Hiking the White Mountains

We did a hike in New Hampshire.

We had quite a time finding the trail head, but once we did...

Well...

You can see for yourselves.

Hiking Vermont

I love this state.

I love this state.

I. love. this. state.

I loved Ithaca.  I really did.

And I loved Erie.  I did!

But Vermont... not just Burlington... but Vermont...  this is the state.

(How many more times will I say that in the next 13 months?)

Today we went hiking to a waterfall.

I scouted the territory and we packed dinner and sweatshirts and off we went!  (Did I mention it cools down at night here?  Feels like real summer!  (says the Johnstownian whose children are currently freezing...)

In Ithaca hiking to the waterfalls was really walking along a paved or stoned walkway.  Everything was clearly labeled, easy to find...  not so here - and I love that.

We drove around for a few minutes before we found the trail-head.  It was hidden in the trees and down a little embankment - we just parked where we saw other cars and hoped for the best... and GPS was pretty sure it was around there somewhere. 

The hike was short but steep, muddy, rocky, and awesome.  To see the waterfall we had to climb out over huge rocks and slide on our butts.  Yes.

This is not the epic part of the hike - but it was where we felt safe turning around and wielding a camera. 

I stripped down and swam in the freezing water.  Sorry, there are no pictures.

Ithaca is Gorges: Part 2

I finally convinced the fam that we should absolutely at very least visit the section of Robert H. Treman State Park that we did not see on our previous evening excursion, and it was worth every second.

It was moving day, so Billy came with us.

There was a parking fee, and the nice lady allowed us to pay as a car, since the bus fee was outlandish and there are only four of us.

This section of the park was completely different from the swimming area.  There were fields and playgrounds and trails and a neat old mill with self-guided tours.

We took advantage of the tour, and the restroom facilities.

Our goal was the falls, which are supposedly ~100 feet tall, and so after our restroom and mill tour, we found the appropriate trail, and started hiking.

They said there would be stairs.

And stairs there were!

Instead of a rustic hiking trail through woods with cedar lining the path, there were stone carved benches, stairways, and walls like something out of a Mayan ruin archeological dig.  I was fascinated at every turn by the natural cuts in the sides of the mountains (gorges!), the sound of the lapping water, the frequent cascades...  and I wasn't alone - many people joined us on our hike that day.

I hung back to take a few photos.

 

You can see Michael and Maeryn ahead of me.

 We soon came to our first falls treat.  Several people (us included) waded into the small waterfall... we found out later this was against the rules.

 Michael had the opportunity to talk to one of the rangers who gave us history surrounding the falls, explained that the family after whom the park is named purchased the land in order to preserve it, then sold it back to the state of New York to make into a park.  There are strict rules about where you may and may not wade or swim in order to preserve these natural wonders.

I wish my camera could better capture the magnificence of this waterfall.  I couldn't fit everything into the lens - but you can see the person for some scale.  The falls are enormous and intensely beautiful.

 After hiking to the bottom of the falls, you must of course hike back up.  This would have been less fun, if Michael hadn't challenged himself to run the entire way.  He asked me to time him.  The kids and I took bets about how long it would take him to do the entire giant stairway.  The kids guessed over ten minutes.  I guess five minutes.  He made it back in three: impressive.

The hike out was a little more traditional.  We took an alternate trail so we could go over some neat looking bridges and maybe get back to the bus faster.

Michael after his crazy running escapade, talking to the kids about how it's not okay to climb over walls that lead to 100 foot drops.  I thought it was a cute picture.

Maeryn found this red leaf at the height of summer.

And so we moved on from Ithaca, NY.

and I admit some sadness.

So far, this has been my favorite spot.

Ithaca is Gorges

While hanging out in Ithaca, NY, we saw many hats, bags, and shirts with this slogan: Ithaca is Gorges.  I got the play on words immediately, but I wondered what they meant by gorges. 

What exactly is a gorge?



gorge  (gôrj)

n.

1. A deep narrow passage with steep rocky sides; a ravine.

2. A narrow entrance into the outwork of a fortification.

3. The throat; the gullet: The gory sight made my gorge rise.

4. The crop of a hawk.

5. An instance of gluttonous eating.

6. The contents of the stomach; something swallowed.

7. A mass obstructing a narrow passage: a shipping lane blocked by an ice gorge.

8. The seam on the front of a coat or jacket where the lapel and the collar are joined.

v. gorged, gorg·ing, gorg·es

v.tr.

1. To stuff with food; glut: gorged themselves with candy.

2. To devour greedily.

v.intr.

To eat gluttonously.

---

[Middle English, throat, from Old French, from Late Latin gurga, perhaps from Latin gurges, whirlpool, abyss.]

---

gorger n.


Ah.  So there you have it.

In this instance, I learned that in Ithaca, we're thinking about definition #1:  A deep narrow passage with steep rocky sides; a ravine.

And indeed, Ithaca is ripe with them.  Made from them... perhaps. 

We'd been driving (or biking) into town the same way over several days, and each time we went to town I noticed signs for two different parks.  I was itching to visit, but no one ever seem up for it... until today!

It was evening, and we were all feeling a bit tired, but the air was just cool enough to have reprieve and warm enough to still feel like dipping toes into the water...  so off we went.  I heard there was a waterfall, and on the internet, it said you could swim in it. 

And you can.

But not this evening.

Unfortunately for us, the water was too high on the bacteria side for swimming just now.  We ogled anyway and noted the high diving board (you can make it out in the top right of the above photo) that looked immensely thrilling, leading right into the base of the falls.  I can't wait to go back someday.

While there, several kid-types carved their names into the slate rock near the ladder for the diving board.  Jonah participated.  What he wrote is secret though, so if you want to see, you'll have to visit Robert H. Treman State Park and see for yourself.