Cannon Mountain: 4k #10 for 2019

Eric and I had exactly enough time on July 4th to do a small hike, so we decided to brave the potential crowds at Cannon.
We weren't terribly concerned about trail traffic, but Cannon has a Tram to the summit which is wildly popular and brings quite a crowd to the top. It is a zoo.

We headed off in the hot (80 at the base) and humid (VERY) conditions. We took the Kinsman Ridge trail, which is easily found all the way to the left hand side of the Cannon Mountain Tramway lot.

Right away, the trail is quite steep and it never really lets up. That is what one gets for trying to do a 4100 foot hill, in 4 miles round trip!

It was steeper than it looks

We tried to take it easy because of the heat, but Ellie wasn't a big fan of that plan. She ran like a lunatic, climbing extra rocks and generally tearing it up.

"don't tell me to be slow"

The trail winds through the woods, and throughout what I believe were some wicked dangerous looking glade ski trails. No thanks. I'll pass on skiing down ANY of this.
(for those not in the know, Cannon is a ski mountain.)

You don't get any feeling of being "remote" what so ever during this hike. If course, it is very popular due to being smaller, because you can always take the tram down if you can't make it on your own feet, and Franconia is just crazy pants busy all summer long. We saw about 50 hikers, all happy and sweaty, so there was not an insane amount of trail traffic. The noise of I-93 in the distance though, reminded us that we weren't far from civilization.

Looking out onto I-93 and Echo Lake

About half way up, I heard what I thought was a lawnmower (why that would be, nobody knows!)
Clearly, it wasn't a mower on the mountain. It was the tram!! It was really fun to see it zip on by.

Smart humans in there

The best thing about Cannon, is that you get an incredible chance to get great views many times. This is by FAR the best of the shorter 4k footers in the scenery department.

Scenic overlook about 3/4 of the way up. HAZE

After the little scenic viewpoint the trail continues through some trees, then pops out above treeline. This part of the trail was great fun, with some rock hopping, amazing scenery, and a variety of beautiful alpine flowers.

Once you reach the (almost) top, the trail follows the Ridgeline towards the observation deck, and the crowds from the tram become intense. The views along the ridge are stunning, and you get a great look at the Franconia ridge.

We didn't spend a ton of time in the observation deck because it was both crowded and hot, but the views were impressive.

We also got a family photo which is always good!

It was so hot that Ellie was even hot

We headed back down, waved to the departing tram, accidentally frightened some very fearful children with our dog (who literally ignored the children....) and took a few extra minutes for more photo ops. Really, the motto of this hike was to move slowly and enjoy looking at things.

Ellie thinks we are nuts

The hike down was uneventful. Steep, as expected. The trail was in good shape, and very very easy to follow. Nothing technical, but some fiddly rocks here and there.

Fussy little rocky stretch through a ski trail #nope

Finally, covered in SWEAT SO MUCH SWEAT, we made it to the finish!

One of our better photos

It was almost too hot for a parking lot party. ALMOST.

It was really hot though

So anyway. A solid 4th of July hike. This hike wasn't my favorite, for no particular reason. I would highly recommend it to hikers in decent shape (because it's fairly steep in an unrelenting manner for the first mile or so) but it is short. The views for a short 4k footer just can't be beat. I love the trail on Hale- but we know the views leave something to be desired. You couldn't ask for better scenery on Cannon.

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,250
-miles covered: 4.1
-elapsed time: 3:08

Difficulty: This is a very short trail with absolutely nothing technical (not even a stream crossing to be found.) However, it is a steep little asshole for the first mile-plus. I'm in decent shape and I was still like, come ON!!! But it's short. You can't get too mad. So this is somewhere between easy/moderate for me.

Views: Excellent and numerous. Impressive.

Bugs: Black flies were out, and were mildly annoying

Dog friendly trail? Yes, nothing challenging for the canine friends on this trail

Training for Marine Corps Marathon: Official week one

This week marked the "official" (18 week) countdown to MCM. I determined that I I counted the past few weeks as "official" training, that it would bother me forever. Because who does a 20+ week plan? Apparently, I do...

Summer arrived (in all ways) last week, but I was able to get in a good few days of early season work.

I hope to pre-load my weeks during these first few, allowing extra time at the end of the week to either:
-Go to horse shows/deal with life
-Hike
-Stack hay
-Get in one of the "following weeks" workouts, if I know the shit is going down.

Prepping for Hyannis/Boston over the winter I had the following challenges to cope with:
-Winter weather
-Coping with said terrible conditions
-Having no staff at work

During the summer I have the following challenges to consider:
-Summer weather......
-3 or 4 multi day weekend horse shows
-last minute, physically taxing thousand bale hay deliveries
-12 hour workdays, but a few days when I get done early (yay!!! not a challenge!)

I'm basically planning to get my runs in when they can be done. I feel like this could make for a really messy looking week (on Strava anyhow) but the miles get in regardless!

It was nice to feel motivated last week. I reached my "required" mileage by Thursday which was a really great feeling.

Easy run Monday, "long" 7 mile run Tuesday, 8x400 at a mid-7 pace on Wednesday, and a recovery day on Thursday. I added a few miles (like, 3) on Saturday because I wanted to check out what was going on in town. #nosy

I got soaked on my Tuesday run, which actually feels pretty great during the hot summer months.

I'm just drenched. 

I ended up doing next weeks "long run" (9.1) on Sunday because by early week schedule is STUPID. It was 65 and raining too, so BONUS. This will make me look MOTIVATED on Strava this week, and LAZY next week, but I know what's up.

Stats:
Miles: 24.8 (not counting the bonus 9.1)
Hottest day: 83, woof
Longest run: Technically, 7

Training for the Marine Corps Marathon: Week 2 & 3 (pre training)

Right, so despite a 3 day horse show, I still managed my goal of getting in 4 runs during week 2. (week starting June 10)

I had a "long" 7 miler, and then an assortment of shorter runs.

Really, nothing too exciting to report at this time!

The biggest challenge is managing to find the time and energy to get ANY run in at all. (this is certainly not a problem unique to me. Everyone deals with time management.) Especially when it begins to get hot, the LAST thing I want to do at the end of a long, hot day of working outdoors is go on a stupid run.

As things turned out, week 3 (June 17) was a bust. I'm a bit ashamed to have had a zero week (well, a couple hikes.) Basically, it was a bit of this, a bit of that, and mostly the desire to spend time with my sister who is visiting for the first time this year. Not going to be ashamed for THAT!!

Plus, we got a couple pretty hiking pics.

Yay!!

Pretty

Stats:
Well......
20 miles during horse show week (high temp 83, long run 7)
The following week, NADA

Mt Willey and Mt Field: 4k footers #8 & (repeat) 9 of 2019

Summer arrived.

The three of us headed off last Sunday to FINALLY conquer Willey after being thwarted by snow, and trail conditions several weeks ago.

It was a toasty day, well into the upper 70's and just as sunny as you could ask for. RARE.

We left the Willey House (a fascinating historical landmark) exactly at 12:00 and headed up the Kedron Flume trail.

Warm day, no snow

We have discovered that Ellie has developed a real obsession with running water, and she happily played in the flume, much to our amusement.

Vizsla Butt

(it's about a .80 mile hike to the flume- great for kids or people who love a pretty falls.)

The day was beautiful, and the views were good right from the get go.

Always nice to see a view!

After the falls, the trail (Ethan Pond to Willey Range Trail) was in super condition. No snow, very little mud, easy stream crossings. The trail might have been low on blazes in a couple places, but it was extremely obvious that you were on the trail.

It is only 2.5-ish miles to the top of Willey, so you gain some serious elevation. Lots of it is pretty low key and non technical, but definitely UP.

Like up the helpful stairs

The steep sections were broken up by some easy places, which made the hike very manageable. I would say that this should not be someones first 4k footer, but it's a good one (and a pretty short one) to work towards.
We had heard/read a lot about the ladder/stair section and had some concerns that Ellie would have issues. It was a little intense, but dry so we all managed well. If you had a timid dog, they could certainly be an issue.

The first of about 8 or so stair/ladders

After the ladders, there was more UP, and some rocky stretches.

Nothing major, but definitely not a dirt trail

Right at mile 2.5 we summited. The actual summit was ANOTHER low fanfare cairn, but there were a number of scenic vistas that were very impressive. Definitely a good reward for the elevation gain!

Really lovely

A perfect day

We spent a moment in contemplation at the summit. Retrace our steps, or continue to Field, finish at Crawford Depot, and try to find a ride back to Willey House.
The good weather, and the first good trail conditions of the year pushed us towards Field. Knowing we were only adding a mile or so to our plan, we headed off.
And quickly found snow (which was totally minor, but funny to see!)

Evan would have postholed!!

Clearly, the trail between Willey and Field has dried up, and been cleaned up considerably since our last attempt. Lots of evidence of recent blowdowns being cleared, which left the trail in great shape.

I'm such a super fan of beautiful trails like this

We came across a spot where it appears some awful weather happened at some point in the past. It's not easy being trees in the Whites.

Sorry trees

It really was a great walk between the two mountains, and one that we enjoyed all the more without the snow! Before long we were on Mt Field, and appreciated how pleasant it was without 4 feet of snow upon it!

About 40 degrees warmer than last time

Very Pretty

The hike down Avalon was uneventful an quiet. We saw a grand total of maybe 3 people. We agreed, that in conditions as good as we found on this day the trifecta of Tom, Field, and Willey would be completely manageable. My suggestion, if you plan to traverse and not do an out and back, start at the Willey side. (I'm a fan of taking the hard path up and easy path down- and between the ladders and the steep rocks, Willey is the harder ascent in my belief.)

Anywhoo. We made it down!!! YAY!! Ellie enjoyed playing in all the streams on Avalon, and was basically a big goofball every time she heard water.

Why the long face, Elle?

We got super lucky and immediately scored a ride back to the Willey House with a super nice woman from Mass, who was enjoying a camping weekend. Really good timing, and much appreciated on our part!! It was a big enough/fast enough/hot enough hike to have all 3 of us feeling a little tired, so we were glad not to have to walk 2.5 miles on 302 back to the car.

We got back and had a parking lot party. Basically everyone driving past us gave us a honk, because we are awesome.

Or because we have a very cute pupkins

So final thoughts. Willey is another 4k footer off "the list" for us, and it was vigorous but manageable. Short and steep. Great views, fun water crossings, a few unique challenges like the ladders. It was another 99.9% below treeline hike, but that makes it a decent choice for a foggy day when you don't want to die on Mt. Madison.

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 3,494
-miles covered: 6.5
-elapsed time: 4:20- plenty of water play time for the kid. 

Difficulty: Moderate due to steep sections, ladders, some rocks. Safe because below treeline and not too terribly long. 

Views: Quite good, several chances to enjoy the scenery. 

Bugs: Black flies were out, but we mostly avoided them

Dog friendly trail? Yes, but you do have several stream crossings, a few steep and rocky stretches and the series of stair/ladders. While Ellie had no issue, there is NO way that out Lab could have managed this trail. So proceed with caution. 

Training for Marine Corps Marathon: Week one (pre training)

Yes. Somehow I decided that it would be a great idea to run a fall marathon this year.
I'll admit this: The last time I made such a decision I declared "never again!!"

My assumption is that since I have made the choice to run a late October race, this is a great chance to change my attitude and embrace sweaty summer training. I suspect this will not be a yearly occurrence, but I plan to not only make the best of it, but really give a good effort.

I took some off time in May, as per the plan. And then caught a nasty cold, which was not on the plan. During June, I hope to do 4 runs per week, all base building.

Week one went as planned.

4 runs, all pretty standard, all about 4-ish miles.

Weekly Stats:
Miles: 17.8
Warmest run-: 79 which felt HOT