Mt. Moosilauke
4,802 ft
10 miles round trip
6 hours to complete
I woke up this morning at 7:30 sharp. After taking one quick look at the weather forecast, my heart sank. Today was supposed to be the nicest of days. Sunny. Cool. Perfect.
Figuring it was too late to get started on a long hike though, I just sipped my coffee and journaled for a bit. But once I acknowledged this weather news to dad, it wasn’t long before everyone was ready, getting situated in the car, and driving towards the base of Mt. Moosilauke.
I was in charge of preparing the food and packed copious amounts of gorp (i.e. kashi heart to heart, mixed nuts and craisins.) We stopped at least every hour for handfuls of this stuff.
I also packed granola bars, oranges…
…and bagels. With globs and globs of peanut butter. I can not eat enough when I’m hiking and this tasted amazing. Not even a fancy restaurant meal could have satisfied me more at this point. 😉
Each mountain holds a story. A mystery, waiting to be uncovered. Tales and adventures.
Mt. Moosilauke had many. One of the major adventures involved a lost, very young lab/rottweiler mix who followed us up for most of the mountain, sharing our gorp and water, and waiting for us as if he knew he would be safer to follow our “pack.” I was afraid we wouldn’t find his owner, but at the same time, I knew he would have a home with us if we didn’t. He was such a great hiking companion and friend, and we all fell quickly in love with the little goober.
Eventually, we ran into another family and asked them if they would take the dog back down to the hut and see if his owners were waiting for him down at the bottom. Despite knowing it was better that the pup make his way down the mountain (he was getting tuckered out by this point and we didn’t have enough water), I still almost cried. I needed to know he would be okay.
And then (the end of this story is in sight) on top of the mountain, I spotted a dog that looked identical to the dog that had been our hiking companion. Identical!! Turns out, that dog was “our” dog’s father, and the owner had been searching for him on a different trail. The story ended happily when the owner reunited with her pup down at the bottom once again.
I love adventures. Especially when they have happy endings.
Once the trees began to look shorter and shorter, we knew that we were quickly approaching the top…
Gorgeous. Breathtaking. Surreal.
I felt as if I were in another country. I’ve never actually visited Scotland, but this is kind of what I would expect it to look like. I don’t think I would have been the least surprised to spot Sir William Wallace riding his trusty horse along the trail.
I love the entire journey of hiking. The muddy boots. The smells of pine. The conversations. The cleanest of clean fresh air. *Sigh*
But views like this are what make it all come together. It’s the cherry on the icecream.
Goodbye, Mt. Moosilauke! Until next time. 😀
Driving Home
Three hungry hikers arrived home, and I immediatley pulled out some sushi to munch on. I’m not even entirely sure what each roll consisted of, but I do know there was shrimp, avocado, and cucumber. Delicious!
For the main meal, I made a gigantuous salad, topped with refried beans and half an avocado. Not very pretty, but entirely what I was craving after a long day of hiking.
And then there was food, straight from the grill. Dad was at it once again…
There was asparagus…
Rib Eye Steak and Grilled Home Fries
Life is good.
Goodnight world…
Until tomorrow!
Question: Do you enjoy sushi? What is your favorite kind?
Question: Do you see any shapes in the clouds in the picture above? I’m curious if other people are seeing the same thing that I’m seeing. 😉
SUshi is awesome! My favorite is the Spider Roll.
Sushi is ok, but there are better foods out there. It isn’t something I would go out of my way to get.
Great hike! Those views are breathtaking!
What a view! And some delicious eats as well, what a great time:)
xxx Julia (Taste of Living)
What an amazing hike – looks like such a great way to spend vacation. I love sushi – avocado rolls are my favourite.
What a beautiful hike!! I love reaching the peaks of hiking trails. 🙂 Looooove sushi. Okay that’s a bit of an exaggeration since I’ve only tried a few kinds. But I do love CA rolls!!
i LOVE SEEING STEAKS ON BLOGS! hollaaa! LOVE spicy tuna rolls too- thats prob my fav!!!
Beautiful! I love hiking *sigh*
What was the elevation gain of that hike?
The elevation gain was about 2,500 ft from the Ravine Lodge to the summit. 😀
Breathtaking is really the only word…incredible!
I see a gingerbread man in the clouds. I want to know what you see!
Oh wow, I didn’t even see that until you mentioned it…haha. There is totally a gingerbread man in the sky!
First of all, I would love to complete a hike such as this someday! The views are gorgeous. Your “eats” look yummy, and I definitely am a lover of sushi. 🙂 I see the side profile of a man on the left in the picture of the night sky. What do you see? 🙂
I saw the same thing!! And I also saw the front of a face of another man next to him. 😀
I’ve never had sushi! I see a man holding something in his hand in front of his face.
I like sushi, but I haven’t tried many varieties – I can’t really remember different names yet 🙂 I love how fresh it tastes, though.
Hiking sounds so much fun! I’ve never been hardcore hiking – sadness. The views look AMAZING!
Sounds like a great hiking trip. It makes me long to go hiking this summer. And yes, peanut butter on a bagel or bread is just about the best hiking food there is. I love packing lunches for hikes.
As for sushi, I love rolls with avocado, sweet potato, squash, or cucumber (or all of them combined). And egg rolls are really good too.
Those sushi ingredients sound amazing!!
Sushi rocks my socks off!! I love sashimi & nigiri from Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar. =)