was great. GREAT! She said that I certainly do have Plantar Fasciitis (LAME) and she added a couple steps to my already busy rehab regimen (more agressive rolling, possible dry needling, shoe inserts) AND she suggested a cortisone injection. Sick and tired of having foot pain all day every day, I took her up on that. 

And that brings us to today, weekend 2 of no hiking due once again to 90 degree temps, but also due to the fact that I had that cortisone shot yesterday and need to stay off my feet for a little bit. 

The injection itself was NO big deal at all. My doctor used ultrasound to show me my fascia (very swollen) and explained to me that first, a lidocaine injection would numb the whole area prior to the cortisone shot, and that besides from a little initial pinch I should not feel a thing. This was all correct and it was over before I knew it! It was extremely interesting to see the inner workings of my foot, and to watch the injection take place in real time. 

So far 17 hours in- I would say my foot feels good. I did not have the problem of having a flare up from the cortisone that some people experience. (actually- I would say I felt better instantly.) After 48 quiet hours I'll be able to ease back into my routine and I am VERY hopeful that I get some relief! 

Of course- this injection is NOT a cure and I will continue to be very diligent about my rehab. This has been very obnoxious, and I do not wish to continue with the foot pain of death so I plan to do everything I can to improve. 

Thankfully, I have not been told to back off of my normal activities unless the pain becomes really bad. (my sports dr did say she would NOT recommend beginning to train for a marathon right now, but I can continue to stay active.)

So we'll see how it goes. I'm cautiously optimistic that this injection will improve my comfort and allow me to have better days on my feet. And I'm VERY determined to continue with my rehab and get past this bump in the road.