Wednesday Adventures

Wednesday is my day off. The yoga studio is closed, so I have the whole day free. For months, I have been treating Wednesday as the day to do housework and run errands, but during a meltdown a couple of months ago I realized that I was desperately in need of some time to play.

So I sat down with my day planner, spread my chores throughout the rest of the week and, erasing everything else, wrote "fly and be free" on each Wednesday. Then I started thinking about the things I've been meaning to do, and the things my kids have been asking to do, and started to plan some Wednesday adventures.

My 7-year-old son got excited about hiking after reaching the summit of Mount Jo, a fun little mountain which rises above Heart Lake in the midst of the High Peaks. His second grade teacher took the class to the top for their year-end trip. When school finished we went through the guide books for another easy hike and, the following Wednesday, headed up Owls Head, just north of Keene.

The next week, we explored Mount Gilligan, in New Russia. While still a short hike, Mount Gilligan has lots of rock scrambles that were fun for an active 7-year-old. We've been calling it our "secret mountain" because we were the only ones there.

Inspired to try something bigger, today we tried the Crow Mountains in Keene. The guidebook promised a short but steep hike. It certainly was steep and much more challenging than our previous hikes, but, thanks to unclear directions to the trailhead, it was not short. The mountain trail itself took precisely the amount of time predicted by the guide, but the walks down the road to find the trailhead and to find the car again when we came back by a different trail added time and miles.

It was worth the extra effort. The view of the High Peaks from the summit of Big Crow is spectacular. Had we not lost so much time looking for the trailhead I would have lingered much longer.

For my next Wednesday Adventure I will be chaperoning at Cub Scout Day Camp. While it's not my first choice of adventures, my son won't be little much longer, so any time with him is good. Who knows what a pack of Cub Scouts might teach me?