Losing a Good, Bad Dog

Grief is consuming. It consumes our thoughts with their name and memories, the only thing in our brain from sunup to sun down. It consumes us whole, that "elephant on your chest" feeling and the shaky nerves, lack of appetite and numbing brain fog.

You can't understand the feeling unless you've been in it and it feels different every time. When I was in my early 20s, I put down my beloved horse I had since I was 12 after he had a sudden stomach problem. I spent days in bed crying and googled "can you be dehydrated from crying". In my early 30s just when our son was born, I put down my cat and felt a different kind of grief from my sweet simple companion who had traveled across the country and back with me, a kitten I bottle fed at a few weeks old and had until her late teens.

And then there was Marshall. 

Bolton Notch State Park - Bolton, CT

Bolton Notch State Park is a pretty little state park with one of the scariest entrances I have ever seen. You are traveling at speed down a turnpike and need to make a sharp turn into the parking lot. I'm not even sure how its legal but regardless, it's still worth a visit. At the park you can hike the loop trail, follow the trail by the pond, or to connect over to the Hop River State Park Rail Trail. 

I stopped by the park while working in the area, just Olive and I on a sunny day with an hour to spare between jobs. The parking lot was small and served as a starting point for the state park or to jump on the connecting Hop River State Park Rail Trail. I jumped on Alltrails to see a 2 mile loop around the park and headed out. 

The hike itself was pretty, a loop which took you to a vista and ended by the pond. Nothing to really brag about but a quiet park with some pretty scenery to stretch your legs and the option to log miles at neighboring parks. The section of the park that included the Hop River State Park Rail Trail was probably the prettiest, with these high walls on either side of the wide flat trail. 

Winter Hike up Mount Willard, New Hampshire - 52 With A View

It was day two of our Girl's Hiking Trip and our first full day in the Whites. The day before, Kristen and I had gotten up to the lodge before 3:00 pm and donned our snow gear to head into the woods for a short hike up to the waterfalls. We did a bit more post holing than we anticipated the following morning and decided to talk to the staff for future trail selection. After some deliberation headed up to hike Mount Pierce a beautiful hike with absolutely zero views as a summit was sucked in my gray clouds Doom and Gloom.

7 Reasons to Stay at the AMC Highland Center in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

It's a Sunday morning and I'm watching the snow fall and the sunrise outside of the two story windows in the sitting area of the Appalachian Mountain Club Highland Center in Crawford Notch, nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I'm on a girls trip, joined by six other female hikers all staying at the lodge, organized by a friend and fellow hiker. It's my first time here and to be quite frank, for someone who has spent so much time in the woods and a fair amount of time up here in the Whites, it's a place I've never even heard of.

I knew the AMC had their famous inter-mountain hut system, these beautiful lodges tucked into mountain peaks with lodging and meals available. What I didn't realize was there there were these larger beautiful drive up lodges at the base of the mountain where for a very reasonable price, you could spend the night; bedding, towels, and meals included. For just over $100 a night in the winter with a group, we had a quad bunk room in the lodge and a home base where we could really enjoy the peace the quiet and the access to some of New England's most iconic trails. If I didn't know about it, there's a fair chance you dear reader were left in the dark as well so let's go through six reasons why you should pack your bags and head north for a stay at this beautiful lodge in the whites. 

Winter Hike - Mount Pierce (via Crawford Path) White Mountains, New Hampshire

Unpopular opinion...Winter is an amazing time to head to northern New Hampshire and hike.

I know, I know, we love the sunshine and shorts weather, sitting on top of a summit with a snack and a view while the cool breeze goosebumps your sweaty skin, but here's the thing. We tend to glamorize the glory and we forget about all the less-than-ideal conditions. We forget about the early bird start times to guarantee parking, the swarms of mosquitos and flies, the scorching humidity, and the crowded trails. Winter hikers are a different breed from summer hikers. While I truly think the outdoors are for all, the bluebird sky and mild temperatures bring about a different crowd of hikers that don't always have the same respect for nature. It was a different scene to see clean trails, sans toilet paper and food wrappers as winter conditions truly calls a more seasoned hiker into the woods.