Feeling Liberated on Mount Liberty

Hello once again!  After yet another long hiatus, I am ready to make yet another triumphant return to the blogosphere.  This time, I think I am returning for good, as there is one crucial difference between this and my previous attempts to re-kindle the blogging flame; this time I am done with my MBA.  After three and a half long years of going to school while also working full-time and trying to have a life, I am finally done.  One of the things I hope to do with my new-found free time is blog.  Lucky you.  Try not to get your hopes up too much, though, as I don’t plan to blog every weekend, or even every other weekend, but I will write more often.

Now on to the exciting stuff.  On Sunday, Sarah and I traveled north to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Our objective for the day was to summit Mount Liberty, a 4,459 foot peak on Franconia Ridge, just a bit south of the popular (and spectacular) Franconia Ridge loop I walked this summer.  In the picture below, taken from the road as we approached the mountain, Mount Liberty is on the left alongside Mount Flume.  Below that is an up close picture of Liberty's rocky summit.

When we got on the trail at 11:00, it looked as if we were going to have a great day.  It was a bit cool (about 18), but nothing extraordinary for mid-December.  The trail was well broken, making snowshoes necessary only for traction, not flotation.  The hike started very gradually, as we gained very little elevation over the initial mile plus.  Eventually we started to climb, and climb, and climb some more.  The climb was grueling (gaining 3,250 vertical feet in just over 3 miles), and my out-of-shape body was feeling it.  Despite this, I couldn’t have felt better.  I mentioned to Sarah how appropriate it was to be hiking Mt. Liberty just a few days after being forever “liberated” from the burdens of school work.  I know, I know, that is a ridiculously corny statement, but it is true.  I really did think it was fitting.

As we slowly made our way up the mountain, clouds began to blanket the sky.  Finally, we reached the ridge, only 0.3 miles from the summit.  This last part of the climb was not terribly difficult, but extremely strong winds made the exposed rocky portions of the ridge somewhat interesting.  By this time, it had started to snow.  That combined with the intense winds virtually eliminated any views we may have had earlier in the day.  So we spent very little time on the summit before retreating to the safety of the woods.

Our decent was quite fast; the snow cushioned our steps and helped us glide down the mountain.  But we were tired, and the steady downhill tested our weary legs.  The snow that had started to fall as we approached the summit continued to fall at an increased intensity.  By the time we reached the car there were a couple of inches on the ground.  We had completed the 8 mile hike in just over 5 hours.  However, the most difficult part of our trip was still ahead of us.  We were hopeful that the highway (I-93) would be cleared, but that was not the case.  The road was snow covered, and what should be an easy 2 hour trip turned into a 3.5 hour, white-knuckle drive.  It wasn’t until we reached southern New Hampshire that there was any relief, as warmer temps brought rainfall in place of the snow in the north.

Our 3.5 hour trip brought us to the Lanigans, who were nice enough to have us over for dinner to celebrate my completing the MBA program, as well as Sarah’s admittance in to her own Master’s program (congratulations to you, too!).  We were lucky to also be joined by Sarah’s uncle Ben, who would be staying with us the next two nights.  This is a good thing for two reasons.  First, we both happen to like Ben.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, Ben staying with us always means a trip to Buff’s Pub.  I’m pretty sure I’m not hurting Ben’s feelings by saying that because my guess is that he would agree with me.

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading along.  After the holidays I plan to write again.  Until then, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!