July 2020

As evidenced by (the lack of posts in) my blog, Sinéad and I didn’t get out much in 2020. March 17th arrived, and everything we had hoped for that year came to a halt (or complete end). A promotion I had been waiting for was approved but was subject to an indefinite wage freeze (which is still in place at the time of writing, even after a 2nd promotion). The search for our first house was put on pause, and later made to feel completely impossible as people from all parts of the country raced to wipe-out the “affordable” housing market in New Hampshire. Sinéad lost her job as the company she was working for had to lay-off nearly all their employees in an attempt to not close completely. Hopes, plans, dreams, all were subject to the unrelenting wrath of the pandemic.

As bad as it was for us, though, we knew that we were still in far better shape than so many other people around the world. We made it a tradition (though, too shortly lived) to watch John Krasinski’s series “Some Good News” on YouTube. It was a beacon of hope and happiness in the darkness that surrounded what was ravaging the world around us. Sinéad couldn’t help herself while we watched. Between her own tears, she scrutinized my every facial movement - looking for the illusive moisture that might escape my eye lids. We still missed our lives, we missed our family, we missed our adventures, & we missed having hope for the future. In the handful of episodes (John seemed to have shared at just the right time) we at least found a glimmer of hope in the everyday people of our national society.

As the weather got warmer, we eventually dared making short trips to see family members. We stayed outside and distanced, but it was heart warming none-the-less. We eventually planned to get together for our summer tradition of hiking in the White Mountains for Seek the Peak. Our plan was to find a less popular trail, though, and keep our distance and mask up if/when we encountered others. News was also spreading that sunlight and being outdoors helped reduce the virus’ ability to spread & that the sun was actually helping to kill it. Our group quarantined in the weeks prior and we kept in touch to make sure everyone was feeling well. We then made our way north to cautiously remind ourselves what a fraction of normal once felt like.

Our adventuring was understandably kept to a minimum. Plans were fluid. If anyone felt uncomfortable with a situation, we simply diverted course and checked on other options. We were able to get in a few hikes, some wonderful kayaking, and a scavenger hunt that Sinéad and Maggie came up with together (I think campfire bacon fueled that idea).

We had a (much needed) great time! It was a desperately needed reprieve from the reality the world was facing. It was still scary, though. As I stated earlier, New Hampshire had become a location people from all over the country flocked to in an attempt to escape the pandemic. And, there was no way we could trust that anyone outside our group had properly quarantined before arriving. The documentation the state required visitors to sign was only as good as the integrity of the signer. And, it’s foolish to bet one’s life on another’s integrity. We stayed safe, and we safely and cautiously were able to enjoy a tiny glimmer of normality together.

Nancy Brook Trail

With Uncle John, Aunt Marie, Aunt Marie, Theresa, Johnny O, and Jenny O.

Uncle John had discovered this trail and we thought that, given the parking situation and lack of much other than a waterfall, it would not be overly crowded. We were correct, and it was a great decision. We hardly encountered anyone else on the trail! It was also another hot year, and the Seek The Peak organizers were again asking people to seek out other hikes - to avoid risk on Mt. Washington. We didn’t mind, though, and we really enjoyed the trail! The tree canopy was incredibly thick which kept the trail cool, but also made photography extremely difficult. My D750 didn’t quite have the dynamic range to keep the sun poking through from being way over exposed. We also had a great surprise on this hike. It was the first time we all got to meet the entirety of team JoJo!

Hike for Mike

Aunt Marie and I had worked together to create Hike for Mike prayer flags for Seek the Peak. Our team members now have flags to take on our hikes.

This was the site of an old lumber mill. I could not have imagined dragging timber through this terrain.

A Quick Stop to See a Train

With Theresa and Maggie

We did take a look at a couple shops in North Conway as well. We were in the process of doing the scavenger hunt. I had my camera with me, but this was really all I took a picture of.

Jockey Cap

With Theresa

Not every hike needs to include thousands of feet of elevation. This is one of those better than anticipated type hikes where it’s just big enough to provide great views of the mountains around it.

Sabbaday Falls

With Theresa

Sabbaday was a place that Sinéad and I had been interested in seeing for quite some time. We had passed it at least 100 times through-out the years, but it was just far enough detached from the rest of what we normally are focused on in the North Conway area that we never seem to remember to carve out time for it. This time around we did finally make it happen, though it wasn’t until our 2nd try.

Our first attempt to visit was with Maggie, and the parking lot was over-flowing with visitors. We, as a group, just weren’t comfortable with the number of people. Wanting to make sure the parking lot did not exaggerate reality, Sinéad asked a person returning to her vehicle how it was up at the falls. She replied that it was packed and that there were a lot of mask-less people crowded in together up there. Bummed, we decided to return another day and were happy to find the parking lot was nearly empty when we did. Unfortunately, we had Maggie with us the first attempt and she wasn’t able to join us on the 2nd attempt. Given how few people were there, we brought masks with us (in case it did get crowded) but we were fortunate and did not encounter a situation where we needed them. It is a bit out of our way from North Conway, but it was definitely worth the drive!