13 Before 13: June 2019

Friday, June 7, 2019

Ripley Falls - Easy Section "Waterfalls" - with Plymouth NH GS Juniors

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May 27, 2019

The Plymouth NH GS Juniors seemed to have a great time hiking to Ripley Falls (Easy Section), a hike in Hart's Location that is 1.1 miles round-trip. Due to an unfortunate mix-up among other events, the Troop and I didn't end up hiking the trail together, but we hiked it mostly apart and then I combined our pictures into this post. Also, technical problems with my phone led Mom to take the pictures this time. I was grateful to her for doing that.

The girls heading up the trail...

As you can see, the terrain is, unsurprisingly, rocky and the grade is moderate.

Photo by Stacy Strickland

You have to cross this railroad before continuing up the trail.

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Go left for Ripley Falls!

Photo by Trish Herr

At the waterfalls, the girls looking chipper as always:

Photo by Brooke Wakefield

Heading down...

Photo by Stacy Strickland

Taken by Trish Herr

The girls enthusiastically sang different camp songs while heading down the trail.

Photo by Trish Herr

Last group pictures of the day!

Photo by Trish Herr

The girls seemed to have a great time, and I enjoyed hiking the trail.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Ten Essentials and Proper Layers of Clothing

The Ten Essentials are the ten items you must carry with you when you hike for your own safety and protection. The following was borrowed from the Hike Safe website (cited below).

The Ten Essentials

Map

Compass

Warm Clothing

-Sweater or Pile Jacket

-Long Pants (wool or synthetic)

-Hat (wool)

Extra Food and Water

Flashlight or Headlamp

Matches/Firestarters

First Aid Kit/Repair Kit

Whistle

Rain/Wind Jacket & Pants

Pocket Knife

More specifically, it is important to bring different layers of clothing with you (no cotton!).

Upper Layers

The first layer is a long-sleeved shirt or a T-shirt (no cotton!), depending on the weather. You should also pack a "windshirt, a lightweight rain shell, and a puffy." (http://goeast.ems.com/gear-to-hike-the-nh-48/) I always pack a fleece jacket, a rain jacket, and a puffy coat.

Lower Layers

You want to wear/pack long pants or shorts along with rain/snow pants and a base layer (fleece pants, for example). Socks should be wool (again, no cotton!)

Learn more here: http://www.hikesafe.com/index.php?page=full-gear-list

Bald Mountain - Easy Section "Views" - with Plymouth NH GS Juniors

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May 11, 2019

I hiked Bald Mountain in Franconia Notch (Artists Bluff Trail with the Bald Mountain Spur), a "views" hike in the Easy section of 13 Before 13, with a Junior Girl Scout Troop from Plymouth, NH today. We had a great time! The girls seemed to have lots of fun.

The Girl Scouts brought their own backpacks and necessary gear for the trip. They were chipper and excited when we began the hike, and they ascended at a quick pace, talking and laughing all the way.

At the intersection with the Bald Mountain Spur, the girls stopped for a water break. When everyone was ready to continue, we kept going. After the spur, the trail became rockier and steeper, but everyone handled it really well. The girls traveled over the terrain with ease and seemed to enjoy themselves.

Then, we got to the part of the trail with the most scrambles: the section very close to the top. Everyone got up that well, and after some slight spotting here and there, we got to the summit.