dog | Running To Slow Things Down

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.