Hiking in the White Mountains - Part 1

Whew! August is one of our busiest summer months this year! Nearly every weekend is filled up! (of course, we're busy during the week, too. : )

The first week in August I was up at a friend's dairy farm, mostly helping with the cows. I plan to write a post (or two!) about that.

Last weekend, we went with a few families from our church to go hiking in the White Mountains. For more about that adventure, just keep reading! : )

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Friday, Aug. 11
We left a bit before noon for the White Mountains! We were hoping to leave earlier - the Kresinas left about an hour before we did!
A couple hours later we arrived at the Vermont Welcome Center for a quick trip to the restrooms. On our way out I spotted the Kresinas! We went over to say hello. We talked for a while, and the Kresinas wondered why we brought so much stuff! We packed pretty much everything except the kitchen sink - from camping stoves to a futon mattress! However, we ended up using everything we had brought, which was good.
We left the Welcome Center and continued up. New Hampshire/Vermont is so beautiful! I love the mountains, the fields, the wide open sky... it's all so pretty!
We arrived at Living Water campground around 4:00. The weather was slightly chilly. After checking in and finalizing a few details, we went to our site. It was perfect! It had several picnic tables, a large fire-pit, plenty of tenting spots, and a drinkable water supply. We were right on the Ammonoosuc River, and had a great view of a nearby mountain. We unloaded, pitched our tents, and greeted the others who started to arrived. The Ritters came while we were unloading the car, and the Kresinas came while we were working on setting up our big tent.
So, we had a tent-pitching party! In a short time 4 or 5 little tents were neatly set up near the banks of the river. Rather, 4 little tents and 1 big one! : )
When the tents were set up, we arranged our sleeping gear, and started preparing for supper. The coolers and firewood was brought out, and the guys were looking for kindling. Everyone bundled up in long pants and jackets. It was much colder there than in Connecticut, that's for sure!
Mr. Kresina and Daniel got a roaring fire going. We sat around the it, enjoying the heat. As the evening progressed, it got cooler and cooler, and the fire was very much appreciated! Dad and Julia went down to the river to fish for a bit. The water was cold! Julia didn't catch anything.
Soon it was time for supper! We were still waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive. The Chidesters would arrive sometime that evening, and the others wouldn't come until late that night.
Supper was delicious! We had hot dogs, kielbasa, salads, and chips, complete with condiments. Supper lasted until all the hot dogs were gone. The food was put away, and the dishes taken care of. We sat around the fire, talked, and watched for meteors. We saw several, and even a couple satellites! Several times dessert was mentioned, but we never got around to having it that night. Those going on the early hike prepared their packs and lunches.
The Chidesters came after dark, and the Heberts came as we were getting ready for bed. Everybody settled down into their tents, anticipating hiking the next day.