Last month I spoke about the challenges of being an older hiker on the trail. How we should pace ourselves, take frequent rest stops, drink water, and eat nutritious snacks. Hike by time instead of miles.
Well, we visited the White Mountains in New Hampshire recently, and promptly forgot the most important rule I just mentioned: Hike by time instead of miles.
I think we were temporarily blinded by one important fact of Victoria Marie Lees. She loves waterfalls. My husband has been trying to fill my scrapbooks with waterfalls from every place we visited since we’ve been dating. Believe me! That’s a long, long, long time. This being the case, he found a “shorter” hike to Arethusa Falls. It was only three miles from parking lot, to falls, and back again. In Crawford Notch State Park.
“The Bemis Brook tumbles over a granite cliff on the west side of Crawford’s Notch,” he read to me from a brochure. “It’s the tallest single-drop waterfall in New Hampshire. A drop of about 140 to 176 feet.”
Wow! I was in.
But then, we started. Up the side of the mountain. A grueling climb over boulders and roots. The toughest hike I’ve done in a long time. It was a boulder climb. We neglected to pay attention to important adjectives regarding the trail: “fairly rocky” and “moderately steep.”
Once again, my husband bowed out. It was a hot day in New Hampshire. But I was determined to see those falls.
Slowly, I climbed over rocks and roots. Stopping often. Splashing cool stream water on my arms and red face whenever I crossed the stream. My daypack stuck to my back. I lifted it slightly, allowing the miniscule breeze to dry my damp t-shirt. Luckily, the trail was shaded.
I met a kind lady whose sister had also turned back. She was a bit younger than I. We chatted slightly because of the exertion on the trail. She had hiking poles. I usually don’t like hiking poles because I use my hands to grip boulders and saplings along the trail. But the Arethusa Falls Trail is more open. Just littered with rocks and roots.
The lady hiked at a faster pace than I. Yet, she waited for me at the top of the falls. I sat on a boulder in view of the falls, my rubber legs still shaking. No strength to climb more boulders to get closer to the falls. [First time for me, guys!]
I sat there, on that big boulder, staring at the waterfalls for a long time. My new friend had left me one of her hiking poles to borrow for the hike down. I tried to tell her I’d be alright on my descent, but she knew the trail.
And she knew hiking. Hikers use different parts of their legs during ascents and descents. Climbing up, you are lifting your body higher and higher by pushing down on your thighs, with your hands, to bring the second leg up to the next level, or rock. On the way down, you are fighting gravity. You want to prevent your legs from collapsing at the knee. You lean back and try to pace yourself. Hiking poles help slow your descent.
My new friend was waiting for me in the parking lot, after my close to four-hour climb, to retrieve her hiking pole. And so was my husband. With a new bottle of water and some salty pretzels. I told him I wanted hiking poles for my birthday.
I got them!
**Please Note**:
I will not post in August. I have writing commitments to accomplish. Thank you!
So, what do like to see in nature? Waterfalls? Mountains? The ocean, a river, or lake? The beach? Please share your favorite scenery in nature in the comments section of Camping with Five Kids. Then enjoy your many adventures this summer!