day 2 and kearsarge

Today began with a fresh and plentiful breakfast at the highland lodge! We had some sights at the start of the day with the Willey Boulders which gives you a dramatic respect for the boulders and how strong and heavy they are to stop the mudslide from taking down the Willie’s cabin. We also stopped by a tourist center and saw a model of the entire New Hampshire mountain range. The model gives you a great perspective as to how immense the mountain ranges are and how climbing a place like Kearsarge today is just one part of a series of trails you could hike for years. Today after visiting the tourist center we headed to Kearsarge North and a 3.1 mile hike both ways. The first mile or so of the trail wasn’t too taxing or strenuous but after that the grade began getting steeper and we began running into slabs of rock. Near the top the tree line was getting lower and the trees began to grow in different ways as professor Zorn pointed out. The pines in the lower altitudes and the pines in upper altitudes all find a way to adapt to the conditions and survive in different ways. The thing I noticed that is also mentioned in our book “A walk in the woods” is that 3 miles back where we live in Kenosha is nothing and simply a 45 minute light walk. On the other hand 3 miles up a mountain with steep grades and rocky terrain will take an hour and half or two hours and nearly bring you to your knees. The hike down was a little less stressful but still you could feel the pain in your quads and calves. When the trail was finally done we were exhausted and excited for the food although it took what seemed like an eternity to get to it! After another amazing dinner and our first long and strenuous day of hiking we are off bed and another great day tomorrow!