Ritzhikes

Where: Guyot Shelter When: 3/25-26, 2000 With: Chip At last! Four years after we made our first attempt we finally got Chip to Guyot shelter. Can we stop winter camping now?! But seriously, folks... As usual, chat about the trip started in early January, with Chip aiming for a date in mid-February. My schedule was already booked, so we pushed it out to early March. Our initial plans were for a ski trip to 13 Falls, hauling our gear on sleds. It was my suggestion, based on my walk along that route last summer. It seemed like a relatively easy trip, though long and somewhat mundane. No climbs, no summit assaults. Chip was agreeable and had three friends from Topsfield lined up to join us. March came and Chip called to say his friends had decided to opt out, so it was just the two of us. Given that, I suggested we take another shot at getting to Guyot shelter. I'd hiked the route last summer so I had a good recollection of the route, and it seemed feasible for us to do. Chip w...

Where: Camp Resolute, Bolton, MA When: October 22-23, 1999 With: Andy & the Cub Scouts This was a Father/Son "getting to know you" overnight at a local Scout camp for new Cub Scouts. Just a 15 minute drive North on 495. Things started Friday evening, so Dads arrived with their sons after work. We parked and found our way to the camping area without too much trouble, and proceeded to set up our tent. One Dad arrived well after dark with a brand-new tent, still in the box, which his wife had handed him when he arrived home from work. We all pitched in the help him set it up. I don't recall any dinner activities, so we may have been told to eat at home. There was a campfire though. The next morning we had breakfast, then were on our own. The campfire and overnight had been the primary purpose of the event. Several other families left early to get back for things like soccer games. We hung out and explored the camp before heading home. More photos

Where: Sudbury River, Fruit St. to Cedar Swamp Pond When: 10/10/99 With: Solo My annual excursion to the source of the Sudbury River. Given the size and surroundings of the waterway, it's always something of a challenge to hit the conditions just right to make the trip a success. This time I got it just about perfect. A recent rain got the water level up high enough to provide some good floating room and the late season date meant some of the more annoying shoreline vegetation was gone. I also had some nice fall foliage to look forward to. The sky was overcast and a bit threatening as I pushed off, and a few sprinkles began to appear as I began my journey upstream. The air temperature was pretty mild though, so I wasn't uncomfortable getting damp. The stream level was a little low, but not enough to be a problem and the decreased vegetation helped me move along pretty quickly. I made my way up through the first section of swamp and made my turn into the straight channel a...

Where: Bondcliff/Twinway/Franconia Brook trails When: 9/2-9/3/1999 With: Solo Well, I finally ran out of excuses. The weather forecast was perfect, there hadn't been recent rain to swell the streams, the lawn didn't need mowing, it was midweek (fewer crowds), Andy was in school, Jane was on vacation, my boots were broken in... In short, there was no reason why I shouldn't go hiking, so I went. Hoping to make the trip as comfortable as possible, I packed as light as I could and wound up with about a 25 pound pack. No stove or pots. Instead I took snacks for the trail (Kudos bars and Batman gummies), sandwiches for lunch/dinner, and instant breakfast for, well, breakfast. Spare clothing was kept to a minimum also. A sweater for warmth and a spare set of socks was about it. For sleeping, I brought the hammock tent and my Cat's Meow bag. No pad required. I threw in a rain tarp and parka and pack cover, having learned my lesson on the previous trip with Andy, though I ...

Where: Three Ponds When: 8/7-8/8/99 With: Andy The trip started out on a dark note Saturday morning when I returned from retrieving the newspaper to find Andy standing at the bottom of the porch steps. "Daddy," he asked, "can we please not go camping?" He didn't have any specific reason...he just didn't want to go. It was hard to argue with that, since I've cancelled out on my share of trips too. Still, I thought there might be a chance of changing his mind so we continued to talk while we had breakfast. No change. "Okay," I said, "we don't have to go, but I'm going to pack up anyway, just to see how heavy the pack would be." So while he watched his Saturday morning cartoons, I packed the gear. I reasoned that seeing the packing would change his mind, and having everything packed would enable us to get out quickly when it did. Everything was nearly packed, and there was still no interest. That's when I brought out the ...