Mts. Willard and Avalon
Submitted by Pat
Stats
Mountains: Mts Avalon (3,442) and Willard (2,865)
Date: June 11, 2011
Miles: 5.3
Trails: Avalon Trail — Mt Willard Trail
Despite the less than perfect weather, I am really charged up about this hike. Nancy and I are giving a presentation at the Highland Center in Crawford Notch and we decide to head up early and hike first. This is the first hike since August of 2010 when we did a pre-Canyon dry run on South Baldface. So much has happened since then. Hiking today feels like coming home in a sense. It also feels scary as hell. Will my current fitness be enough? Will my body betray me? I haven’t had any asthma symptoms in over six months. I squash down the worry and focus on the now.
We put on rain gear and head up the Avalon Trail. We decide to climb Mt Avalon first, since it’s the highest and hardest of the two climbs. May as well do the harder one first. It’s still early enough in the season that some wildflowers are in bloom: star flowers, clintonia, and lady’s slippers. They are beautiful. I am in awe. I feel a rush of happiness that I don’t want to suppress and turn around and smile at Nancy. Her eyes sparkle — looks like she feels it too.
We reach the Avalon summit and the clouds part briefly so we catch a few hazy views. The summit is crowded with a group hiking out of the Highland Center and we meet the guide, Jaime, who is also our host and will provide support for our presentation tonight. We decide to keep moving and head back down to the trail junction for Mt Willard. I look at Nancy and she looks at me and we decide that yes, we will have both peaks today.
The Willard Trail is a gradual walk and the summit is drenched in clouds and buffeted by a stiff wind when we arrive. We don’t stay long. Time to go down and shower and get dressed for dinner and our 8:00 pm presentation. I eat like a horse at dinner, but afterward nearly fall asleep at the table. Good solid exercise and good food and I am ready for bed.
No bed for us though — we have a presentation to give — and that means energy and passion. I find it. I always find it for the presentation. The audience is responsive and kind and I feel full of joy — today feels special. Five years and a day since I stopped drinking. Over 190 mountains. A book. I can’t stop smiling. We don’t get much sleep — we never do the first night at a new place – and talk well into the night, dreaming about our next hike.