Posted on 09 Jul 2021 by Steve Markham
The first stop on the Awesome 2021 Camping Trip was Franconia Notch State Park. It was awesome, and I’m headed back to the White Mountains next month. I just couldn’t do all the hiking I wanted to with the whole family in tow.
Step 1: Load everything into the van. At first I wasn’t sure it would fit without stuff on laps. Then I decided to sit the girls right next to each other so I could drop a third of the back bench, and we had plenty of space.
Before we even got to the campground we stopped at Lost River Boulder Caves. It was lovely.
Monday night was a simple dinner: quesadillas. I don’t know why we haven’t made quesadillas more often when car camping. Easy, customizable, and everyone loves them. Then jiffy pop and s’mores for dessert.
Tuesday we hiked to Lonesome Lake with the Youngs. I took only one picture worth posting, so check Janet’s blog.
We stopped for lunch at an AMC hut. It was interesting, but not my style for actual backpacking.
Dathan and I went for a longer swim in the pond. It was cold only for the first 15 seconds, and then quite relaxing. A large group of youth showed up, Camp Walt Whitman. It wasn’t 100% girls, but the odds were pretty good for the few lucky guys. Curiosity eventually got the better of me, so I asked the “adult” (maybe 21yo) in charge what the deal was. A few girls instantly chimed in–this was the “easy” hike, and all the boys were on the hard hike up to the ridge. It sounds like they all really love the camp, and fly from all over the country to go there year after year. If you’re interested in sending a child, it’s only $13,700 for their 7-week Full Summer program, and younger kids who are nervous about such a long camp can go for 4 week for less than $10k. It makes NOLS seem like a good deal:)
After the hike we played around camp. Dinner was hot dogs and brats over the fire, joint with the Youngs.
Wednesday we hiked the Falling Waters trail, recommended by Alan. Oh boy was it a great trail! We didn’t do Alan’s full recommendation, a loop, because short legs got tired. I can’t wait to see the rest.
Thursday we went to Flume Gorge with the Youngs.
We went to Echo Lake as planned, despite sever wind and chilly water, so that brave people could swim. The girls found some ducklings to chase around, and Dathan’s brother and sister-in-law came up from Manchester for a visit. We stayed for over an hour, until it started raining.
We went into town to beat the rain in the late afternoon. First stop was the longest candy counter in the world at Chutters (112’, if memory serves).
Carina made Cincinatti chili (regular chili, afaict, but eaten over spaghetti noodles) for dinner. Friday we packed up and headed to Acadia.