Ritzhikes

Where: Mt. Chocorua When: 10/16/2018 With: Solo It's been a long time since I took the exit off 95 in New Hampshire for Route 16. We usually continue north on 95 to Maine, but today I headed to the White Mountains. Mt. Chocorua, to be specific. One of my retirement to-do items is day hikes in the Whites, completing my 4K peaks list and revisiting favorite hikes I've done before. Mt. Chocorua was my first NH peak, climbed as part of  an epic weekend in 1984 , so I wanted to return to it to begin this next phase of my hiking life. I was the 2nd car in the Piper Trail parking lot at 8AM, after an easy 2.5 hour drive from home. I skipped the $5 parking pass process, thinking I only had a couple of $20s. I hoped no one would check mid-week, or that the parking fee season was over. [I later realized I DID have change, but not until I was an hour up the trail, and I paid my fee when I returned to the car.] I changed into my boots, grabbed my pack, and was on the trail within min...

Where: Mt. Eisenhower via Edmands Path When: September 22, 2018 With: Meditech folks This hike was suggested by Scott Radner, as a tribute for Brian White. Brian was my first manager at Meditech, and organized many fondly recalled hiking trips for folks at the company. Sadly, Brian passed away shortly after retiring, and Scott thought a hike would be an appropriate way to honor and remember him. The Edmands Path and Mt. Eisenhower had been a trip Brian wanted to do, and was a doable, yet still challenging hike. Scott took care of the arrangements, contacting current and former Meditechers and proposing a date. It was a fairly large group at first, but a number of folks dropped out in the final week. In the end, there were eight of us (5 adults, 3 kids). Two of us (me and another) were driving up that morning. The others had booked lodging and made a weekend of it.  I enjoyed the early departure from home (5:30) and the ride up through New Hampshire. It was something I haven...

Where: Delaware River, Callicoon NY When: August 24, 2018 With: The Stupids I can't find any record of the planning stages of this trip, but I recall that a number of dates were proposed for a kayak adventure on the Delaware River, with Xeth's house as a base camp. I agreed to the weekend following the final Concert on the Common, when I'd have no other commitments. Taking advantage of a schedule freed up by my recent retirement, I made plans to visit my sister in Easton PA (downstream from Xeth's place) for a few days before the gathering. I'd drive to her place on Thursday, head to Xeth's Saturday morning, then return home on Sunday. My plans changed two weeks before the trip, when one of the Concerts on the Common was rained out, and the band rescheduled to the weekend (Sunday) of the trip. I'd still be able to go, but I needed to be home on Sunday by 2PM. My original thought was to leave at first light on Sunday, but while driving up river Sat...