Crack Climbing - Instruction #3

Tired, sore and bruised

Sore and bruised finger knuckles - but happy to have a crack climbing lesson with Tino this morning! Worked on getting my thumbs rotated into my palms and then twisting my hand in the crack. Made for a solid hold but I have to remember to keep that all locked as I have a habit of loosening as I move up. As for my foot jam technique, I experienced only one good foot jam today. It was solid as I moved up and there was pressure on my foot but absolutely no pain. Learning on vertical cracks is definitely more challenging than learning on low-angle cracks. But I get so much out of learning to crack climb! It's difficult, but helps me focus and brings me great joy, especially the learning aspect. The rewards far outweigh the pain! 2i - Ice and Ibuprofen!

Rock House Reservation - Hiking

Rock scrambling on the boulder at the Red & Yellow intersection

Rock House Reservation
Trail(s): Red, Yellow, Blue, Green
Distance: 3 miles roundtrip

Joined the Metrowest Retirees (or not yet) Ready for Adventure meetup group for a fun hike through the Rock House Reservation in West Brookfield, MA. We started at the trailhead off of Route 9 and hiked all the trails, making a lot of stops along the way and taking many photos. 

The trails we took: 
Counter-clockwise direction starting on the Red (Inner Loop) trail - the Yellow (Outer Loop) trail - the Blue (Fullman Loop) trail - the Pierce Road trailhead parking lot - continue along the Blue trail to the Green (Summit Loop) trail - back down the Yellow trail to the Red trail - Balance Rock and Trailside Museum - The Rock House and Boulders and Ledges - back onto the Red (Inner Loop) trail passing the Balance Rock and the Trailside Museum again to finish off on the Yellow (Outer Loop) trail. 

Enjoy a few photos I took of our hike!

The view of Charter Pond on the start of our hike

Balance Rock

Charter Pond from the Trailside Museum

Boulders & Ledges

Fun scrambling the boulders on the Red/Yellow Trail

This reservation is a Geocache area

Another view of Charter Pond

Delicious after-hike lunch at Hanna Devine's in Ware, MA

Women's Climbing Festival - Salt Pump Climbing Gym

Although I didn't get to stay for the film like I had originally planned to, I did get to take the Crack Climbing clinic. The class was limited to 6 and taught by Kaili Throp. I met some other badass women who love crack climbing! Other clinics included Anchor Building, Rappelling 101, Climbing Movement, Training Off The Wall, Intro to Climbing, Kids Intro to Bouldering, Anatomy of a Rope, Project & Route Building Facing the Fear of Falling on Lead, Injury Prevention and Yoga/climbing workshops.

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary - Hiking

The Rockery aka Rock Grotto
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, MA

Massachusetts Audubon

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
Trails: Ipswich, Ipswich River, South Esker, Averill's Island, White Pine Loop, Bridge, Mile Brook, Drumlin, Rockery and Rockery Loop Trails.
Distance: 6 miles roundtrip

The Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary - Mass Audubon is only 30 minutes from my home, but this was my first time visiting! There were a few blowdowns on the trails, but for the most part, the trails are very well-kept. Lots of mellow wildlife too - Chickadees who will eat out of your hand, a Mallard Duck who comes when called and will follow you. Many other species of birds and wildlife and if you are lucky, a couple of deer grazing in the open fields next to the visitor center! Stop and listen and you will also hear many birds. The Rockery area was fun and we did a bit of scrambling and enjoyed the trail that bordered the Rockery Pond.  Enjoy some photos of our mellow 6-mile hike with the Metrowest Retirees (or not yet) Ready for Adventure meetup group. 

Hickory Nuts

Bat homes

Super chill duck

On the Averill's Island Loop trail along the Waterfowl Pond

Stone Bridge (right) along the Waterfowl Pond

A pretty friendly Chicadee

Red Salamader

Snowdrops Flowers near the Rock Grotto

Chionodoxa near the Rock Grotto

Delicious after-hike lunch at 

Four 66 Pub & Grille, Danvers, MA

Daniels Mountain - Hiking

Summit Shaka

Daniels Mountain, Chesterfield, NH

Daniels' Mountain
Elevation: 1,230 feet
Trails: Ann Stokes Loop & Daniel's Mountain Loop trails
Miles: 4.5 roundtrip

Wonderful hike with the Metrowest Retirees (or not yet) Ready For Adventure meetup group. It's Spring but there's still snow on the ground - yay!!!. A short stop at the Madame Sherri Forest to check out the French-inspired chateau summer house that Madame Sherri and her husband built, then onto the summit of Daniels Mountain. Enjoy some photos taken along the trail.

At Madame Sherri Forest trailhead

on Gulf Road

Madame Sherri summer home remnants

Many footprints in the snow along the trail

Lookout on the way to the summit

At the summit of Daniels Mountain

On the descent

Pano from Bear Connector lookout

One of several vernal pools