Saturday October 27,2012

Today was the big day! My final peak! We managed to get the last one in before the hurricane.

 I hiked Moosilauke ( 4,802 ft) as the last peak #48 with my dear friends Richard and Ed who have been there supporting me throughout this journey. Richard has hiked 21 of the 48 peaks with me and Ed has done 12 of them, so it was very fitting that they were with me today. I must say this was the easiest of all the 48 for me and it only took us 4 1/2 hours to complete the 8 mile loop. We had Rylee with us again today and she kept us at a good pace. We had beautiful sunny weather right up until 100 ft from the summit..then the clouds rolled in and the winds picked up making it hard to stand up by the sign at the top. I will now always have the utmost respect for mother nature. Even if it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day...things can change in an instant. We did a celebratory champagne toast at the summit and I took some time to reflect on how this all started and appreciate the journey to get to this point today.

This all started with an idea that I got when I was taking care of a friend after his surgery and picked a book off his shelf to help me pass the time. He encouraged me to do this and helped me get started. There are certain moments in our lives that I believe are turning points. Opportunities often come our way and we may not always take them. I am so glad I took this one! It did indeed change my life for the better.  It seems as though somehow I was meant to do this. It was alot of hard work but I had so much help along the way. It allowed me to get involved in something much bigger than myself, to help the patients and their families who are stuggling every day . They were a huge inspiration for me every step of the way. It allowed me to get closer to my friends and family in what became a common goal. They helped raise donations, helped with my hiking plan ( as I am not really a planner and didn't have one), travelled many miles to hike with me, called with support and encouragement and kept me laughing along the way. I started hiking in the snow and ice and had the same conditions towards the end. I hiked with 29 different wonderful friends, over 272 miles and 48 magnificent mountains! There were a few moments when I wondered if I would finish...but I had many guardian angles looking out for me along the way.  We raised over $10,000 for Compassionate Care ALS and I know the money will be put to good use. Thank you to everyone! I am truly very blessed to have such amazing people in my life. This final peak I would like to dedicate to my Grandfather, Michael Okronglis who was diagnosed with ALS in the 1950's and died before I was born. There's a part of him in me somewhere. He was a hard working man who put in long days working in a coal mine to provide for his family in a time where there we no organizations like CCALS available to help those in need. I'm very glad things are different today. Farewell for now.

Saturday October 13, 2012

 

 

 Today my friends Richard and Ed helped me tackle Mt Washington. At 6,288ft it is the tallest of the 48 and the "home of the world's worst weather".  I have hiked Mt Washington many times in the past but I have never hiked it in the snow and ice...so this was definitely a new experience. I knew from my hike the day before that we would need winter gear and microspikes to be able to negotiate the icy terrain. So Richard picked us up 3 pairs of spikes on his way up Friday night. When we started out the temps were in the 30's with sunny skies and a light breeze. We met many others along the way up the trail... Matt and his grandfather who hike Washington evey year in rememberence of his great grandfather. His grandfather is still quite the hiker at age 70. I hope I am as fit at his age. The weather stayed good as we made our way past the icy headwall in Tuckerman ravine. As we made our way to the top of the bowl...the clouds came in and the winds picked up until eventually we were in the cloud with no visibility and winds 50-90 miles/hour with temps minus 6 degrees at the summit. I will admit that I have not felt this tired on any of the other hikes. The wind and the cold took their toll.  We were all thankful to make it to the top and get in out of the cold and wind for a bit. Richard was trying to make me feel better on the way up by telling me that we would just take the bus down. Since the road is now covered with snow and ice...we would be waiting until spring for the bus...but it did help me to hear it at the time. Besides if we took the bus down we wouldn't have been able to try out our microspikes...which made the hike down very fun! So glad we got them. We did come across a few people throughout the day who I hope made it down ok. One guy was hiking in sneakers and  jeans with nothing but a green grocery bag over his shoulders and two other of guys who spoke only french were trying to go down the wrong side of the mountain in cotton hoodie sweatshirts. Every time I hike this mountain I gain more respect for it... it's power and wonder. Thanks to Richard and Ed for coming along for this great adventure. They were the perfect duo for this trip! I would like to dedicate this hike to Barbara Caldwell. When I asked her ( months ago now) which peak she would like dedicated to her...she asked if Washington was taken...as she had always liked that one and it is the tallest. Barbara, we hiked this one in your honor.

Friday October 12th

Today I hiked Garfield with two of my dear friends whom I have known for 25 years now, Fran and Kathy.  We all used to work together at SRH many years ago and although they have moved out of state we have remained close friends. They flew all the way up to Boston and drove to NH to help me complete this journey. They live in Florida now, so I'm sure the irony of the weather on this day was not lost on them.  We set out early at 7:30 to drive an hour over to the trailhead. When we started it was 50 degrees and raining. The forecast was for increasing winds and dropping temps. As the hike went on we came across more and more snow on the trail and then ice! The rain turned to sleet ..then hail then ...snow. The hike was 10 miles round trip and by the time we got back to the car the temps were in the 30's. The Gator Girls did great! They stayed positive and never complained.

 I wasn't sure I would make it to the top. Being surprised by how much snow and ice there was on the trail, I did not have any crampons, spikes or even Yak traks with me. I figured I would go up as far as I could and if I couldn't get all the way to the top I would come back another day with the spikes.  I was only  .2 miles from the top when I considered turning back. But then I saw Bob ahead of me. We had met him earlier in the parking lot and he had his microspikes on the back of his pack. As I approached him I noticed they were still on his pack. I asked him why he didn't have them on as it was getting increasingly icy. He said it was not much further and I would be able to make it to the top without them. He has done the hike before and I trusted his judgement. I think he may have been a guardian angel put in the right place at the right time! Thank you Bob for helping me make it to the top!  And there are not enough words to thank Kathy and Fran for every moment shared this past weekend. Best friends evaaah! A special Thank You also to Noreen ( who surprised the heck out of me flying in from Wisconsin), Maria, Amy and KC for a fabulous celebration dinner and lots of fun surprises!!

I would like to dedicate this peak to Ernesto F who has been living with ALS for 10 years now. He lost the ability to speak years ago but has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen.

Saturday October 6th

Today I hiked Mt Cabot with my friends Maureen and Brian. they had hiked with me towards the beginning of this journey for peaks # 15 and 16 ( the Carters) back in June. The weather now is quite different...much colder and way less buggy! Cabot is the most northern of the 48 peaks and definitely remote. We saw 2 hunters with shot guns walking down Rt 110 on our way to the turnoff to the trailhead. Thank goodness the trail we were hiking is protected by the White Mountain National forest...so no hunting. We did see a moose running down the road away from the hunters...hope she made it.

We knew the forecast was calling for rain...so we got an early start and were on the trail before 9. We made it to the summit by noon and had our lunch in the cabin that needs a little TLC and a cat! We were only about 30 min heading down when it started to lightly rain. The rain turned to a steady rain for the next 2 hour hike out. We made our way slipping and sliding down a pretty trail covered by yellow leaves with deep mud holes hidden in spots underneath. Maureen and I both ended up sinking into a couple of them up over our boots. Brian managed to look good the whole way :)

I would like to dedicate this hike to Thomas Cunniff who passed away August 15th, 2012. He had served in the Army and received the Korean Service Medal. He was married for 50 years and is remembered by his family as a kind and caring man .

Saturday September 29th

 

 Today I hiked North Kinsman ( 4,293') and South Kinsman ( 4,358') with Susie. We knew it was going to rain today so we were prepared. Without even trying we dressed exactly the same today. ( Patagonia Pants Club). That started out the giggles which just lasted all day. I don't know if it was the rain, the full moon or all the weird and wacky things that happened today, but we laughed alot and had a great day. We started out early and made the hour drive over to Franconia. We took Lonesome lake trail up to the AMC hut and Lonesome lake. Just before we got to the lake we came across a huge bull moose about 20' away in the woods and then to our great surprise when we got to the lake there were 2 more getting a drink. I have never seen a moose on the trail while hiking before. It was totally awesome and a little but un-nerving at the same time...they are really huge! We continued onto Fishin' Jimmy trail, which was not our favorite part. It had lots of steep wet ledges with wooden steps pinned into them to allow for you to climb up the steep rock face. We made it to the top of North Kinsman and weren't really sure we were at the top as there was no signage to be found. We headed onward to South Kinsman where the rain stopped long enough for us to have our lunch. We made our way down without a problem despite the wet slippery terrain. On the drive home as we were passing the mountains that we just climbed another strange moment...there was a cloud formation that started above the mountain and swept down over the sides like a waterfall and ended over the road. Thanks again to Susie for hiking with me and Rick and Ethan for coming up and having their own great adventure hiking the Frankenstein cliffs. He's becoming quite the hiker at the young age of almost 7! I would like to dedicate North Kinsman to Robert Studley who passed away 8/7/12. He graduated with an MBA in business and was a Bank Chairman for 17 years. He was also responsible for Mass legislation that helped the smaller banks.  I would like to dedicate South Kinsman to Chris Langer who passed away 8/24/12. He was a licensed massage therapist, received his Masters in pollution studies, worked in environmental protection and spent a great deal of time in China where he met his wife.

Sunday September 23rd

 Today I hiked Waumbek (4006 ft) with 11 people from an on-line hiking group. I had hiked with Badri and Dave the day before and Badri mentioned that some people had dropped out and there were some openings in the group. Since it was one I needed to hike and I had hiked with this group before in May, I figured I would join them. The leaders of the group were a little less then thrilled to have me and another girl just show up as you are supposed to sign up with the group ahead of time and we did not. It is a free country and a mountain after all so I would have hiked it anyway, but they decided to be gracious and let us join them. The hike was a relatively easy one at 7.2 miles and 2,750 elevation gain. Which was good after hiking 14 miles the day before. Badri and Dave came along on this one too. They are very dedicated hikers to show up today after getting food poisoning after the hike yesterday and having to drive all the way back to Canada tonight after the hike today. Good luck Badri on completing your 48...she has 3 left to go! I would like to dedicate this peak to Ronald Demers who passed away 7/24/12. He was an avid sports and trivia fan.

Saturday September 22nd

 Today I hiked Carrigan with Rick, Badri and her boyfriend Dave. The trail is usually 10 miles round trip but because of damage to Sawyer River Road from the Hurricane last August, the road to the trailhead is still closed. So that added an extra 4 miles for a grand total of 14 miles. Carrigan is 4,700' with 3,250 elevation gain. The day started out cold and cloudy with temps in the low 50's. We got an early start and were on the trail by 8 am. I had a hard time going up today for some reason. You would think that I would be used to climbing up and up by now but today that was not the case. Rick, Badri and Dave kept stoping to let me catch up. We had some nice views of the Hancocks from about half way up the trail. This was very appropriate at it was Rick who hiked those two with me back on a rainy Friday in May where we saw absolutely nothing due to the rain and fog.  Rick has been on 6 hikes with me now and this is the first time he actually got a great view. The clouds parted and we had clear sunny abeit windy skies at the top. We enjoyed spectacular views from the ridgeline and from the observation  tower at the summit. It pays to be persistent Rick! We could see all 48 peaks and everything in between. The trip down was much easier. Part of the trail is brand new due to the storm, they had to cut a new trail at the bottom 1/4 mile. A great spongy feeling on the tired legs!  I would like to dedicate this hike to Sheldon Landau who died 7/31/12.