Tuesday Trip Report: Mt. Chocorua (52WAV). May 24, 2012

Please join us at the main branch of the Somerville Public Library in Somerville, MA on Thursday, May 31 @ 7pm for our next book signing event!

The Tuesday Trip Report: Mt. Chocorua.  May 24, 2012 

The forecast called for morning fog and a 20% chance of showers, but the girls wished to hike regardless.  Sage wanted to get her "hands on some rock," and Alex wanted to check out a mountain we'd never experienced before.  We decided on Mt. Chocorua, a popular 52WAV peak that everybody but us seemed to have climbed.

We chose Piper Trail for the ascent, since someone had recommended it for the Terrifying 25 list.

The ledges were wet and the fog was dense on the upper part of the trail, but we didn't have any difficulties.  I'm not sure why Piper Trail was suggested for the Terrifying 25 list...yes, there are ledges, but this is the Granite State and ledges abound.  When we returned home from the hike, I removed Piper Trail from the T25 list.  There's nothing frightening or difficult about this one.  It is, however, an enjoyable trail, and one we highly recommend.

Up we went...

Summit!

We hung about on the summit for a while in spite of the damp air and stiff breeze.  Though our only view was Cloud, we enjoyed this rocky peak.  We stayed until we started to feel chilled, then we began our descent.  We went down via Liberty, Hammond, and Weetamoo Trails.

Ghost cairn!

We had to descend this ledge.  There's a log and some scrub near the bottom, so one can't fall off the mountain.  I slid down most of this...not quite intentionally...

Foggy Liberty Cabin.

Foggy woods.

We had a fun day; I can see why this is such a popular peak.  It's probably even better on a dry, clear day.  :)

The Friday Wrap: Radio Boston, NPR, and Mt. Chewbacca

Looks like I'm recording an original essay for NPR's "All Things Considered" next week.  I'm honored to have this opportunity!

Boston folks, tune in to Radio Boston (WBUR) on Friday, June 1, between 3 and 4pm.  I'll be on the air live with Meghna Chakrabarti.

The Friday Wrap

The girls and I hiked Mt. Chocorua (aka Mt. Chewbacca) yesterday.  This peak has a reputation for gorgeous views, but all we got was cloud.  We enjoyed ourselves nonetheless; I'll post the full trip report next week.

Alex and Sage on Mt. Chewbacca...I mean, Mt. Chihuahua...wait, that's not it...

On the book front, things are going very well. Up: A Mother and Daughter's Peakbagging Adventure continues to get rave reviews and a lot of attention.  The girls are doing fine with all this, since I keep their routines as normal as possible and I try to do most of my writing after they've gone to bed.  I'm not getting as much writing done as I'd like, but I am first and foremost a homeschooling mom.  Some days I have trouble maintaining a balance...the girls didn't get breakfast until 10:30am today, since I was busy juggling emails and phone calls...but everyone's happy and the girls passed their end-of-year-exams with flying colors, so I guess that means all is well in our world.  :)

Have a great holiday weekend, folks.

Thursday Things: My Bookshelf Overfloweth

Latest Publicity News:  Books for Better Living has posted "Five Questions for UP's Patricia Ellis Herr." 

Up: A Mother and Daughter's Peakbagging Adventure -- For the full list of reviews, press, and events, click here.

Thursday Things

Yesterday, we accomplished an amazing feat -- we finished reading all the books in the house (#25).  This was a huge deal because we had about a gazillion hardcovers and paperbacks scattered throughout every room.

Going through the books was a bittersweet experience.  It was difficult to hear Sage say she's no longer interested in Peter Rabbit, but it was lovely watching Alex reread Charlotte's Web.  I got better acquainted with my Poe collection, and that dusty stack of The Old Farmer's Almanac finally got recycled.

Everything's nice, neat, and orderly now...though I doubt it will stay that way for long.  The girls and I love to read read read, and volumes get moved about and left all over the place.  A little disorder is good for the soul, though.  A house that's too neat can't be a true home.

That's it for today -- another short and sweet entry.  By the way, I realize my posts have been incredibly brief lately.  My works-in-progress have kept me busy, and I've been involved with promoting UP.  Once the dust clears, I'll return to my typical verbose self.

Happy hiking, folks.  I'll post again tomorrow with The Friday Wrap.



The Tuesday Trip Report: Mt. Cardigan. May 17, 2012

The girls and I had a fantastic hike up Mt. Cardigan last week.

But first -- a huge thanks to Laura Clerkin of the Bethlehem Public Library for hosting our latest book signing event.  We had a nice crowd in spite of it being a picture-perfect, gorgeous Saturday afternoon.  Laura took this picture of me and the girls after our presentation.

Thanks again, Laura!  We had a great time!



Now, on to our Tuesday Trip Report...

Mt Cardigan and Firescrew via Holt, Clark, and Manning Trails.  About 5.6 miles roundtrip.

We had the pleasure of hiking with Mark and Natalie Truman for this one.  I've known Mark and Natalie for years via the internet, but this was the first chance we'd had to share the trails. 

We met at Cardigan Lodge on a ridiculously beautiful morning and headed off into the woods.

Since I'm a bit pressed for time these days, I'll let the photos tell the story...

(Alex took this picture.)

(Sage took this picture.)

Heading to Firescrew.

We had such a good time on this hike!  Many thanks to Mark and Natalie for the great company!

Click here for Mark and Natalie's trip report.