The Beginning of Wednesday: Hiking for a cure

Monday, October 13, 2008

Hiking for a cure

Yesterday I participated in the fifth annual Expedition Inspiration-NH Take a Hike Program at Mount Major near Alton Bay, NH. What an amazing day! Our team "Hiking For a Cure" raised almost $700 to benefit breast cancer research and awareness.

Unfortunately Aaron wasn't able to make the hike as originally planned due to a skin issue but, I still went, bright and early on a beautiful autumn day.

I had never hiked Mt. Major before so I was excited for the challenge. Not having really hiked alone (without Aaron) I was forced to carry my own pack for once (which will totally help me think twice when I insist that Aaron bring me a full change of cloths... oops) I found the hike to be easy with some points that were sticky. It's a great hike for kids and dogs with an amazing view of Lake Winnipausakee and the Presidential Mountain Range. The foliage at that top was absolutely breathtaking and my pictures don't even really do it justice.

On the way down I decided to separate from the rest of my team and explore alone. I truly think I found a new passion, trail-running. I had never before ran on a trail, but I ran down the side of Mt Major (only about 2 miles) and had a great work out. I have always run on pavement and it never occurred to this nature lover to run on a trail. I loved it!

I was way too early for the 8:30am meet at Mt. Major's trail-head so I stopped at a scenic outlook and took a few pictures and finished the rest of my coffee. Steam was coming off the lake as the morning sun made the water glisten even from a distance... Amazing.

The foliage was amazing. These pictures don't do it justice, trust me!

Us at the 'near summit.' I was so proud of my team. Two of the ladies had bum knees, Zachy who is 8 years old was so excited to be hiking and Sue is a survivor- we conquered the mountain!

The best team, ever; Sue, Leana, Zach, Erica, Josiah and Me!

The picture at the beginning of this post is our packs at the trail-head of Mt. Major. We painted tribute flags in honor of those who we were hiking for. We hiked in honor or remembrance of someone we love who has been affected by breast cancer. I hiked for one of my best friends, Kim. A 37-year-old mother of a 12 year-old-boy; an amazing friend, colleague, comedian, hard-worker, mother, advocate, and survivor of breast cancer with mastectomy. I love you Kim, you inspire me.

2 comments:

Crazy Momma said...: What a great post, Jessi! Got me a little teary...

We had a great time and I am so happy you made it!

You forgot to mention, however, that a good portion of the time you took Zachy's pack too...I think Aaron may have gotten his revenge on you! Intentional or not. :); October 13, 2008 at 9:24 AM
Stephani said...: Great pictures, Ill email you some of my time spent in Moultonboro yesterday w/ the family. :); October 13, 2008 at 11:35 AM

Quotes that define my life:

"Now this is the Law of the Jungle -- as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back -- For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack." -- Rudyard Kipling
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." -- Unknown
"Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero; better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth; better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it." -- E. Lutzer
“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea and the music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more.” -- Lord Byron
"There are times when explanations, no matter how reasonable, just don't seem to help." -- Mr. Rogers
"If you don't crack the shell, you can't eat the nut." -- Persian Proverb
"Real peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mountains we climb

+ Currently: Life
+ Magalloway Mountain: Pittsburg, NH: 3,350 ft. Fire tower @ summit
+ Uncanoonuc Mountains: Goffstown, NH; Elevation: North Peak 1,324 ft. South Peak, 1,321 ft. *Indian Translation: "woman lying down" or "breasts"*
+ Mt. Major: Alton Bay, NH: Approx 4 mi. round trip; 1,100 ft. @ summit.
+ Monument Mt., Berkshire Area, MA: Approx 3 mi. round trip; *Beautiful waterfall* 1,735 ft @ summit.
+ Welch-Dickey- Loop Trail, Waterville Valley Area: 4.4 mi. round trip; 2,605 ft. @ Welch summit, 2,734 ft. @ Dickey summit.
+ Mt. Kearsarge- Barlow Trail, Winslow State Park, Wilmot: 2.8 mi. round trip; 2,937 ft @ summit.
+ Mt. Monadnock- White Dot Trail, Jaffrey: 4.2 mi. round trip, 3,165 ft. @ summit
+ Mt. Layafette- Old Bridle Path, Franconia Notch State Park: 8 mi. round trip, 5,260 ft @ summit.
+ Mt. Cardigan- East Side Loop, Alexandria: 5.3 mi. round trip, 3,121 ft @ summit. * some of the mountain was left bare from a fire in 1855
+ Mt. Morgan & Mt. Percival- Squaw Mountains, Holderness & Center Sandwich: 5.1 mi. round trip; 2,220 & 2,212 ft. @ summit
+ Mt. Osceola- White Mountain National Forest: 6.4 mi. round trip, 4,340 ft. @ summit

Mission Statement

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As a guest in my home would you pick apart my style, critique my furniture, or want me to spend your entire visit complaining about my life's trials and tribulations? No. The same goes for my blog. You’re a guest here. The virtual world is a "boundary" between what I am going to post here, and what goes on in my “real life.”

This is my forum. Much like if you were a guest in my house, I would scurry around cleaning up, presenting to you my best self. I do the same with my writing. You come here for a smile, an anecdote, a laugh, or a oui. You don't come here to hear about the bad parts of my life. Just because I don't post about them, doesn't mean they don't exist. That part of me just happens to be none of your business.

I choose to blog about things that make me happy, things I want to look back on and relish. I am constantly recovering (on a daily basis) from things that are unpleasant, I need no reminders via written word. That is what my diary is for. If that omission makes it appear as though my life is easy, then you are more than welcome to turn back now, don't waste your time. I have an amazing group of people who I can vent to and get feedback in regards to those matters, I don’t have an overwhelming urge to hang my dirty laundry out to dry in front of strangers.

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