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hhhh... So I've been sitting here in front of the computer in the studio, drinking my after dinner Corona Light beer and musing about what a different summer this has been. Certainly not what I had planned, nor what anyone would have anticipated. Not to say that life has totally stopped for everyone. I have friends, and I would guess you likely have some as well, who are out doing things just as much as they would have been without the dreaded virus. Not something I'm going to do, but I do understand the feeling of needing normalcy. Tho it may not every be back to the normal we had 6 months ago. [sigh]
I was hoping to climb on Tuesday, but my partner couldn't manage it so I'm hoping that tomorrow will come together. It did rain this morning and there is a possibility of thunderstorms early evening, but I'm hoping it will dry out by mid morning tomorrow. I gotta say that I really need to do something else other than cut wood. [wry grin] Of course the possibility of saving myself $400+ sure makes the effort seem worthwhile. A couple more logs to harvest and then I will rent a splitter and should be good to go for the winter.
I planned to go out and cut some more wood this afternoon, but decided to take a run up toward Crawford Notch first just to see what things were like. For a Thursday it was very busy. Tons of cars at all the trailheads. Interestingly enough Sawyer River Road was closed. Last month when I rode up there it was being graded and it looked as if some equipment had been going up there. No idea what's up, I'll have to ride the bike up soon to check it out.
The lower lot at Arethusa was almost full and there was a sign saying that would be paving taking place on Monday! Not sure if that's the road or the lot. I stopped at the place I take my winter pictures of Standard Route and it's interesting to see how full the trees are in the summer. You can hardly see the cliff!
BREAKING NEWS:
I had this Report just about buttoned up, when I got a call from Brad. He'd heard that there have been some No Trespassing signs put up on Cathedral Ledge Road! According to the Echo Lake Park manager, apparently the land along Cathedral Ledge Road opposite the cliff is privately owned, as is a chunk on the cliff where the trail goes up to Repentance/Remission! For some reason the owner has taken it upon themselves to post the property and has threatened to close the road itself! I'm not sure how this will play out as the road and trails have been accessible for close to 100 years, but who knows. Stay tuned...
FOR THE BIRDS:
I believe I mentioned that I had a Robin nest in my hedge a month or so ago right by my breezeway door. It was really fun to watch the nesting, hatching and the chicks grow. Those chicks fledged a while back, and now the pair started another nest in my Azalea bush nearby and laid 3 more eggs. It's pretty amazing to watch the momma sitting on her 3 eggs, knowing that this will happen all over again.
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
4 million cases, 140,000+ Americans dead from the Novel Corona Virus folks!
I'm not sure how many of you have been up here this summer, but let me say - IT'S CRAZY! I've lived here for almost 24 years, and spent time up here for 10 years prior to that. Honestly friends, I've never seen it as busy. All the swimming spots are packed, trailheads are full, lakes are overflowing, and the traffic is really something else. I just gotta figure that a lot of folks are still out of work and are looking at this as if it is a vacation. The unfortunate thing is that it is making a real mess everywhere. There are piles of garbage left by trailheads, shit in the woods, fires in every clearing, you name it. I'm not kidding. And people aren't being nice. I don't know what's in people's heads, Covid Head or whatever, but it's not good. I have a number of friends who own restaurants and they say the've never seen people as obnoxious as they are this summer.
In addition I'm friends with Alan Tate, the manager of Echo Lake State Park. He says that they are completely overwhelmed with the number of people wanting park access and how they are treating the place and the staff. Diana's Bath has had to add additional staff to deal with the drunk people and manage the parking, There was an article in today's Conway Daily Sun that talks about all of this. You can read it here:
WEAR A MASK, SANITIZE, WASH YOUR HANDS AND STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT FRIENDS!
VALLEY CYCLING:
The Subaru needed some maintenance and a wheel bearing so I drove it over to the mechanic on East Conway Rd near the Police station, and rode the mountain bike back through the woods & snowmobile trails. It's about 10 miles and took me about 1:15. I got a call later in the afternoon the next day that it was ready, so I decided to ride my road bike over there. Frankly it was scary! Not only were there a ton of cars on the road, but the drivers were not paying attention to what they were doing. IMO it's not worth the risk folks. The trails are good now so just ride in the woods and be safe...
INSTANT BUG REPORT - BUGCON 3:
The bugs aren't as bad this week as last. I'd definitely bring the Dope, but it's better so I dropped it to a 3.
Mobile Version Of NEClimbs:
Up on one of the Mount Washington Valley's finest crags and want to know what that climb you're looking at is? Or maybe you're on your way up from Boston and want to check out the Ice Report for your upcoming weekend plans. Or more likely, you're at work just want to daydream about your next adventure. Well if you have a smart phone handy, you can get to NEClimbs from anywhere you have cell service. While it doesn't offer every single feature of the site and it's not an "app", in mobile form, it does do a whole lot and is very useful. Here is the live link to the mobile version of NEClimbs:
Check it out and if you have issues on your specific phone, please feel free to let me know.
NEClimbs & White Mountain Report On Facebook:
Join us and LIKE us on Facebook. I'll try and post interesting pix every Thursday and the latest Ice Report in the season, tho certainly not the whole Report. Here's where you can check it out:
Climbing is a very dangerous sport. You can get hurt or even kill yourself. When you go climbing, you do so of your own free will. Everything on this site is to be taken with a grain of salt. Don't blame us if you get up some totally heinous route, in over your head and fall and hurt yourself.
