Monday was a holiday, and we had of course just dropped Sam off at camp the day before, but did we sleep in and relax, of course not! Instead, we got up early and drove 2 hours over to Evans Notch for a run/hike! 😆😎 I chose the route, which seemed sort of random, but which turned out to be a great loop up and over Blueberry and Speckled Mountains! We parked at Brickett Place, a cool old farmstead at the edge of Evans Notch. There were only a few cars in the lot, versus the already full lots at the Baldface Loop, even before 8:30 am. The sun was shining brightly and with temperature reading only 55 degrees, I even put on my armsleeves. So lovely!
We headed out, both feeling slightly off as the trail cantered up steeply right at the start before mellowing out a bit onto an old road grade for a bit before we turned off to hike up to the summit of Blueberry Mountain. The 0.6 miles up to the peak was steep and slick but through some really pretty woods, the ground replete with trailing arbutus, bunchberry, and bluebead lily greenery. In typical Sparkplug/Snowman fashion, I was definitely stronger on the uphills, but Ryan got me back by being much faster on the downhills!
Glorious views and yummy ripe blueberries atop Blueberry and then along the Blueberry Ridge Trail, which featured some really nice rocky ridge sections, cool lichen and mountain cranberry too. Then a final climb up to Speckled, with remains of an old fire tower and solid views out into the wilderness, the Carters and beyond. There were a few other people up enjoying the summit, and then we did see several groups heading up the trail as we descended the Bickford Brook Trail, but honestly for a holiday day, it was pretty quiet. Really glad we decided to do the loop in the direction we did, as I wouldn't have wanted to descend off Blueberry, and the Bickford Brook Trail was 2.5 miles of really runnable, mellow, nicely graded descent. Felt like we moved pretty well all day, but of course then in the final stretch we were passed by a young girl in her hiking shoes and a bigger backpack, just running along the trail like it was nothing. Darn kids 😜😉😆 Got us laughing anyway.
Great to be able to spend the morning in the mountains with Ryan on a beautiful day! 💗 (8.4 miles)
Tuesday, it was back to work and the day was busy. By the time I left the office, humidity had settled back in and the air had gotten warm and sticky, but as neither of us had run, we decided to head across the street for a walk before dinner. Nice to move a bit. (2.0 miles walked)
Camp is posting photos on Facebook every day, and it is fun to see what the groups of kids have been up to! When we looked Tuesday night, there was a photo of Sam, cooking something bread-like over the camp fire 😄 When she has been away visiting my parents in previous summers, we've always talked to her every day, so it has definitely been weird not hearing her voice and seeing how things are going, so seeing the photos is extra nice. But I am sure she is having a blast!
Wednesday, I was up and out early for a road run around town. Muggy for sure and the deer flies were buzzing on the back dirt road, but nice morning to be out. Didn't push the pace, but meandered along comfortably. (8.0 miles)
Rain came in overnight on Thursday night, with a tropical storm coming up the eastern seaboard. Looking at the weather, I decided to wait on my long run until Saturday - because I could! - but Val was still planning to get in her long run on Friday, so after hitting the farmer's market for veggies and Frosty's for 🍩, I headed over to Brad. Got there with enough time to get in just shy of 4 miles before I met up with her. I stuck to the mountain side, and then joined Val for one lap of the Breaker. The summit was socked in and the rocks and roots were slick. It was heavy and misty and foggy and dark and buggy but not really quite raining until about 6 miles in when it really started to come down. It actually felt better during the heavier rain and it kept the mosquitos away! Of course, I was only running 8 miles, not all.the.miles like Val, so maybe all that rain didn't feel so great later on 😉 Nice to catch up with Val for a few miles! (8.2 miles)
Rain continued all day, and I mean, it was really coming down! I got my typical house chores done and thought about Val still out there running in the rain, hours later. She is one tough cookie!
By the time I went to bed, the rains had pushed out and there was even blue sky. Still humid when I woke up in the morning, but with a breeze and pleasant temps, plus it was bright and sunny. I headed out around 6:30 and ran to the post office to drop a letter for Sam in the mailbox before heading across the street to run out into the Cathance and out to Head of Tides. The blackrasperries out there were not quite ripe - darn!
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