Training Log Archive: bl

Jackson Ski race/tour 30k, went for tour & got some good exercise. Have not worked for that # of hrs in quite some time. Climb is a guess. Good conditions, wide, generally easy trails, considerably easier than the Craftsbury course. No km markers except sign on tree indicating 25k. Every km marked at C'bury, not sure what to prefer. Fell once downhill on turn when one ski was in track & other not so...a good stretch that left me with groin strain 45' into race but it did not get worse or seem to make much diff. Saw Udo, the 2 Bermans & Ernst L. Temp was hi teens/20ish, wind & true cold came around after finishing. Used wax skis & was pleased with grip as well as glide, waxless are no comparison.

Prob 5 yrs since last Jackson/Mt Washington Valley visit. Lots of honkey-tonk it seems to me due to signage in the Conways stretch. Some lovely scenes in & around Jackson. Harked bk to winter '77-8 when renting the house there for winter activities. Nice little world, symbolically entered/departed by driving thru the covered bridge, at least at the south access. Drove the 5 mi loop I used to run those 30 yrs ago, some changes but alot remains the same - passed by Wentworth, Christmas Farm, Eagle Mt. House.

Warm noon hr around the block. Took maps for company: Rocky Ridge NAs '06 & Ansonia, had to stop a bunch to read the detail, often navigate fm one black clump of symbols to the next. Diane, doing 6mi SS Sat & 16mi Sun, took the day off.

at White Farm flds after work to try out wax & ski setup for tomorrow's 30k tour in Jackson. Was an unbeknownst 33 deg, used blue, red might have been better but not frustrating in any event.

SS time, around back, note some small tree-cutting before spring.

Skate at White Farm fields & Concord HS area - excellent option, groomed for classic & skate, roughly 3.5 mi of trails around field edges, some woods for classic, groomed asap after new snow. Actually had too much on, temp mid 30's. Some pause to look.

@ Bow HS on way home to see what was available. No one around, few cars in lot but not a single person. Maybe 400m 0val groomed for classic, had to make do, out onto Turee Pond which was nice - broad expanse, late day clouds. Light til 5:15, 1/6th bk to longest day. Perhaps inter-scholastics do wk at a time of ea, as I heard at SPS.

w/ Beth & dogs around the block as it were. Have not used same in quite a few wks. Nice pedestrian pace & different views than usual.

SloGo w/ Diane, did the Water Tower loop like last wk but opp direction. Some slow sections on small footpath in woods. A bit chilly today's way.,ie, start west on Clinton. Lots of possibilites in spring in this area noted fm aerials, new trails for me. Passed by White's Park XC ski & thought I should have been there. Tomorrow, perhaps.

To keep track of snowshoe time...w/ Beth around 2030, began w/ errand of emptying ash bucket fm wood stove plus usual dog pacification. Rewarded w/ winter sky, Orion/Betelgeuse/winter triangle, generally schlepping around in the dark but for the white beneath.

Noon after listening to Obama's speech, pleasantly warm.

Skate ski after work w/ dogs, sunset glow, first star kind of stuff. Was groomed and, for most part, untracked by machines, not bad for free. When I returned to power line, white ground still had a glow to it at 5:30. 2 surprise snowmobs at end.

Total of about 10" since yesterday, light anyway.

Nottingcook horsing around with dogs. January picture of Bog got me out the door before sun's height got too pale but then it got behind cloud.

Winter Bog...



He's gotta be in here somewhere...




Where'd he go...

Went bk to Nottingcook in pm, up to second entrance for pkng, deep powder at first but mostly soft snowmobile. Went around Bog Meadow. Actually got hot. Encountered one trio of snowmobilers 3 times.

Ski back to car fm cabin. Left just before 0800 as I was concerned about getting stuck 4 miles into the forest on a road inches deep in new snow. Fresh powder on top of packed was very pleasant.

Johnson Brook Cabin...




Dead Diamond River...





Cabin Location



Note

163 mi to end of road in Second College Grant. Mark, Pete, Paul & John, their 5th MLK weekend doing same. They came in 2 4WDs & brought a snowmobile along for all the gear, incl 2 kegs. I had a non-North Country vehicle & was lucky the weather had been settled, road maintained. Some toxic drinking & rowdiness last night left me a bit in arrears today. Interesting to see that part of NH, had not been thru Berlin or Errol since '97, Coos County health clinic days. Not much to do there but hunt, fish, snowmobile or ATV/4WD. Today was a winter storm watch type of day. Moderate snow when I left the cabin, falling heavily just south of Berlin & near the northern Presidentials. Alot of cars stuck in the snow in IS 93, one 3 car accident, crushed metal, no blood that I could see. Glad to finally get off in Concord. Stopped to buy some Half & Half. The fellow asked me if I had been out playing in the snow as Concord had not really dug out (2pm in middle of 3 day weekend). He was highly amused & interested when I told him I'd waken up in a cabin north of Errol in the woods. Errol is about the end of the line in NH.

W/ dogs at Nottingcook just before dark; 8" fresh powder. Soft snowmobile, snowmobile w/ 4-6" on top & just plain fresh snow, can't get any better around here.