from page one of our 2012 camping and hiking trip report:
Wednesday morning, cozy in our tent, we could hear some rain echoing on the tarp. The forecast had predicted rain off and on all that day. So rather than hiking on Wednesday, we investigated some options for future trips. There are some hikes on the other side of Mt Washington that we are interested in trying, and they will likely require a different campground. You can see that the foliage has started to turn. There was a substantial difference between when we got there Monday night and when we left on Friday. This picture is, of course, from Wednesday.
Near North Conway is a state park called Echo Lake and Cathedral Ledge. The ledge is a popular rock climbing location, with it's sheer face and varying degrees of difficulty. We are not rock climbers, so we did not try it, and we did not see any one attempting in during our visit. But there is also a drive to the top, which we took advantage of.
That night was a bit chilly, although it stayed above freezing the entire trip. For breakfast that morning we had oatmeal, plus apples with peanut butter. These are Macoun apples that we got from Gibson's Orchards in Bethel on Monday afternoon. I am also preparing lunch. We had the same selection each day. It is an invention of Paul's, the Fluffernuterella. I highly recommend it. Fluff, peanut butter, and nutella.
I bruised my heel on Tuesday, it seems, so we did a hike where I could wear my Land's End shoes rather than my hiking boots. (They have great traction, but don't have the same support as hiking boots.) We selected the Great Gulf Wilderness. There is a trail leading right from the campground that goes along a cross-country ski trail before ascending. There is really only one viewpoint on this trail, but it goes along a lovely river and through very pretty woods.
Paul was much more fashionable than I was.
Lunch
Our lunch view. This first picture is Mt Adams, which we hiked last year (from the other side of the mountain).
On the way back to the campsite, Paul took this great picture of the Imp.
My first hike with my hiking poles was on Imp Trail. (Here is a picture of me on the Imp's head.)
We then went to stock up on apples from Gibson Orchard, which we brought home the following day. To get there, we drive over the Androscoggin River.
Updated July 2020