"Spring Break" Part 2.

Onward to Boothbay. Rolled into town and headed straight to Ocean point for some quiet reflection time. It's become a custom for me to do so whenever I'm in town.
On the way back into town, I saw that Steve (kayak shop coworker from the summer) was home, so I dropped in and we caught up on stuff. After that, hung out a little bit in town, then headed to the shop to pack up a boat. Before long, I was ready to go.

Ready to leave the shop.

I hadn't been in a kayak since late September, so I was just a little concerned about feeling uncomfortable or tippy or something. Not sure why, because I felt right at home. I guess those 15+ years of paddling and all the paddling I did this summer has sunk in (so to speak). I was a little worried about my hands getting cold and numb. I had some lightweight neoprene ("hydroskin") gloves I'd used before as well as some pogies I found kicking around at the shop. The gloves were fine. Hands got plenty wet, but stayed warm enough. The paddle out was quite nice.

Calm waters passing Juniper Point and into Townsend Gut.

After a little over an hour, I made it out to Spectacle Island. This has been my favorite camping spot for years. I used to like Ram Island, but there's always the possibility of powerboaters joining you out there. Not in the winter I suppose.

Ashore on Spectacle Island.

Not long after landing, I had the epiphany that hark, my camera can do videos. So I decided to play around with that. Let me know what think...


Got camp set up, decided to give you all a little tour of my chosen spot.

And don't worry, I hardly drank any of that alcohol. Though, I drank most of the bottle of wine last night when I got home, but who's keeping track? Anyway, not the best night's sleep I've had. Warm enough, but like I said before, I'm not used to sleeping on the ground anymore. Also, I had arranged myself with my head slightly downhill, which never works for me, but I couldn't be bothered to rearrange everything. It snowed a little overnight, and I woke up to all sorts of birds making a racket. Quite pleasant really. First thing that woke me up was a crow, then I heard chickadees, geese, and a loon splashing around. Lots of loons around, but I didn't hear them calling at all. Lots of Eider ducks as well. Saw a couple seals too. Here's a look at things in the morning.


Took my time getting out of bed and packing up. Really was a pretty morning. Wandered around and took a couple pictures.

Campsite in the morning.

The beach and a view toward the east (as if the sunrise didn't give that away).

Looking towards the southern part of Spectacle Island with the connecting sandbar, Boston Island beyond, and Southport beyond that.

All packed up and ready to roll. Yeah, I'm wearing shorts. Better than wearing wet pants. Spare me the hypothermia lecture... I know.

The Scirocco looking pretty.

Eventually got in the water and headed back towards the harbor.

Stopping for a self-portrait on a lobster trap float in the Gut.

Nice smooth water until I rounded Juniper point and headed across the open part of the harbor. By then, the wind had picked up and was gusting pretty strong. No worries usually, but I wound up fighting the boat a little bit. Apparently, dragging the boat across the snow must have jammed ice into the skeg (retractable fin thingy) slot. Must have frozen overnight, because it wouldn't budge. Usually, when you're paddling across the wind like I was, you can just drop the skeg, and it'll keep you from pointing into the wind. It's sort of cheating I suppose, but it saves you a lot of work. However, since that wasn't working, I edged a little bit to windward (leaning to one side makes you turn the opposite way, so leaning to windward helps prevent weather-cocking). But, since I'm already a big dude, and the boat was fully loaded, I was riding low in the water. Not only does a loaded boat respond like a bloated pig, I also got soaked. So I basically just paddled on one side for a mile or so to keep from turning into the wind. It would have been nice to have a greenland paddle, so I could extend the stroke a bit more, but whatever. No worries. Made it back safe and sound.

Safe and sound back at the shop.

Changed out of all my wet stuff, threw all my gear in the car, and headed home. Actually, headed home a different way since I was going to meet up with Kristen. She is thinking of getting another puppy and wanted to have Zephyr's dog bed and kennel. So I got to see her and meet her boyfriend and his dog. Not that I had any expectations about it, but it went very well. We were laughing and smiling and being goofy, and it didn't feel forced at all. Her boyfriend seems like a really nice guy too. Cute dog he's got too.
Anyway, headed home after that, unloaded the car, ate some dinner, drank the aforementioned bottle of wine, and went to sleep. Unpacking the gear and drying things out comes next. It's going to be like when we were little and made forts out of blankets and chairs around here for a while. Have to hang things up to dry somehow! Overall, a much needed little break. Good times.

"Spring Break" Part 1.

The cabin fever has lately taken a bad turn for the worse. So, instead of waiting for it to run its course, I decided to do something about it. Nothing like getting out and being active to cure that miserable ailment. I decided to take Thursday and Friday off from work. I didn't really have a definite plan, but I wanted to head towards Maine to do some snowshoeing/backpacking around Grafton Notch, then head to Boothbay for some kayak camping. So here's how it went...

Loaded up the car with all the gear I'd need and then some.

Backpacking stuff, snowshoeing stuff, XC ski stuff, paddling stuff, sled, snow shovel, etc, etc...

On the way to Grafton Notch on Rt. 2, you pass NH Rt. 16, which leads through Pinkham Notch. Pinkham Notch lies between Carter Dome and Wildcat Moutain, and the Presidentials. I've only been up Mt. Washington once, in the summer. Thought it might be neat to go up in the winter as well, but you need some mountaineering gear and more importantly, skills, that I just don't have. However, there is the auto road. Hmm. Unfortunately, it is still closed for the season, so it was a no go. Oh well...

View of the Presidentials (White Mountains, NH) from Rt. 16.

So anywho, that diversion failed and I continued on towards the Grafton Notch area, just over the border into Maine. Coming into Bethel, I spied the strangest thing. A huge tower of snow. What the hell? Turns out (I was told later by several people) that this is the biggest snow-woman in the world. Seriously, it's huge! That tree that is an "arm" is bigger than the average christmas tree. The other side actually had a face on it. I think it had car tires for eyes or something. Pretty wild...

Largest snow-woman in the world. Bethel, Maine.

Anywho, eventually got to Grafton Notch. I was thinking of heading up and over Old Speck (3rd highest peak in Maine) and on to Speck Pond Shelter or Full Goose Shelter via the A.T. The closer one would have been 8 miles or so, but up and over a big climb. I've done it in the summer a couple times, and it's a tough hike, so, since it was late in the day, and I'd be going slower, I decided to try something different. Instead of heading that way (south) on the A.T., I decided to go the other way (northbound, gasp!) and head up to Baldpate mountain. I wasn't packing much weight, but man, I sure did heat up fast and go slow! Winter boots and snowshoes really slow things down.

Easy part of the climb up Baldpate along an old road bed.

Made it uphill the 2.3 miles to the shelter to find 3 other guys there. Some whitewater guides from N.C. doing some hiking in their off season. Was hoping to have the place to myself, but no worries. I dropped off my sleeping gear and snowshoes (since the snow was mostly firm enough to go without them) and headed up to the summit of West Baldpate. Only another 0.8 miles, but man, steep! Not to mention I sunk up to my crotch in snow several times. Sure was feeling out of shape.

How the hell did I ever make it all the way to Georgia?!

Made it to the top of Baldpate. Not as nice of a view as I was expecting. The other time I was up here, in 2000, it was a during a wild hail/lightning storm, so better than that at least!

Sign pretty much sums it up eh?

Didn't linger up there too long, since it was rather chilly and windy...

Looking sort of west from the summit of Baldpate.

After descending a little bit, there was a pretty good view of Old Speck. You can't really make it out in the picture, but there's an observation tower up there. Awesome view from there, but there was some weather on the way, so it wouldn't have lasted long if I had gone that way.

View of Old Speck from W. Baldpate.

Made it back down to the shelter about 3x faster than it took me to go up. Sort of jumping and skipping most of the way down. Sort of felt like I was skiing at times. Anywho, you might remember that my trailname during my thru-hike was "CornDog". I was given that name by two goofy dudes who had named themselves "Porkchop" and "Jackass". I didn't really like the name, and didn't actually start using it until Connecticut since I hadn't been given another one. Well, this is the shelter where I was given that name. They had been working on a rap song called the Chili-Dog Song, or something like that, just goofing around, and decided I should be "Corndog" to go with it. And the rest was history... Never saw those guys after that, but I'm pretty sure they made it the whole way too (they were also southbounders).

Baldpate leanto.

Got back down to the shelter by about 5:30. The other guys had decided to follow my example and had headed up to the top as well, so I had the place to myself for a bit. Not much to do but change into some dry clothes and hop in the sleeping bag. I hadn't bothered bringing a stove or anything since I knew it was just overnight. So, chomped on some bread and settled in...

Nice and toasty.

A while later, the other guys came back, including their cool dog, which I forgot to mention. Awesome dog, made me want another one even more. I had been laying there in my sleeping bag and I think the dog forgot about me. After she'd been up on the platform with me for a bit, I stirred, and she got all excited again and started licking me in the face. Of course, I was all zipped up in my sleeping bag, so all I could do was squirm and try to roll over. Silly dog. It was funny. Anyway, not sure when I went to sleep, but it was probably before 9:00. Stayed pretty warm, but not used to sleeping on a hard surface anymore.
Woke up a bit after the sun, packed up, and headed back down. It had snowed a few inches overnight. No problem, but I was the first person on the trail since, so I had snow falling down the neck of my jacket all the time. Brr. Hopefully the other guys appreciated it! Fun stuff. Back to the car by around 10:00 or so.

Two Subys (the N.C. dudes and mine) in the parking lot at Grafton Notch. The "eyebrow" of Old Speck looms in the background.

Also posed for a picture of me in action. Then changed into dry stuff and headed off to Boothbay.

Abominable snowman?

Funny LOTR.

Also, while watching the first Lord of the rings movie, especially the beginning part with Gandalf in the wagon, as you watch Gandalf's face, pretend that he's just smelled a fart. Sounds crude, but it's hilarious. My friend Christine pointed that out to me...

Format change...

Decided I'd change things up a bit. The code for this one is much more dense, and since I don't know what the hell I'm doing, the trial and error to make it look the way I want is tougher. What do you think? The Bahamas image just didn't seem appropriate anymore... Also considering a new title. Any ideas?

Whoah.

Just occurred to me that I've had this thing going for nearly 3 years. Any input about what you'd like to hear more about? More pictures, more words? I try to keep most of what goes through my head off of here, because I never know who reads it, and who wants to hear that garbage anyway? Trying to work things out in my head usually works, but acting on them is another problem. Oh well...
I think I'm going to try to set up a blog for the old man. He's always got interesting things to say and stories to tell. What do you say?

Mississippi

Spent most of the last 2 weeks down in Mississippi. The job site was in Crystal Springs (south of Jackson) but the hotel was in Jackson. I also had a chance for a quick trip to Starkville (those pictures should look familiar). They're out of order, and I'm too lazy to reorder them...

View from Skunk Hill at Southfarm with a storm rolling in. The storm was amazing!

The 'cross bike at skunk hill. Notice it now has 2 front chainrings. Too many hills in Vermont for the 1x9.

Tool of the trade. Doing the profiling work, we use 7/16" wrenches a lot (for the stainless tubing connections). The job site was a factory that makes transformers, so there was all sorts of copper laying around. Decided to decorate my wrench with a piece of wire...

Ah Southfarm, my old friend, we meet again.

Purple.

Clover, over and over.

Where I spread Zephyr's ashes, near a pasture where some friendly cows usually hang out. I miss that little dog.

Riding near the hotel in Jackson, came across a big puddle near the Pearl River. What is that?

Why, it's a young alligator gar! These guys get huge (6 feet or more). These poor guy was stranded and his tail was beat up.

Inside the plant where the job was. This is a Geoprobe rig. Because we were sampling from a shallower depth, this thing can drive the rods as far as we need. No big drill rig necessary (wouldn't work indoors anyway).

Another view of it. The 3 stainless steel lines run to the "box" where the magic happens.

The "box". This was taken in the middle of an 18 hour work day...

Back in Vermont, before the trip - the Suby.

Truckin'. Smoking up a hill at 45 mph in West Virginia.

Me and Fordo in KY beside the truck.

The 'cross bike along the levee in Jackson near the hotel.

The Pearl River in Jackson.

Things I love about the south.

As you probably know, I've been in Mississippi for the past week or so for work. Being down here has reminded me of some things I love about the south...
First of all, Spring! Here it is, late February/early March, and it's 75 degrees and sunny. Back home in Vermont, it was -6 when I left, with 8" of fresh snow. It felt like spring was on the way, but spring is definitely here in Mississippi. Though I guess you pay for the nice spring with a sweltering summer. That has its positive things too.
Genuinely friendly people. Don't get me wrong, people in Vermont and Maine (and everywhere else I've been) are friendly too, but it seems people really care about how you're doing. One of the guys on the site here went out of his way to welcome me back "home" (since word had gotten around that I had sort of grown up in Starkville). It really can be pretty amazing.
Noises at night. I realize after being down here again just how quiet night in Vermont is. Not that it's a bad thing, I'd much prefer silence to city noises, for example. But down here, there are the spring peepers (tree frogs), crickets, cicadas (at certain times of year), and the occasional thunderstorm.
Thunderstorms! I love them. There's nothing quite like having the night light up by intensely bright lightning, then having your ears blasted by thunder than feels right on top of you. Not to mention the downpours that come from the storms. It'll rain so hard it's worse visibility than the worst snowstorms I've been in. Awesome.
Smells. This is a bit hard to describe, but there's just a sort of lush tropical smell down here, even this time of year. It's not the full blown lush smell of summer, but it's enough to remind me. The Bahamas have it even more. Also, driving around town and smelling the smoke from a BBQ is quite nice too and somehow sentimental as well.
Southfarm. I don't know what it is about that place, but I love it. It's just gravel roads than crisscross a bunch of pastures, but for some reason, it's one of my favorite places, anywhere. If they were ever going to shut it down or try to make a parking lot out of it, I'd be the first (and probably only) one to protest and lay down in front of a bulldozer. What is it about that place?
And lastly (of the things that come to mind anyway), Starkville still sort of feels like "home". I don't know why it is. I suppose because I spent so many years there growing up, and it really hasn't changed much. The people I was fond of growing up are mostly still there and still good people. When I visited campus today, it felt like I'd never left. It's been almost a year since I moved away, but it could have been yesterday. Don't worry, I don't think I'll ever move back there, but I'll always go back to visit.
I'll post more about my trip to Starkville before long. Just wanted to get this down while it was fresh in my head.