Getting Caught up!

We've been a bit distracted with a busy summer schedule and are gonna try and get caught up. So, here goes.

After leaving the northeast we headed out west to the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, JD's favorite event. At the show we host the Great Gear Giveaway that is sponsored by Subaru and Backpacker. In the picture above JD is reading off lists of gear that are given away everyday. We are pretty popular at the show, to say the least.

Acadia NP

Our little beaver friend eating leaves.

Wildflowers.

We just got finished with a visit to Acadia National Park in Maine.  One of our favorite places to visit is Jordan Pond.  There is a great trail that loops around the pond.  The beavers that live there never let us down, neither do the wildflowers.  After a hike you need to stop in the Jordan Pond House Restaurant for some popovers. YUM!

Cape Cod National Seashore

This last week we made a stop in Cape Cod to see friends and visited the National Seashore.  We stopped in near the Salt Pond Visitor Center. We heard that there are plenty of whale sightings out near the Province Lands Visitor Center if you make a visit. Take a close look at the picture and you can see a seal riding the wave behind Emily.

L.L. Bean

We recently visited the L.L. Bean Flagship store in Freeport Maine. If you've never been to Freeport and don't mind outlet malls then we highly recommend a visit.

Presidential Traverse, NH 2009

This last week we completed the 'Presidential Traverse' in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The adventure was ranked the 25th in National Geographic Adventure's "50 Best American Adventures". We completed #2, Kayaking Lake Yellowstone, in 2005 and hope to conquer #15, Hike Buckskin Gulch, this fall.

Anyway, here is the lowdown on the Presi Traverse.

1. At the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in Pinkham Notch we arranged for a shuttle from the AMC Highland Center to the Airline trailhead. We also reserved a one night stay at the Madison Spring Hut (a bit pricy, but nice to not have to carry the extra gear).

2. We grabbed our shuttle on Wednesday afternoon (1 pm) and started our hike to Madison Spring Hut at 2 pm.

3. We arrived at the hut at 5 pm.  The hike was about 3.4 miles with over 3000 feet of elevation gain.

4. Got up on Thursday morning and hiked the Gulf Side Trail to Crawford Path to our car at the AMC Highland Center.  The hike (15.8 miles) took us 12.5 hours.

Most of the hike was above treeline and the entire hike was pretty rocky and well worth the scenery. 

Check out some pics.

A Few Photos from the Road

ENJOY!

Devil's Kitchen Lake

I (JD) recently spent four days backpacking and canoeing in the Devil's Kitchen area in Southern Illinois.  I took part in a Leave No Trace Master Educator course that was being taught through the Wilderness Education Association and Southern Illinois University.  For those of you that don't know, Southern Illinois offers great hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, and canoeing opportunities.