I havent mentioned this until now, but next month, my husband Jim Barringer and I are heading to the Sierras for what will definitely be the most challenging (but also the most rewarding) outdoor adventure of my life: Nine days of hiking through some of the most spectacular countryside in the Sierra, through three major mountain passes, sleeping under the stars. (Well ok. in a tent) . Well be part of an intrepid party of friends--mostly around our same age--with a very particular mission. So...heres the story. If youve been reading my posts here for a while, you have probably heard me mention my dear, longtime friend (and frequent Lake Atitlan sidekick) Rebecca Tuttle Schultze--a fellow NH native, known to many in the seacoast area as the youngest daughter of the family that started what was --until last summer--Americas oldest continuously operated family farm. I grew up eating Tuttles corn and have yet to encounter any that tasted as good. Back in the 1940s , Beckys uncle Bill --a NH farm boy, newly home from WW2--set out with his brother to hike in the Sierras. This was a huge trip in those days. Some days into the trip, Bill set out on a particularly challenging trail while his brother stayed back in camp to fish. Bill never returned. Rangers found his body a couple of days later. Hed fallen into a crevasse. Because of the remoteness of the location, the parks system made a special exception to rules and allowed him to be buried in a place called Crabtree Meadows. Almost 70 years later, thats the spot well be hiking to, though along the way well be taking in some pretty amazing country. I will add here that though I love to hike, up to now Ive never taken on a hike anything close to this one. So Ive been training with some smaller mountains, and little hikes back home. These past two and a half weeks --since Ive been lucky enough to be back home in New Hampshire--Jim and I did a Mt. Monadnock hike, and a few other smaller adventures. I cant say any of htis is remotely easy for me. But more and more, in recent years, I am asking myself, what is my worst fear? And often the answer is: missing out on rich experience. Today, Becky and our friend Lisa Teague--whos also coming on the Sierra trip--tackled Mt. Chocorua in NHs White Mountains: 8.6 miles round trip, and offering some of the best views of NH Ive seen in a while. I was the slowest of our trio--as i often am--but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and what do you know? I made it to the top. Im mentioning all of this now because we have room for a couple more hikers in our group, and with Beckys permission, I decided to put this out to my Facebook community. If its something youd like to experience, message me privately, and I can fill you in a little more (or let my friend Becky do the honors.) Because were hiring guides to cook for us at the end of our long days of hiking (we plan to average around 8-10 miles a day, with some steep climbs along the way) and we will have mules to carry our gear . (This makes the trip costlier, but a LOT more enjoyable.) Just to clarify: I am most definitely NOT mentioning this as any profit-making enterprise. I charge money for my writing workshops because thats what I do for my living. The Sierra hike falls into the category of Big Life Adventure. Period. Here we are, on top of Mt. Chocorua today. Tired (make that exhausted) but happy. (Jim wasnt with us, by the way. He was home in California, recovering from selling and moving out of our house. While I skipped along the trail. ) But Ill head home monday, to take charge of the unpacking.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 00:22:03 +0000