Mount Cardigan--Too Many Pictures

 One might expect to always need a sweater atop Mount Cardigan.  Today the weather was lovely with sunny skies and me, regretting the long sleeved shirt I was wearing.  According to wikipedia, the mountain is named after the fourth Earl of Cardigan, the sweater after the seventh Earl of Cardigan.  Therefore, as one may expect, the mountain came before the sweater.  As one may expect from my tone, it was a good day, with good exercise, fresh air, beautiful fall foliage, and great company.  Here are some happy parts of the day:

•   With the parking lot still in view, there was a small pond that reflected some of the day's colors.

• We didn't take the direct route to the top.  Each of us ended with a different mileage total, but we took a trail that was most likely less steep, and took us to three different peaks: South Peak, Mt. Cardigan, and Firescrew.

• The higher we went, the more colorful the views.  These pictures do not display the colors as well as the experience.

This is a view of Mount Cardigan from the trail. 
We still had a ways to go.

• Some of the forested areas were moss covered and green like the following picture.  It left a fairytale, mystical feeling.  Other areas are mostly deciduous or evergreen.  There was quite a bit of rock to scramble along, too.

The old and the new.

• We paused for lunch with a view of the town of Orange, NH.  Most likely the mountains in the distance are in Vermont, the rest are New Hampshire.  

• Eventually we made it to the top of Mount Cardigan and the fire tower.  Since trying to get to as many of the fire towers in NH is a goal of mine, I walked the few stairs up to look around.  

Almost there.

A plaque attached to the tower.

View.

The geological marker was found!
Many thanks to my companions for becoming 
contortionists to get this picture!

• The hike down was along the opposite side of the mountain.  We survived the rock scrambling and muddy areas with only minor injuries.  

The view of the tower from the other side.

We think the large black birds in the distance might be ravens.

It is also possible that I want to see ravens and they are vultures...

I was liken' the lichen on this rock.
I'm pretty sure the rock was quartz.

The signs on the trees are...humorous.

• Eventually we made it down, safely.  It was a long, nearly perfect, day in the mountains.

View from the car ride home.

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

New Trail

We have survived our first full day with a dog. Yay! The cats are still quite skeptical, to say the least, about there being a dog in the house. Since Major didn't respond to that name, we have settled on Aesop, or Ace, for short. I know... Aesop can/should be pronounced with an ee sound, but I grew up pronouncing it with the long a. Besides, Ace sounds better to us than Ece.  Thank you, -K for the comment yesterday with the suggestion!  Other happy things for today:

• There has been so much rain lately that mushrooms are popping up everywhere.  

Zoomed in to get this mushroom picture.

• Keziah bought some dog toys today, one is an axolotl.  

New toys!

• Mistakes were made.  I took Aesop for a walk and decided to check out a new-to-me trail.  The new-to-me part was the mistake.  It might have worked out fine had we not had so very much rain recently.  Certain sections were flooded enough that I made turns at intersections that I may not have otherwise.  We totaled a little over three miles, and I discovered new trails.
• There was a section of trail that had some downed trees.  I almost turned around there too, but we ducked under them instead.

• There is a swamp I sometimes walk by and this trail took us behind that swamp.  When I got back to the road I noticed that the swamp is COVERED with lily pads.

• Winston, the orange tabby, was curious and brave enough to come up and smell Aesop's new and older toys.

☮

Currently reading: Backpacking A Hedonist’s Guide, by Rick Greenspan and Hal Kahn.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.