10 Mile Hiking Day

Stefan excited to find beaver ponds

Summit of Sugar Loaf

A grove of Mt. Ash

Today is Saturday October 8th and we decided to hike Mt. Zealand which is just at the end of the road by our camp ground road.  The hike started in thick evergreen trees and a special memory is when Stefan took both Mark and my hands and said, "Janae is kind of independent (she was hiking ahead) but I want to live with you and daddy forever."  About 1/2 way up, Stefan wasn't feeling well so Janae and I went on.  It was a beautiful hike once we got in the sun and deciduous trees.  The summit was at a hiking lodge, with falls overlooking the valley.  I loved the birch and mt. ash trees on the way down.  I can see why birch are NH state tree.  Janae and I had lovely conversations and she shared that what she really wants to do when she grows up is to help mentally disabled people and it was when she was in Explorers that she became drawn to this field.  Half  way down  we started hiking with a family from Nantucket who stopped at Miss Jim B for a visit afterwards.  Stefan and Mark in their waiting had a lot of fun discovering beaver ponds.  After a brief rest, I bribed and cohearsed Janae to hike SugarLoaf with me.  We were both a bit tired from hiking 6 miles but it was such a glorious day that I wanted to go again since I heard that it was such a great  hike.  This hike was 4 miles and was steadily steep and a kind of rugged trail.  The summit was absolutely breath taking.  A 360 degree view of the whole area, including Mt. Washington.  The sun was beginning to set and it was spectacular.

On top of Mt. Zealand