Mount Crag

[auntiemeesh]

Today was an outside day. lyda_pearl and I primed the wraparound porch so that LP can paint it tomorrow. Then we took Shadow and went out for a woods walk, heading out to Shelbourne to hike up the Austin Brook Trail to Mount Crag.



The trail head starts at a turnstile.


Immediately after entering the trail, there is a waterfall off to one side.


After that the batteries on the camera started acting up so we let it rest while hiking up a fairly steep trail for about a mile and a half. It's been an unbelievably beautiful weekend with really strong sunshine. The trail ran through a woods full of Hemlock, beech and striped maple, as well as pines. The combination of strong sunshine and warming air made all the loose pine needles on the forest floor wonderfully fragrant.

We took our time getting to the top, stopping frequently to rest, identify trees and absorb the loveliness of the day. When we got to the top it was totally worth the climb.



The Androscoggin river runs through the valley below.


The peak to the right in this picture is Mt. Washington. You can almost see the observation point on top of the mountain.


The trail head is just to the left of the house in this picture.


The striped maples were in full bud.


We rested on the crag for a while, simply taking in the beauty and soaking up the sun before heading back down. As we neared the trail head, I turned around and took one last picture, of the observation point we'd reached. It's an almost invisible bit of rock on the hill between the two center pine trees.

Comments

[lil-banik-slave.livejournal.com]

Lovely. What a great thing to do on such a sunny day. Kinda wishing I had gone further than the local shop now *frown*

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

This is the one thing I'm going to really miss about northern NH (other than my sister and friends). There are so many great places to hike and they're all just a short drive from home. When I get back to Pennsylvania, all the hiking options will be much farther from home and much harder to get to, and they won't have such incredible vistas at the end, either. I'm hoping this coming weekend is nice so I can get out one last time before moving.

[whtmtnwmn.livejournal.com]

Excellent post! Love the photos--especially "The Mountain"! That's a great trail. Glad you had such a nice hike!
=D

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I was afraid all the pictures would come out blurry, like the mystery dinner photos did, but these came out so well. I really like that mountain pic too! :)

[whtmtnwmn.livejournal.com]

The photos were great! Good job!
=D

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

Looks like a fun hike, and you, LP and Shadow all look great! I like your new haircut, and LP's yellow sunhat is really spiffy (Even without flowers of a bird's nest!)

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I really was a fun hike, although getting up the hill was harder than I expected. I have gotten totally out of shape.

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

I have gotten totally out of shape.

Well, I'm sure your Pittsburgh friend (whose LJ name I can't remember - you know, the scarran) will have you back in shape in no time!

I'm feeling pretty out of shape myself today - like so out of shape I can hardly keep my eyes open, let alone work. It must be the rain.

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, that looks really great! How I wish I could go for a walk there. Very different from the "flat as a pancake" part of the world I live.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I've always lived in areas that were at least hilly if not truly mountainous, but this area is especially lovely from that perspective. I get uncomfortable if it's too flat, I miss the mountains when they aren't there.