Ritzhikes

Where: Farmington River When: 7/19-20/2003 With: The Stupids Planning for this trip began in June, when Chip & I started to discuss summer camping trips. Our immediate concern was a trip for the two of us, but Chip mentioned that he might be available for two trips this year and we thought a late summer/early fall trip with the rest of the Stupids might be worth considering. I said I'd been thinking about a return to the Farmington and somehow the planning changed to another Stupid kayak adventure. We contacted the rest of the crew, suggested a couple of fast-approaching dates and by some miracle found that everyone was ready, willing and available for a weekend in mid-July. I volunteered to cook again, and Chip was able to borrow a small kayak from a friend. Since David had two sea kayaks, that meant we could avoid having to rent boats this time. I suggested hammock camping, offering my old army rig for Seth's use. Chip purchased a new hammock of his own and we were a...

Where: Mt. Major, NH When: 7/6/03 With: Solo I'd volunteered to drive Andy and his friend Don to Boy Scout camp up in NH and figured I'd try to get in a little hiking while I was in the area. Pickup the following Saturday was at 9AM and I considered driving up Friday and camping out over night, so I wanted to check out the possibilities for campsites ahead of time. The camp is in Gilmanton, just west of Lake Winnipesaukee and at the southern end of the Belknap Mountains. I checked some maps and noted Mt. Major, rising above the shore of the lake at the northern end of Alton Bay. I'd heard of it, and it seemed like it might offer some easily accessible yet sufficiently isolated spots to suit my purpose. Dropping the boys off took longer than I expected since I wound up carrying their gear to the campsite for them, and I got a late start toward the trails, but I still had plenty of day to work with. It was a fairly direct route to the Lake and then up the western shore o...

Where: Hidden Valley Scout Reservation When: July 6-13, 2003 With: Andy, Donny, and the Scouts Andy's first year at summer Scout camp. Hidden Valley is in Gilmanton Iron Works, NH. It's your basic Scout camp - tents, a lake, trails, facilities for various activities, etc. I drove the boys up, intending to do a quick dump & run before heading off to explore the trails nearby, but wound up spending time helping the boys get their gear to their camp and getting things set up. Especially the bug nets that had to be hung over each boy's cot. Eventually everything was all set and I left the boys in the hands of their leaders for the week. More photos