Paul and I are finally back from our road trip. It was an eventful one but definitely not the way we expected it to be.
Last Tuesday we made the long drive to central New Hampshire where we had a hike planned. As it turns out we also had a plan to meet a friend for dinner so once we got checked in to the hotel we met her and her family. It is always odd meeting old friends and I’ve known this person since grade two. To see us both with older kids was strange to say the least. If nothing else, this was the summer of “holy crap I’m getting old!”
Wednesday we hiked Franconia Ridge. The hike is almost nine miles long and has a pretty steep ascent/descent. However, in my opinion it is all worth it because as you approach and then go above treeline, the views are some of the most dramatic I’ve seen on a hike.
It wasn’t until about 3 miles in, when we reached the Greenleaf Hut, that I remembered that not only did it exist but that had we had our act together we could’ve stayed the night there and made this a two day hike as well. Still, we used the point as a rest stop, enjoying some leftover pancakes from the hut’s breakfast, a bit of lemonade, and some conversation with a few other hikers from Montreal.
About an hour later we reached the highest point of the hike, Mount Lafayette (Elevation: 5260 feet). Even though I had hiked this trail about 18 years ago, I still expected that after the highest point on the hike, things would get easier. Ha! We did get a bit of a break as we hiked the other two peaks on the trail as they required only a short descent and ascent. However, the hardest part was yet to come.
At Little Haystack mountain, we left the Appalachian trail and headed down what was called the “Falling Waters” trail. It appeared for the first couple of miles, that the “Falling Waters” referred to the fact that the trail seemed to be a creek bed. The climb down was very slow, rocky, and frustrating. At one point it even sent me flying down the hill, over a log, and into a mud puddle leaving me caked in mud. Finally, the trail left the creek bed and ended up alongside a large stream. The stream grew quickly and before long we found ourselves at a series of gorgeous waterfalls.
The thing I love about hiking versus visiting attractions in a city is that there is an assumption of competence and common sense. Barriers aren’t erected to keep you back from potential dangers and so you can go as close as you like. At one point I walked along a large flat rock at the top of a waterfall where we’d been lounging.
By the way – many more photos of the hike are here.
The hike took us back and forth across this stream (and sometimes, if our footing wasn’t great, in the stream before, after a wrong turn, dropping us on the highway about a half mile south of the parking lot. When we reached the car, almost 9 hours after we left, we were totally exhausted and I had a pretty bad headache. Our original plan of meeting my brother for dinner and then driving a couple hours to the house where we’d stay the rest of the vacation was totally unrealistic and so we made our way back to the hotel to check back in. Unfortunately the only nonsmoking room left was a huge suite. Fortunately we were given a really big break on the price and checked ourselves in where we cleaned up before heading out to grab takeout dinner. After we rested up, we headed out the next day to have dinner with my brother and his wife before ending up at the house we were to stay at.
Friday morning, Paul and I headed to the bus terminal in Portsmouth – about 20 min away from where we were staying where we caught a bus into Boston. We then spent the day at the Museum of Science. It was strange, to say the least, to be back in Boston for the first time in over a decade. It was noticeably cleaner but sadly also seemed much more ‘corporatized’ with chain stores having taken over where more independent stores had been. Still, we had a great time at the museum.
The only problem was that Paul was complaining about a sore calf muscle. As someone who was walking funny himself because of sore muscles earned on the hike, I knew what he was going through. By the end of the day we had been run ragged and Paul slept much of the busride back to the house and went to bed immediately.
The next morning, though, it was clear Paul didn’t have the same sore muscles as I did because he could no longer walk on his right calf. Looking at the leg it became clear that he had managed to get a blister but then the blister somehow had, in the past couple of days, escalated into cellulitis, a rather nasty looking infection that was working its way up his leg and stopped a few inches short of his knee. So much for the plans to head back to Boston to hit the other museums. We headed, instead, to a nearby clinic where they checked him out. IV antibiotics were administered, and a prescription for oral antibiotics was also provided. We were also sternly warned that he had to sit with his leg up all that day (Saturday) and the next before checking back in with them on Monday morning.
And so we headed back to the house and settled in to follow the doctor’s orders to the letter. The house we were staying at was equipped with a large television, very extensive cable TV selection, reclining couches, and lots of junk food. And so, not wanting to go against doctor’s orders, Paul put his feet up and relaxed. And not wanting him to feel alone in his situation, I did the same. We spent the next two days on the couch watching movies, playing video games, and eating tons of junk food. It was a tough therapeutic course but we were strong souls and made it through. By the next day the treatment was very clearly working and Paul could walk again and the infection had moved back down almost to his ankle. By Monday, the doctor looked at his foot and was pleased with the progress. Instead, though, of staying one more day as planned, we had decided that we were ready to be home and headed back to Toronto directly from the doctor’s office, arriving home about twelve hours later.
So all in all, while not the vacation we had planned (we had expected to see a few more museums in Boston and hit the beach and/or whale watch at least one day), it turned out to be a wonderful and, aside from a temporary medical worry, very relaxing vacation.
Has the US Government Jumped the Shark?
Let’s see. Shall we vote Democrat or Republican.