Carlota and I went met in middle school. There was always fun stuff going on at her house...... pool parties, tree climbing, coed scary movie gatherings, etc. etc. When she and I reconnected three years ago, I just knew she'd still be up for doing more fun stuff, even as an adult.
Last week, Carlota called and mentioned that she was thinking of going up to one of the Appalachian Mountain Club Huts for a night. She was planning to leave her nine month old, Boden, behind with his dad and wondering if I'd be interested in joining her. I try to ski every spring on Mount Washington, but I'd never actually hiked in the White Mountains. And, I'd never had the opportunity to stay in one of the AMC huts (they are usually closed in the winter).
After feeling somewhat cooped up for the month of August and sensing the impending doom of the upcoming school year upon me (really, I love my job, it's just a rough transition back into the thick of it), I knew if I was going to ever get away for a night, now was the time. Plus, I thought it might be a good "bonding experience" for John and Cally after so much time apart in August.
As the week unfolded, and the reality of the weather forecast was upon us, it was looking like a pretty grim time to take an adventure. There were supposed to be high winds, a 70% chance of rain both days, and high temperatures of 35F overnight. Carlota called me on Friday, not all too excited about the prospects. I, however, was held captive in an inservice training all day, so I couldn't really communicate with her until the end of the day. Both of us were completely on the fence...... did we really want to spend our 24 hours away from everything in a soggy hut on the side of Mount Washington? Yep........ we decided to just go for it.
When I arrived at Crawford Notch to meet Carlota, pump, and drop a car, the wind was absolutely howling, the rain was spitting, and I started to wonder what sort of drugs I was on when I decided to go on this "get away". I already missed Cally and John and kept thinking about all the stuff I could be doing in my classroom if I weren't on this hike.......... But we were there, we'd paid for our bunks, and we were both prepared to carry on with the plan.
We hiked up the Ammonoosuc Ravine-- a short, but steep trail and got to the hut in about 2 1/2 hours. The hike wasn't too wet, and the temperatures were actually ideal for staying cool. However, the conditions at the hut were exactly as predicted--- the wind was honking at 60 mph, visibility was marginal, and we were pretty wet and cold.
Staying in an AMC hut was new for me, but something with which Carlota is a lot more familiar. In fact, she and her husband Matt had a surprise wedding at the Lake of the Clouds hut, where we were staying, six years ago. They somehow convinced 80 friends and family members to trudge up there in a rainstorm and then surprised them all but making a lifelong commitment to each other up there! So cool!
In any case, it was a great experience for me..... good food, a comfortable bed, hot drinks, some wine that Carlota packed up in her backpack, and a roof over our heads. It felt quite decadent. And those kids that work at these huts seem to have such a ball. It makes me wish I'd spent a summer doing that, back in the day.
By 8pm, the weather broke and we were actually able to do some star gazing with a professional astronomer (did I mention that I have to teach a unit on astronomy starting on Wednesday?-- so apropos!)
But when we woke up to one of the hut crew members singing some beautiful song about blackbirds, the mountain was, once again socked in....... However, by 8am, the clouds again broke and we had a glorious seven mile hike down the Presidential Range-- over Monroe, Eisenhower, Pearce, Adams.........
Thanks, Carlota, For motivating me to do a little something for myself. You still know how to have fun and I feel fortunate to have a friend like you out there. Reminding me about the parts of my life I sometimes lose sight of with a full time job and a two-foot tall red head in my life.
I did really miss Cal and John, but I drove home so refreshed and ready to take on this new school year. I feel a bounce to my step and an ease in my chest. I did it, I separated myself from Cal for the longest time since she was conceived...... and she didn't miss a beat.Cally and John's Big Weekend:
So what, you might ask, were John and Cally doing back home?
John sums up their Saturday as being a "domestic day". A little cleaning, a little laundry, some baby food making, a trip to the video store, and a visit from Uncle Tom. I think both may have slipped a nap or two in there somewhere.
Today, was a much bigger day...........John decided that a race/ride up Mt. Mansfield's Toll Road towing Cally in the Chariot would be a fun way to spend the day. He's signed up for the Vermont 50 Mountain Bike Race at the end of September, so he figured this would be good training.
John pulled Cally and the trailer (all 40 plus pounds) up 4.5 miles and 3000 verticle feet! He took it nice and slow and said it was "fun". She had a ball and brought many smiles to the other participants who pretty much all got to wave at her on the way up or down.
Aside from Cally not really drinking more than 8 ounces of milk in my absence, she seemed like she didn't miss a beat when I returned home.
