4 boots, lots of feet :)
wow. that was quite a weekend :)
Sash and i woke at 4:30 on Saturday, had breakfast and made a flask of tea, and then set out on the road. we got to the American border into New York state about 7:30 maybe, where the custom guards were very military style, and where i had to fill out a visa waiver and pay 6 dollars for the pleasure of entering the States :p
it was worth it for the French vanilla coffee i had when we stopped for coffee in a little store along the way- how weird! they sell fresh-brewed coffee in tiny little shops!
we got to the lodge nearest our trail in the Adirondaques about 9:20, and then got ready and started hiking! we decided on , as it's a medium size mountain in the range, and the tree line is very high, which was a good thing, as there were thunder showers predicted for the afternoon, so if they'd been a little early, we would have been safe! the trail is also very clear, and it makes a good first hike.
i was too hot for most of the ascent, as i had a long sleeved top on (one of Sash'S which he made me wear :p ) the first part was easy walking, but once we reached the dam half way, the ascent really gets a lot steeper. it was very hard work, as Sash hikes fast and i haven't climbed a mountain in a long time- the highest one i had done before was 2868 feet. Phelps is 4161. there were quite a few areas where you need to scramble up awkwardly big rocks and across slippery tree roots, so my shoulders hurt a little, as i'm not quite strong enough yet. god knows how Sasha did it with a pack on!!!
we made the summit in about 2.5 hours maybe, i think Sash said it was less, i can't remember now. sadly we were right in the cloud and couldn't see anything except a fairly sheer drop covered with trees at one side. it was a little disappointing, but i certainly wasn't expecting a view, as it had been cloudy all day, and all the way up. it was kind of cool to be in the clouds too- it was very cold, and we sat and drank tea on a rock at the top, which made other people jealous! lol.
the descent was easy and fast, and involved much more conversation, as obviously it's not such hard work, apart from the steep and slippy bits, where you have to concentrate a little. we changed and stopped to get some salty snacks to replenish, our body salts, as you lose a lot hiking fast.
got home and brought the stuff indoors. my new boots did me proud! :) we had pizza, which tasted very salty to me; when we finished it for Sunday lunch, i realized it was because i had so little salt in my body at that time, and not, as i thought, the olives :p :D
Sunday Sasha made waffles for breakfast, and we cleaned up the apartment a bit, went and got some shopping, and got a plant, some nails, and stuff. then in the evening i repotted a couple of plants, and we made strawberry and rhubarb jam.
today i have lots to do:
-Russian
-French
-write to family
-cleaning
-repot a couple more plants, and feed and mist all of them
-exercise dvd
-go to Loblaws and Radio Shack and get antiseptic for a cut and an adaptor for permanent use.
-measure the brackets in the cupbpard and see if i can find any cheap shelving in Rona
-reboil the jm pot that didn't click with the heat seal yesterday night
-watch Das Boot and try not to drink excessive amounts of vanilla coffee :D
i think i fall in love with the cats more every day. Mimi lay on her back and stuck her paws in the air and spread her toes, and looked so cute in general when i smoothed her this morning- she looked so astonished every time i stopped that i smoothed her for about 15 minutes! and Bulle is sitting in a large cardboard box in one of the cupboards right now, looking quizzical! :)
Sash and i woke at 4:30 on Saturday, had breakfast and made a flask of tea, and then set out on the road. we got to the American border into New York state about 7:30 maybe, where the custom guards were very military style, and where i had to fill out a visa waiver and pay 6 dollars for the pleasure of entering the States :p
it was worth it for the French vanilla coffee i had when we stopped for coffee in a little store along the way- how weird! they sell fresh-brewed coffee in tiny little shops!
we got to the lodge nearest our trail in the Adirondaques about 9:20, and then got ready and started hiking! we decided on , as it's a medium size mountain in the range, and the tree line is very high, which was a good thing, as there were thunder showers predicted for the afternoon, so if they'd been a little early, we would have been safe! the trail is also very clear, and it makes a good first hike.
i was too hot for most of the ascent, as i had a long sleeved top on (one of Sash'S which he made me wear :p ) the first part was easy walking, but once we reached the dam half way, the ascent really gets a lot steeper. it was very hard work, as Sash hikes fast and i haven't climbed a mountain in a long time- the highest one i had done before was 2868 feet. Phelps is 4161. there were quite a few areas where you need to scramble up awkwardly big rocks and across slippery tree roots, so my shoulders hurt a little, as i'm not quite strong enough yet. god knows how Sasha did it with a pack on!!!
we made the summit in about 2.5 hours maybe, i think Sash said it was less, i can't remember now. sadly we were right in the cloud and couldn't see anything except a fairly sheer drop covered with trees at one side. it was a little disappointing, but i certainly wasn't expecting a view, as it had been cloudy all day, and all the way up. it was kind of cool to be in the clouds too- it was very cold, and we sat and drank tea on a rock at the top, which made other people jealous! lol.
the descent was easy and fast, and involved much more conversation, as obviously it's not such hard work, apart from the steep and slippy bits, where you have to concentrate a little. we changed and stopped to get some salty snacks to replenish, our body salts, as you lose a lot hiking fast.
got home and brought the stuff indoors. my new boots did me proud! :) we had pizza, which tasted very salty to me; when we finished it for Sunday lunch, i realized it was because i had so little salt in my body at that time, and not, as i thought, the olives :p :D
Sunday Sasha made waffles for breakfast, and we cleaned up the apartment a bit, went and got some shopping, and got a plant, some nails, and stuff. then in the evening i repotted a couple of plants, and we made strawberry and rhubarb jam.
today i have lots to do:
-Russian
-French
-write to family
-cleaning
-repot a couple more plants, and feed and mist all of them
-exercise dvd
-go to Loblaws and Radio Shack and get antiseptic for a cut and an adaptor for permanent use.
-measure the brackets in the cupbpard and see if i can find any cheap shelving in Rona
-reboil the jm pot that didn't click with the heat seal yesterday night
-watch Das Boot and try not to drink excessive amounts of vanilla coffee :D
i think i fall in love with the cats more every day. Mimi lay on her back and stuck her paws in the air and spread her toes, and looked so cute in general when i smoothed her this morning- she looked so astonished every time i stopped that i smoothed her for about 15 minutes! and Bulle is sitting in a large cardboard box in one of the cupboards right now, looking quizzical! :)