Mt Hedgehog - August 1st, 2010

A day after our Champney Falls hike Mt. Hedgehog was on the itinerary.  This would be Alex's longest hike up to this point and he was very excited.  This time we also remembered the diapers so all four of us could make the hike.

At the UNH trail head

We hiked the UNH trail in a clockwise loop and based on the number of cobwebs we walked through we were the first to head down the trail that  morning.  After about an hour a man and his 8 year old son passed us and we kept catching up to them while hiking up.  Alex and his son were friends well before the summit and it turns out they were from Palm Harbor, FL only a few blocks away from where my dad lives.  Small world they say!

An interesting hollow tree

We had slow going but again Alex was his usual very talkative and inquisitive self all the way up the mountain.  We stopped several times and had quite a few snacks letting Ethan out of the pack when we did.  He only got cranky a couple times at which we would make an extra stop to let him "stretch his legs".

The views along the path when they were available were outstanding.  Very clear day and very excellent views, especially from the East Ledges where I wanted to stop and eat lunch.  But Alex would have none of that and wanted to continue on to the summit.  By this time, Ethan was out like a light and snoring in my ear.  I guess that drumming on my head tired him out.  We reached the summit and ran into many hikers up there who all got a laugh out of Ethan being sound asleep.

Ethan walking on his own

Eastern view along the trail

Chocourra in the distance

Nice view of Passaconaway

There were great views of Chocourra and Passaconway, the latter I plan on hiking along with Whiteface when we return in three weeks for a camping trip on Conway Lake.

On the eastern ledges, summit in view

Ethan sleeping at the summit

Denise started to get blisters with her new boots so when re reached Allen's Ledge only me and Ethan went out, Alex wanted to stay on the main trail.  The views from that ledge were great - Alex and Denise don't know what they were missing!  Literally as Denise had the camera.   I stayed there about 10 minutes just enjoying the view then headed back down and quickly caught up with Denise and Alex.  I heard Alex talking long before I caught up with them.  By this time the pack with Ethan in it was getting very heavy and my shoulders and hips were starting to get sore.  The pack has so many adjustments, perhaps it was not adjusted the best or perhaps I am not use to carrying 36 pounds around.  And when 25 of those pounds are set back more than a regular pack and moving - it only makes things more difficult!  But I still had no problems and still never really got tired - not like I did on the last trip I made with a full pack 10 years and 25 pounds ago.

Alex and Mom

Ethan, Dad, and Alex

At one point we stopped on a relatively flat section for another snack and for Denise to fix her moleskin on her blisters which somehow became unstuck - will need to wear a 2nd very thing pair of socks next trip.  Anyway, as we started to leave Alex headed down and boom, there goes Ethan right behind him 20 feet down the trail before we turned around.  Well, OK - fine by me as I would rather carry a 10 lb pack then 35!  I bet he went a good 100 yards all by himself, falling very often and getting back up and keeping his cracker tightly grasped in his left hand.  One time he fell and the cracker broke in half, he got up and started walking then noticed he had half a cracker.  He turned around and headed back up the mountain when I saw him bend down and pick up the other half in his right hand.  Ahhh there we go, now he is equally balanced with half a cracker in each hand.  That must have been why he kept falling.  Then off we went, I walking backwards holding out my hands as Ethan came down behind me.  I would try to hold his hand and he would have none of it yanking it away and giving me  a look that I swear said, "Leave me alone, I can do this!"  Ok, go right ahead.  Though a few times  he would hesitate before stepping over a large root or down a rock and reach out to take my hands.  After quite a while of this Denise and Alex were long gone and Ethan had done 1 too many face plants (although never cried and kept getting back up to catch up with his big brother) I decided to put him back in the carrier and catch back up with Alex and Denise.  He didn't want to get in, wanted to keep on his own - but we needed to get down before Christmas and I figured 100 yards most of which was downhill was a good first hike for him! :)

On our way down

It was a long hike and we made it back to our car in 6 hours I think.  Based on these last three hikes it is probably best to plan on double book time when Alex is going hiking.  Which is good to know and also means I'll plan on max of 3X book time for daylight.

"Why did we stop?"

We all thought this hike was superb, and excellent views for not much effort.  This is a mountain we'll definitely hike again - especially if we ever stay at Passaconaway campground right across the street.  When the kids are older it should be easily hiked in an afternoon or morning.

Distance: 4.86 miles
Elevation Gain: 1681 ft
High Elevation: 2532
Total Trip Time: 6-7 hours I think

Oh, and zero Flip Floppers!

Some more random photos: