August 31, 2014

Lonesome Lake

It's been nearly two years since Katy and I triumphantly completed our 48th New Hampshire 4000 footer. Since then, this blog has remained mostly idle, but our lives certainly have not. Our humble accomplishment of conquering all of those peaks was thrilling, challenging, and rewarding; but on May 26, 2013, we embarked on a new adventure that magnifies all of those adjectives and then some. We became parents. Our son Toby is a 1 year old toddler now and is just a smart, happy, goofy, fun loving kid. We've been loving every minute of our time with him and have enjoyed seeing him grow.

Katy mentioned in her 4000 footer application that "We plan to introduce our child to the White Mountains once s/he is old enough to walk." Well, Toby can now walk! Last week we had some time off and decided it was time to do just that. We planned a relatively short hike out and back to Lonesome Lake Hut from Lafayette Campground - a little over 3 miles round trip and a moderate elevation gain. I have to say that this is not Toby's first time hiking with us. We took him up Mt. Kearsarge when he was only 2 months old and also hiked with him in the rain forest at 9 months old when we vacationed in Puerto Rico a while back. We had a few other small outings too but none of these previous hikes were more then a mile. This hike was definitely the longest hike we've ever done with him and also, staying true to form, the first hike in the White Mountains.

Katy and I got up early, 5:45 AM, and packed our things. Not only were we hiking but we were also spending some time at Lake Winnipesaukee afterwards so we had to prep for an overnight trip. After we got organized, we woke Toby up, had breakfast, and all piled into the car for the trip north. We were on our way by 7:30 AM. It was fun to make that drive early in the morning like we had done so many times before in years' past. We arrived at Lafayette Campground before 10:00 AM and then ... changed and fed the baby? Oh how life has changed. Toby enjoyed exploring the picnic area as we fed him his morning snack and organized our gear, you know - water, snacks, diapers, and wipes.

Once we put Toby in the back carrier, he didn't want to be anywhere else. He laughed and played the whole way up and pointed at and identified everything he saw - "Wa Wa (Water)", "Mama", "Dada", "Ra (Rock)", "Up", "Rara (Rabbit)", among others. The hike to the hut is not a difficult hike but it was hard work carrying Toby on my back. We got there in less then an hour and enjoyed the views, the lake, and the perfect weather. Toby loved the inside of the hut and also talking to the ducks down by the lake. We had a snack and before long, were heading back down.

On the way down Katy and I discussed possibly tackling the 52 With-A-View list of smaller hikes with nice views in New Hampshire. It's a nice list because most of the hikes are small enough that Toby can handle already (as long as we carry him most of the way!) so he can come with us. It's a tentative plan, and one I hope to keep up blogging about as we progress. For now, though, enjoy some photos of our recent trip to Lonesome Lake.

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