Mango Custard on Middle Carter (& Imp Face, & Lethe) 9-27-2013

First, a big thank you to the wonderful folks at Tuftonboro Free Library.  Alex and I had a lovely time last Saturday.  Your hospitality was extraordinarily generous, and we are much obliged.

Desserts on the 48 continues!  Alex is close to finishing Trailwrights, and Sage wanted to check another peak off the 52 With a View list, so we decided to take care of three lists with one hike.  We could bag Middle Carter from our own Desserts on the 48 quest and, on the way up, visit Imp Face (52WAV) and Lethe (Trailwrights).

Mango Custard fit my rules for our Desserts game...M for mango and Middle, C for custard and Carter.  I therefore made this Thai treat in a fit of great ambition.  I'd never made custard before, and the recipe was simple, so I thought this would be an easy feat.  Unfortunately, I made one big mistake.  After cooking the custard, I poured the whole thing into a giant bowl.  I should have poured the custard into small Tupperware containers and allowed each little batch to cool individually.  The result was a giant bowl of cooled custard which I could not separate without breaking the top layer and ruining the texture.  I therefore did what any silly and determined person would do -- I carried the entire bowl up the mountain (the stainless steel wouldn't fit in my backpack, and I didn't want the custard to jiggle).

Our friends Kelly and Isidora accompanied us again today.  We love hiking with those two and I hope our families continue to team up.  Kelly brought M&M Cookies, which made a lot more sense than my mango custard (easier to pack and carry!)  Can't believe I didn't even think of M&M Cookies for Middle Carter!

Custard, minus one spoonful, before the hike.

Since I had a giant bowl of custard in one hand and my dog's retractable leash in the other (those leashes work very well if one takes the time to learn how to use them properly), I couldn't take photos on the way up the mountain.  I was too busy doing a balancing act...I crossed streams and climbed rocks without spilling anything or breaking the top film (yes, I'm proud of myself).

I put the custard down whenever we arrived at a logical stopping point.  My pictures tell the rest of the story.

Sage on Imp Face (52WAV).

Me and Mango Custard on Imp Face

Isidora, Alex, and Sage admiring the views from Imp Face.

Near the scrubby summit of Lethe.  Couldn't get better pictures while holding the custard.

Sage arranging our stuffed animals on the summit of Middle Carter.

Me, Sage, Mango Custard, Kelly, Isidora, and Alex on Middle Carter

Desserts on the 48!

M&M Cookies on Middle Carter, courtesy of Tammy

View from the little ledge by Middle Carter's summit

Heading back down

It was a fun day.  Won't be carrying any more bowls of custard up mountains, though.  Not only did I have to carry the whole thing up, but I had to make sure the entire dessert was eaten so I could shove the empty bowl in my pack for the hike down.  I'll be just fine if I don't eat custard again for quite some time (though it did turn out well...the recipe's a good one).

Coming tomorrow evening -- we officially begin preparing for the John Muir Trail.  Stay tuned for our gear list -- and, more importantly, the link to our Feeding America virtual food drive!

(This was Alex's 4th and Sage's 2nd time on the summit of Middle Carter).