Greeting Card Displays

In response to the readers who wanted a better look at the greeting cards we are selling, I will highlight a different one every now and then. (I have purposefully scanned the cards in at a lower quality than they actually are.) The most popular card so far is "Liberty Sunrise". This was taken two summers ago. Atticus and I started our hike at 1:00 in the morning and were up on Mt. Flume while it was still under the stars, then reached Liberty just as the sun rose casting its light on an undercast in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Before I had the ability to print these photos myself, I used to get them developed at CVS. When I had this one developed, the photo tech asked, "What beach are you guys in the picture? The ocean is just beautiful!"

For more information on these unique cards click here.

Greeting Card Response

Woke up this morning to high winds and falling ice. It later grew into a stronger ice storm. While waiting out yet another day we're taking care of other business. Will work on the book proposal and the greeting cards. One blog reader who ordered the cards and then received them sent in the following:

Beautiful ! Individually wrapped, too !

Okay...I love them all...but my top three favorites are:
"Liberty Sunrise" (wonderful !!!!!!!!!!!!! A+++++++++++++)
"Happy on Truman"
"Moat Profile"
(All pictured above.)

It's been FUN looking at the views...trying to pick out the spots!

To learn how to order your cards click here.

Lafayette Was Hiked For Troubles & Rusty

When we hiked Lafayette last week we did so in memory of Troubles (pictured) and Rusty. The following is what the donors (who wished to remain anonymous) wrote about Rusty and Troubles:

My wife and I would like to dedicate this mountain to our two favorite dogs from our childhoods.

My wife's family's dog was named Rusty. Rusty was a daschund who was just full of life. She loved my wife's brother in particular so much that my wife's parents would have to lock Rusty up if they ever wanted to discipline my wife's brother. Rusty was always a loyal and friendly companion.

The other dog we'd like to dedicate this mountain to is Troubles, my favorite dog from my childhood. Troubles was one of the most intelligent dogs that I ever met, great with kids and still a great watch dog. I wasn't into hiking when Troubles was alive but I know that he would have been a great hiker.

One of my favorite stories about Troubles was the time that three loud miscreants were wandering by our house at 2am. The moon was out a bit that night, so we could clearly see their silhouettes. We saw the miscreants trespass onto our neighbor's property and begin checking doors to try to break in. Our neighbor was an elderly widow. Nothing good could come of this. Troubles was going nuts inside our house, so my father let Troubles out.

Wow, you have never heard such a racket. It was a dark night, and Troubles was all black, so all the miscreants saw were teeth. We heard a lot of growling and screaming and branches snapping as Troubles chased the miscreants through the woods behind our neighbor's house. After a while my father called Troubles, and he came out of the woods, wagging his tail. The police arrived a few minutes later. We never found out who the miscreants were, but I assume they never forgot the experience.

Perspective

Perspective. Yes, while we are on hold with our peakbagging due to the weather and all this snow I'm doing my best to keep it all in perspective. Thanks to Hailey Klein for sending this along.

Snow Conditions

Just to give you an idea of what the conditions are like up here right now, the following is part of a post was made today on the Views From The Top hiking website...

Bonds Traverse?
Hello all, myself and a strong group of five other experienced winter hikers have penciled this weekend in for a two-day Bonds traverse starting from Lincoln Woods and exiting Zealand Road. The theoretical plan is to stay the night Saturday at Guyot.

However, I've seen the snow conditions elsewhere in the Whites - it took me and a group of six others six hours just to make it 3.2 miles in on Dicey's Mill Trail toward Passaconaway on Sunday 3/2 before throwing in the towel and turning around. I'm thinking that my group has essentially zero chance of actually accomplishing our goal this weekend, but I'm fine with that as we're really just looking for a winter camping experience anyway. We'll see how far we can get Saturday, make camp and either push on or turn back Sunday morning, depending on our progress from the day before.But I'm also a foolish optimist. I'm wondering if there isn't a group of 20 ultra-marathoners somewhere out there in VFTT land who are planning the same traverse on Wednesday and Thursday and will kindly break the trail out for us Seriously, though, I saw the posting for the 3/1 Pemi Loop attempt by what seems to have been a very strong group. They were unsuccessful (but great job guys) but only were on the Wilderness Trail as far as the Osseo Trail, it seems.

Day Nine: Held Hostage

It is raining today. It’s raining and it’s icy. Not good. Nine straight days of no hikes and winter is winding down. I really am starting to feel like this is a hostage situation.

Both Atticus and I are getting stir crazy. All this snow; now comes the ice. Even yesterday, which was quite beautiful, was a tough day for us. People asked me why we didn’t hike. Simple, we couldn’t. The snow depth up high is such that we couldn’t break through it if we wanted to and the peaks we need are not free and clear. Friends have reported snow drifts of between two to four feet in places.

Looking at the various hiking websites over the past few days shows few successfully completed hikes. And the hikes we need are now all, other than Whiteface & Passaconaway, of the longer variety. We’ve driven around looking for safe trails to hike but have yet to find any. Even above tree line travel is not encouraged at this time. I have no idea how long we will be held hostage by the weather but this is becoming maddening.

Perhaps this is Mother Nature’s way of telling me to work on my book.

Lastest Column For Northcountry News: Our Faith Comes In Moments...

Tonight the wind is tired and the night is quiet and the stars are bright over the mountains. It belies what has led up to this day and what will follow. We have not hiked for eight days. We’ve been held captive by the weather and the snow conditions and as we sit inside day after day winters slip away.

This weekend several parties ventured out only to have most turned back by deep snow. That’s one of the weaknesses in our quest. Atticus is a small dog and we do most of our hiking alone and breaking trail is simply not feasible when the drifts are two to four feet deep up high. We have to wait for them to be broken out. Because of that we are stuck on 55 peaks after another wonderful waltz across a windless Franconia Ridge a week ago as we traversed Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty and Flume.

With the days growing longer, and winter shorter, we are losing our battle to hike 96 peaks in 90 days. It is nearly certain we will not attain the goal I set but we will hike on. There’s been just too much snow this winter for such attempts. But even if winter ends before we reach our goal we will continue on into the spring in our efforts to reach all 48 twice and in the process continue raising money for Angell Animal Medical Center.

Our next goal will be to better the 81 4,000-footers we reached last winter. And if we fall short of that goal…oh well, it has still been a great adventure.

In his essay, “The Over-Soul” Emerson wrote, “Our faith comes in moments; our vice is habitual.” Emerson was writing about those miraculous moments that lift the soul, that make the dreariness of the day-to-day worth it.

Throughout the winter, as we have fallen behind in the numbers game, I am continuously reminded of “our faith comes in moments” as I am lifted up time and again by something that happens on the trail.

A week ago Sunday, Atticus and I hiked over Whiteface & Passaconaway in the Sandwich Wilderness. The snow was beautifully pure and white, the sky bluer than any blue I’ve ever known, so blue it hurt me to try to define it.

We moved clockwise on this loop hike, going up the Blueberry Ledge Trail first after leaving Ferncroft Road. The approach is gentle for the first couple of miles and then beautiful. But the beautiful part is also the painful part. The scramble up the ledges is steep and a test for the cardiovascular system. The ledges are like climbing giant steps and for the uninitiated this hike can be frustrating because of all the false summits. You see the top, reach it, and then realize there’s yet another top ahead.

My strength in hiking is in my endurance. My weakness comes in my climbing. Because I’m heavier it is often very painful and slow going. With each ledge attained on the climb up Whiteface I found myself with my hands my knees, gasping for air, resting to slow my heart rate. For his part Atticus scampered easily up these steep sections with his four-paw drive. Then he disappeared into the bushes on the way to the next ledge scramble. When I didn’t come along right away he would come back to look for me. This happens whenever he gets ahead of me and I struggle.

He was very patient with me as we climbed towards the highest ledges on Whiteface. When we reached the next to the last ledge and he disappeared into the tunnel of trees towards the highest ledge, however, he never came back for me. This was surprising and out of the ordinary. I had seen another set of human and dog prints and thought that maybe he had gone ahead and met the man and dog ahead of us and was visiting. Still, typically he wouldn’t leave me behind so long, even though it was only a minute or two up to the next ledge.

When I regained my breath and went on my way and finally emerged from the trees to the highest ledges I looked straight ahead and could not see Atticus. I then looked to my left to the popular bump people stand and sit on to look out over the Lakes Region below. He was not there. I thought for a moment he may have gone down the path to the right, towards the slightly higher summit, hidden in the trees, but for some reason I hesitated. I don’t know what made me do it but I turned around and looked behind me in the direction of 8 o’clock to the highest bump on the ledges, one I’ve never stood on top of, and there was Atticus, gazing out through the deep blue sea of a sky towards the miles and miles of lakes below.

People ask me all the time if Atticus has a say in all of this hiking, or if he enjoys it. There’s the answer. It’s clear he loves these views, loves the magic of the mountains as much as I do.

I have no children, but I understand how pleased a parent is when they bring a son or daughter to such a beautiful place and see them appreciate it as much as they do. There is wonder in seeing, but also wonder in sharing. That’s how I felt, like a proud father, I suppose, when I saw him sitting there in such a placid and contented state drinking in as far as his eyes could see like some small Buddha high atop a mountain in peaceful meditation.

I have told my friends time and again that I have known many wonderful dogs and had some incredible dogs myself, but I’ve never known one quite like this little guy I hike with.

It is such moments like this when I realize the $4,000 raised for his cataract surgery was well worth every penny that was generously donated by the group known as the Friends of Atticus. It’s also moments like this that define this winter more so than the number of peaks we will reach.

Emerson was right, “our faith comes in moments…”

Unexpected Pleasures

It seems things rarely turn out as you expect them to. I often think of life as a jungle and the vines that get us from place to place are the people in our lives. In going through changes in life it is important to remember that while we may be going through changes, like our move up north, no one else is experiencing the same thing. In the course of living my life and people living theirs I am reminded that people come and go. Those who were fixtures in one period of my life are not necessarily there now. In heading into this winter there were people I expected to keep in touch with and even visit with us up here. I've kept touch with some, mostly those who continue to write or call me, and a couple of have even visited. You expect to lose touch with people from time to time. But I must say one of the unexpected pleasures of this winter has been the wonderful correspondence I have received from some I never expected it from or from those we have never even met. There are some emails I get from these people that I cannot wait to read and as soon I see one appear in my email 'inbox' I click on it immediately. Some are so good I read them more then once. These are the unexpected pleasures that are like Christmas gifts and they have made the long cold winter a little less cold, a little warmer. Thank you.

Tom & Atticus Greeting Cards Now Available!

Finally our greeting cards, featuring this remarkable little dog, are available for purchase and you can see them all here. As we start out box sets (10 cards) are all that is available until we get individual cards into stores. Individual cards go for $3.00 and the box set of 10 goes for $25.00. (Add an additional $3.50 for postage and handling.) Remember, 10% of all sales will go to Angell Animal Medical Center. Pick out your set of 10 by going to this website. Checks should be made out to Tom Ryan. If you have any questions or wish to place an order contact me by email at atticusmfinch@gmail.com.

You can choose to have 10 of the same card...
...select 10 different cards...
...or trust us to pick an assortment of 10 for you.

THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT
ANGELL AND TOM & ATTICUS

Atticus Gets SnawSomes! From Visiting Friends

Last night we had the pleasure of meeting up with blog readers Michael and Donna Serdehely who were up in the Whites on one of their twice yearly hiking trips. (They’ve been doing it for 16 years.) We got together at the Lincoln Common Man for dinner and were also joined by my friend Christine.

Before dinner Michael and Donna met Atticus, the star of this show, and even brought him his favorite treats, SnawSomes! Atticus returned their kindness by drawing blood from Donna’s finger when I tried to hand him off to her. (Yep, he only likes to be picked up by someone else when he’s hiking in the winter.)

I’d like to thank Michael and Donna for their support this winter and for taking the time to visit with us during their vacation. I also took the opportunity to hand off the gift basket from The Natural Dog when they won the music contest. (Photos by Michael & Donna Serdehely.)

Angell's Hikers: Dogboston Features Our Quest

In the current issue of dogboston there is a small feature on us on the front page called "Angell's Hikers". You can also access the story here.

Liberty Was Hiked In Memory Of Riley

"To Torri's beloved Riley, who brought such joy to her life for so many years. He is missed but always remembered." Given by Sarah Carey.

*Riley passed away just months ago and Torri Zaccagnino requested that Atticus and I spread some of his ashes on Liberty, which we were honored to do.

Newburyport Visit (Part 4)

And you thought Atticus liked Samantha because she was beautiful...He likes her because she gives him cookies. He stands at the counter, like every other customer, and Samantha says, "Order up!" The two of them love this game.

Newburyport Visit (Part 3)

Atticus and I spent the night at Paul Abruzzi's place and got up early to have coffee with Tom Jones and Gary Roberts at Plum Island Coffee Roasters. These are the two gents we hiked Moriah with last Friday. Turns out Gary did it with walking pneumonia; he learned that earlier this week. (No wonder I could keep up with him.) As they left Peter and Julie McClelland came in and visited for a spell. That's when Atticus noticed that Peter had stolen his seat and did his best to get it back. After they left, Samantha Stephen, who owns PICR with her mother Joyce Coady, came over for a visit, which Atticus didn't seem to mind at all.

Newburyport Visit (Part 2)

After Bottega Toscana and Licorice & Sloe we were off to see Paul Abruzzi at Jabberwocky Bookstore. Paul's the manager and an easy mark as far as Atticus is concerned. He had no dog biscuits but did share his Cheez-Its with Atti. From Jabberwocky it was off to the Natural Dog where we got together with Dawn Price, who owns the store with her husband Jeff. They are sponsoring Atti's nutritional needs this winter with healthy meals and treats, as they did last winter. They also put up the winning prize for the second music/slide show contest: a gift basket. It was won by Michael and Donna Serdehely of Baltimore, Maryland. They are up in the Whites hiking this week so we picked up the basket for them and will give it to them when we meet them for dinner tomorrow night.

Our 24-Hour Trip To Newburyport (Part 1)

We had a quick 24 hour visit to Newburyport where upon arriving yesterday at 1:00 p.m. I received a wonderful 90 minute massage from Sarah George and Atticus received all kinds of treats and love from friends around town. (A note about Sarah, when she learned our major sponsor had some problems and pulled out leaving us $3,000 in the hole for our Winter Quest she sent me a gift certificate for a free massage, just her way of doing something to help the cause of animals in need. It was truly appreciated. If you are looking for one of the best massages you will ever have, you can email her here. But beware, she didn't do this for the publicity, she did it because she has a good soul.) After we left Sarah's office, we stopped by Bottega Toscana where Atticus received his customary meatballs and then hit Licorice & Sloe Tea Company where Atticus got together with one of his biggest fans, Annie Silliker, the daughter of owners Bil and Meg. The photos above are not of Sarah, but Annie. (It's hard to take a photo of your massage therapist when your belly down on the table.)

Big Snow Day

Snow has fallen all night long and we now have plenty of it…and it is still coming down; which means we are going to head down…down to Newburyport that is. We won’t be hiking again until Friday or Saturday. The snow depth is really putting a crimp in our plans but that’s winter.

I still have so much to catch up with on the website. Thank you for your patience. I’ll be writing plenty from Plum Island Coffee Roasters tomorrow morning and from Paul Abruzzi’s tonight.

This afternoon Sarah George is gifting me a 90 minute massage. Sarah is an incredible talent with an intuitive touch. She and Susan Atwood (her step mother-in-law) are the two best in Newburyport. When Sarah discovered our corporate sponsorship fell through, she sent in a gift certificate I will take advantage of. If you are in the Newburyport area and looking for a great massage therapist, give her a call: (978)518-1100; or email her: sadiegeorge1@comcast.net.

I’ll check in later this afternoon.

Trip Report For Our Franconia Ridge Hike

When the weekend arrived Saturday showed up like a welcome guest bringing with her the most beautiful weather. I’ve been waiting for such a day and was contemplating a hike from Washington through Jackson. The winds were close to what I was looking for but probably 10 miles an hour stronger than I would prefer for Atticus.

The calendar winter is waning and we’re behind where I would like to be in our current Winter Quest. We had hiked four days in a row and six of the previous seven but I was hoping to take advantage of the good weather. However, the day before we hiked Moriah with two friends and one of them had some troubles with cramping. The result being we were out in the wind and snow two to three hours more than I had anticipated and Atticus was tired.

Every winter I think I’m coming up here to bag peaks and yet it seems what we actually achieve is a stronger bond between us; Atticus and me, that is.

Considering how soundly he was sleeping when I woke up, how he drowsily lifted his head to watch me move around the room, I decided he could use the day off, much to the dismay of some friends and acquaintances.(“Why aren’t you our there on such a beautiful day?”)

Sunday came and brought a beautiful blue sky with her, too, but more wind, so we were off to Whiteface & Passaconaway. When Monday came I was happy to have waited for our pitch. The wind on Washington was going to be a bit much yet again but it was perfect for a hike over the Franconia Four.

What a pleasure it was to see Atticus in his element, happy, gamboling along, as if on a jaunt to the corner store. The day of rest was perfect. He did extremely well on Whiteface & Passaconaway and he was just as happy-go-lucky on our climb over the Three Agonies.

We were joined by Jeff Veino for the day and had the pleasure of running into Hillwalker and chatting for a bit on one of the Agonies, then at the hut, then again on the summit of Lafayette. (He’s an interesting man and offers good company.)

There was not a lick of wind as we climbed over the exposed rock and hard packed snow and small patches of ice. The sky above Lafayette was nearly as blue as it was on Sunday, a cerulean blue almost too perfect for my eyes and had it none been for the blemish of the thin wisps of feathery clouds the sky would have been maddening. The Romans linked the word cerulean to a heavenly sky. That’s what we were walking towards over the bony rocks.

With no wind, not even a breeze, we climbed under the bright sun and it climbed with us and brought a late spring warmth with it. There were times when it seemed almost too warm and I thought of how nice it would be to be in shorts instead of a Gore-Tex bib.

Often when I climb higher I drink in the views of mountains, but on Monday the sky was equally beautiful and noteworthy. I marveled at its lush depth, dreamed of diving into it to cool off, as if it were the Mediterranean, and oohed and ahhed at the occasional passing of whimsical clouds.

Upon reaching the top of Lafayette it was so pleasant we stayed longer than we should have for we had many more miles to go. The views were outstanding. The temperature so perfect that Atticus lay Sphinx-like on a cool rock and enjoyed the views from his belly, something he doesn’t normally do in winter.

It took a while to convince myself to go on, not because I was tired but because these are the kind of days up here you daydream of. Atticus and I had one such day this past fall on Cannon in the beginning of November. We took a long nap on the top of the tower and were never disturbed by another visitor. Two summers ago I parked my car at the Oliverian Brook parking lot, put Atticus in the basket on the handlebars and pedaled down to the Pine Bend Brook Trail. (The truckers going by in the early morning blew their horns at the little dog sitting ET-like in the basket.) We then hiked back to our car by way of the Tripyramids and Sleepers and Whiteface and Passaconaway. It was a perfect day but my favorite part was the casual nap we took under another blue sky, this one speckled with friendly white clouds. As Atticus slept, a chipmunk stole close to investigate him and to search for food. I fed him and we nurtured a temporary friendship in that hour and a half on the ledges of Whiteface.

That’s how tempting the day was on top of Lafayette. It would have been easy to stretch out right there and fall asleep; but to paraphrase Robert Frost, we had miles to go before we slept. We moved on over crispy patches of ice, some hard-packed snow and many an exposed rock. We made okay time in our climb over Truman and then Lincoln. Once on Lincoln there was another break, this one much shorter than the one we took on Lafayette. The sky was nowhere near as blue but the sun was still warm and the winds were out of town (I’m told they were still somewhat apparent on Washington).

On the southern side of Little Haystack and near the trail junction with the Falling Waters Trail we stopped and found ourselves chilled. The weather hadn’t changed our outlook had. We realized this was near where the two hikers were found, one dead, one now amazingly alive. How could this not chill us even on the warmest and stillest of winter days as we pictured ourselves in their shoes?

We donned snowshoes for the 2.2 miles over to Liberty. The walk through the woods was not the speediest but we avoided all spruce traps other than the one I fell into up to my chest just before entering into the woods. There I was, trapped in the snow, deep and helpless. When I fall in the winter, which happens from time to time, Atticus comes back from his lead position to check up on me and he did the same yesterday, stopping to lick me…his cure all for whatever ails me. He’s not a big licker, but when I’m down (physically or otherwise) he’ll approach and flick his tongue out and kiss my hand.

When we emerged from the woods after dodging eye level branches and weaving our way through tightly packed trees to see the edifice of Liberty we were buoyed by the return of the deep blue sky that had turned milky on our trip south along the spine from Lafayette to Little Haystack. We dropped off the summit, dropped our packs and made our way over to Flume, marveling again at the sky and now at the late afternoon sun’s glow on the vistas as seen through the trees. This section of trail, only 1.2 miles long, is particularly painful to me, because when I’m on it I’m typically going to have to return to Liberty the way I came, and the return visit brings with it 500 feet of elevation gain.

On the summit of Flume winter had returned. The sun had run out of steam about the same time I did. We were both tired and she was sinking to the west. But the colors and the views were magnificent all over again, the shadows, the peach and golden glow on clouds and white-caked mountains warmed us as much as our gloves and hats did.

One of the things I have come to understand about Atticus is that he appreciates these views as much as I do, if not more. If it is warm he takes a great vantage point and looks around. If it is cold, I pick him up and while I look out at the scenery he does too. He could do this for hours.

The hike back to Liberty was slow going, at least for me. Atticus likes to lead and he was followed by Jeff, but often the little dog would stop and come back looking for me even though I was only 20 yards behind. He seems to believe it is his job to look after me as much as I believe it’s mine to look after him. Each time, upon seeing I was okay, he would return to the front again, a little general leading us through the post-holed and pock-marked trail, through the trees and up the steep climb to Liberty.

On Liberty we said goodbye to the sun which lay so close to the horizon, said goodbye to any remaining warmth, said goodbye to mountaintops, to the incredible sky, to the clouds and this wondrous day and soon we were swallowed by the trees and then some time later, the night.

I had left my car at the Flume parking lot and I found the nearly mile long walk back to it along the bike path to be mentally torturous. To pass the time I let my mind wander all the way back to my childhood visits up to the White Mountains with my family. We had a tent trailer and would often set it up at Lafayette Campground or in a place called Campers World, the overgrown remains of which lie right outside the window on the far side of my desk if you look across the Pemigewasset Wilderness.

Our entertainment was mainly sitting around the fireplace, telling stories, recanting our day’s adventures or leafing through booklets of White Mountain legends, both factual and tall tales. Those great stories would surround us as the mystery and magic of the cool summer nights fell down all around us and followed us into our dreams when we finally succumbed to sleep.

Walking on the bike path I thought back to those days, about the stories I read and the mountains we looked up at and wondered about and the woods that were everywhere, especially from that patch of lawn in front of Lafayette Place.

We grow up, grow older, life losses its luster, our heroes aren’t as heroic as they once appeared to be, if at all, and we are left longing for the innocence of so long ago. But on this day, on all the days we are up here in the woods, sitting by streams, sweating and swearing my way up to the top of a mountain, or meandering along a flat wooded trail, I am reminded that up here I have encountered something in my life that has not faded with familiarity. These mountains are still magical, even after a long and challenging day. The more time I spend with them, the more I feel that way, the more I am reminded to appreciate the daily miracles of nature.

Looking into the darkness through the tunnel-beam of my headlamp at the happy trot of the little dog in front of me, I can also say the same for him. He continues to impress me, continues to seem to get as much out of this place as I do. Nearly a year ago he was going blind and we feared that thyroid cancer would take him away, and now I watch with stars in my eyes as he wends his way through life with the same innocence I used to have, with an innocence I can often see through his eyes and actions. I’ve come to understand that as much as he needs me, I need him, too. We’re two unlikely travelers matched up together for wherever this journey is taking us.

It’s good to live with such a dog, good to live in the mountains, and good to wait for the perfect days above treeline.

Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty & Flume Slide Show Is Up

Much more about this trip later. We're trying to get out the door right now but here is the slide show of our perfect weather hike along Franconia Ridge. Talk to you soon.

Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, & Flume: February 25, 2008

There are few days any better than this glorious day on Franconia Ridge. We had not a lick of wind and comfortably warm temperatures on Lafayette, Lincoln and Liberty. It wasn't until we reached the summit of Flume, and then backtracked to Liberty, that we felt winter in the slight wind and dropping temperatures. Photos will be up in a little while.