Adventure with Alex

At 19 months Alex is the perfect age to spend some time in our Burley Bee Bike trailer. He enjoyed a 12 mile ride last week when I used it to run some errands in town, so today I decided to check out the recently opened Fryeburg section of the Maine Mountain Division Trail. This northern section is a nicely paved 4.2 miles with some scenic bogs and fields. The non-profit Mountain Division Alliance’s long term goal is to have this trail opened all the way to Portland, ME, about 50 miles!

After collapsing the trailer and tossing it in the back of the Matrix (it fits without putting any seats down), I loaded my bike onto our Thule Raceway, and off we drove to the Maine Visitor center just over the NH/ME line on Route 113 where the trail starts. Lots of folks were out pushing strollers, jogging, or riding enjoying the perfect early Spring weather. It’s definitely a cruiser of a ride with very minor hills and no sharp turns.

Mountain Division Trail

Mountain Division Trail

We reached the end about 25 minutes from starting and stopped for so Alex could get out and explore.

The end of the trail, for now…

Most people I’ve hiked with know I prefer loop trips whenever possible. I dislike returning the same way I came if I can help it, and a quick look at the map showed returning via 113 would provide that loop, and let us ride through scenic Fryeburg village.

Kiosk Map

So we did, the 8.49 mi. round-trip took 55 minutes, average speed 9.4 mph, max speed of 20 mph.

The route

On the return trip Alex got a bit cranky and I couldn’t figure out if he was a bit to warm with the windshield down, or too cold with the windshield up, or just didn’t want to be strapped in at the moment (leaning towards that). He was all smiles by the time we got back to the car, and after meeting up with Mommy in town for some lunch and a stop at the playground he was out.

zzzzzzzzz

I’m excited to put a lot of miles on the bikes this summer. I’ll be posting a detailed review of the bike trailer, our bikes, our bike rack, helmets, etc in the coming week or two and will link them where appropriate in this post. If interested you can follow this blog just by clicking “Follow” down on the right hand side of the page. Thanks for reading, see you on the trail!

We’re back! It’s been 5 months since this blog has seen any action. While I had intentions of having some winter adventures with Alex my winter guiding season left little free time to get outside with him. But Spring is here, and Adventure With Alex is going to see some revival. Expect lots of trip reports, gear reviews, and occasional musings. If that’s something you’re into, please subscribe. It only takes a second, and Alex likes seeing how many people follow his adventures!

For our first hike of the season I wanted something mellow and new. Skimming over the map I found a small loop hike off of Route 113a in nearby Tamworth, NH. Within the small Hemenway State Forest is Big Pines Natural Area, maintained by the Tamworth Conservation Commission. My AMC map showed only two trails here, the Betty Steele Loop Trail and the Peg King Spur Trail that climbs Great Hill (elev. 1300ft). I figured we could tick those two off in under two hours.

Back in the Saddle

As soon as we entered the forest we came across a mailbox labeled “maps”, which the TCC had stocked with trail maps and a single page nature guide with 12 natural sites to explore on the “Easy Walkers’ Nature Trail”. After a rock split by freeze thaw, some impressively huge Hemlocks and White Pines, we crossed the Swift River on a nice looking foot bridge.

Bridge crossing the Swift River

After a few minutes of gentle incline I almost missed a small brook crossing but corrected myself within 50 feet. A false path is worn where many have missed the blaze here but fades quickly. We reached the turn-off for the Peg King Spur Trail and started the moderate climb up to the tower.

Great Hill Fire Tower

Alex had been asking “down?” for the last few minutes so I was glad to see a great grassy spot he could hang out on under the tower.

The shirt says “Adventure”

We climbed up the 4 flights of stairs into the very well maintained fire tower. It was nice to see a minimum of graffiti in the top of the tower and the views in all directions were pretty good for such a low lying hill. Landmark plaques labeled nearby peaks and villages.

Looking South

A good view of Chocorua

After a quick snack we reversed direction and headed back to finish the other half of the Betty Steele Trail. It was a fast walk down and within 25 minutes we saw the Swift River through the trees. I stopped for two more pics by the water.

The footbridge over The Swift

So glad to be back on the back

The route

So the 2013 Alex season has officially begun. We had gotten out for a 12 mile bike ride last week, and I expect we’ll be spending a lot of time on the bikes this summer, and perhaps in the kayak. I also have a lot of products related to these sports to review and will get them posted over the next couple weeks, so please subscribe or leave comments if you enjoyed the read! See you on the trail.

Finding and cutting my own Christmas tree has been something I’ve wanted to do since I first watched the National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. The scene where Clark Griswold leads his family out into the frozen wilderness to find the perfect tree while his daughter goes hypothermic from the eyes down, only to realize after discovering the perfect 30 foot monster that they forgot their saw, is a long time favorite.

Yesterday Michelle and I decided for Alex’s 2nd holiday season we would start a similar tradition with our family. Alex and I hadn’t hit the trail in awhile, as we were waiting for a very seasonally important piece of clothing to arrive.

THE NORTH FACE INFANT LIL’ SNUGGLER DOWN SUIT

We had looked at some of the insulated infant/toddler suits available at some of the big box stores but the quality did not impress. Most had cheap synthetic insulation and stiff nylon shell fabric both outside and in. THE NORTH FACE INFANT LIL’ SNUGGLER DOWN SUIT is insulated with 550 fill goose down, is lined with a much softer nylon, and sports 20D polyester ripstop fabric with DWR (durable water repellent) finish to shed light moisture and protect the down. While the size chart would have put us in the 18 month size we opted for the 24 month size in hopes of getting two full winters of use out of it.

Prepared for colder temps we loaded the car with the necessary tree cutting, and hauling, supplies…

Kid carrier, snow suit, sled, gloves, rope, and saw

Off we drove to get a tree cutting permit from the USFS Saco Ranger District office on the Kancamagus Highway.

Saco District USFS Office

I chatted with the ranger about good hunting grounds for trees while Michelle & Alex checked out some of the exhibits.

Exhibits in the Saco District USFS Visitor Center

We paid our $5 permit fee, looked over the rules & regulations, and headed west on the Kanc until we found a logging road we thought looked promising.

Ready to go

It had been over a month since Alex had been in his carrier and he seemed pretty excited to go on a new adventure. THE NORTH FACE INFANT LIL’ SNUGGLER DOWN SUIT fit him well, with room to grow. We headed up the logging road eyeing every fir/spruce grove with energetic enthusiasm… we reached a large clearing with promising trees close at hand…

Somewhere off the Kanc…

While it may look like there are plenty of beautiful Christmas trees in the background we started running into some issues at this point. How could we choose? Is this one better than that one? How about over there? Let’s keep hiking, there might be a better one a little further in…

This is what I had in my mind…

This went on for a couple hours. Alex started to loose interest…

Sound asleep…

As noon came and passed I realized I hadn’t planned for this to be a full day outing. I had assumed we would pluck a tree in no time. Our collective indecisiveness was starting to get in the way of a beautiful day to be out hiking, and we decided we would not find a tree in this fashion. We needed to recon, to research. Could we even properly identify a spruce from a fir? Next year we’ll go on some tree scouting hikes… we’ll find the right one when not limited by time, and grumbling stomachs…

We returned to the car, somewhat defeated, but happy to be out hiking as a family, and drove over to the place we found our tree last year… our local American Legion post…

American Legion Post 46

I’ve got to admit I like buying a tree here, knowing they use the funds to support local vets & families… but next year we will try the old-fashioned way again. And maybe we’ll avoid any Griswold style shenanigans!

How about you? Have you ever cut your own tree from the woods? If not do you buy one from the same place, year after year? Or do you have one of those practical fake trees? Leave a comment and let me know!