A Piercingly Good Birthday

My 40th birthday turned out to be great. I planned what I hoped would be a wonderful day for myself and indeed, it was! When I was 29 and about to turn 30, I attended a conference in San Diego. I spotted a colleague, who I had only briefly met back at the research center at UNH, at one of the conference sessions. I wasn't as practiced at making friends back then, but I pushed through whatever hesitation I had about approaching this colleague and was greatly rewarded! I discovered that Wendy and I had so much in common: we loved rural areas, mountain hiking, similar foods, exercise, and were both partnered with men much older than ourselves.  Wendy and I had both, independently, planned to leave San Diego on the same day at similar times; in fact, we shared a taxi to the airport very early on what was my 30th birthday. Wendy and I have remained good friends, hiking together in the White Mountains, sharing marathon strategies, and having dinners together with our husbands. Thus, it seemed fitting that I would spend my 40th birthday with Wendy as well. We decided to hike one of the lower Presidential Mountains - Mt. Pierce via the Crawford Path. We have hiked this mountain several times, always in winter, and have found it both easy and rewarding. 

The preparations started the night before, grocery shopping, gassing up, selecting clothing, and getting Drake ready for a day of dog care. The flowers that my mother and step-father sent for my birthday arrived on this day as well. 

With the flowers from my mother and step-father

Drake's dog food, packed and ready for a day away from home. Drake's elbows are too fragile to do a lot of hiking these days.

Food and other provisions for the trail.

Hiking gear and things to keep me warm on the trail!

I knew that it was going to be cold. Predictions from Mt. Washington Observatory said that there would be a high of 10 degrees, with winds up to 45 miles per hour. In fact, because of this, we selected a trail that was 95% below tree line. So, I knew that it was going to be cold, but somehow I was a bit in denial. I left home before daybreak and never checked the temperature. When I was in NH and turned off of Rt. 16, onto Rt. 302, I checked the temperature and was surprised to see that it was only 8 degrees. I was even more surprised to see the temperature dropping as I wound my way into Crawford Notch. By the time that I reached the Highland Center, it was 1 degree. 

Truth. It was going to be very cold on the trail!

If you have never been to the AMC Highland Center in New Hampshire, I highly recommend it. It is located on Route 302 between Bartlett and Bretton Woods. It is new, energy efficient, they have guides on spot, provide housing, and have a great cafeteria. 

I snapped this as I pulled into the Highland Center. 

Wendy greeted me with smiles and gifts, including a tiara, marked "40." 

Then we crossed over 302 and made our way to the trail head. The Crawford Path was cleared by Abel and Ethan Crawford in 1819. We send a mighty thank you to the Crawford brothers for making this trail and our hiking adventures a possibility. A relatively easy trail, it only takes us 4 hours, round-trip to summit Mt. Pierce. 

It was cold, but not too bad, really. We were actually warm on the way up. I got quite cold on the way down, but didn't realize severity of my chill until we returned. Twenty minutes later as I dove into a hot bowl of chili, I was trembling; it took a good hour for my of my toes to thaw out. It was a wonderful day for a hike though - very few winds inside the forest, open trails (with some icing here and there), crystal clear, blue skies!

On the trail, on the way up.

Beautiful view from the summit. How we both love this view!

We encountered about 5 patches like this. The hiking poles were very handy!

Here we are at the end of our hike. You can see our pained looks. We were cold and glad to be back to our cars!

We enjoyed a nice, hot meal at the Highland Center while we thawed out. Then I headed south. I really don't like shopping, but I can endure an L.L. Bean outlet; I am still looking for black, flat, comfortable, professional shoes in an 8 & 1/2. You wouldn't think that it would be so hard, but indeed it is. Still no luck, but I did get some brown, nonprofessional shoes. I also made a trip to my favorite chain restaurant - Chipotle. I am a total Chipotle nut. 

The store in Newington, NH

I waited in line for 20 min. to order this meal. It was worth it. I love Chipotle.

When I got home, I found a wonderful and delicious bag of dark chocolate from my very sweet friend, Tracey. There's no question about it - I am also a nut over dark chocolate.

Mmmmmm! Delicious!

So many wonderful people helped to make my day enjoyable! People called, sent cards, and posted sweet things on Facebook for me to read. Thank you, everyone, for helping me to have a great 40th birthday!