August 2, 2011

• Bachelor Party

  This past weekend was my “Bachelor” Party.  When my groomsmen asked me what I wanted to do, I told them something fun, in the outdoors.  I didn’t tell them “no-strippers” per se, but I reminded them how I felt about them.  A few weeks before, several of the groomsmen and I were already planning on hiking Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  Unfortunately, because that weekend was the only weekend we were all free for my bachelor party, we had to postpone to another date.

  What I really wanted to do was to go on some kind of hiking or camping trip.  Maybe even go as far as signing up for a weekend survival course.  While some people were really into this idea, some would rather do other things.  I just left it up my groomsmen to decide and left all the planning and inviting up to them.  I found out a few weeks ago that the plan was to hike Mount Washington and I got really excited.  For those of you who don’t know, Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the East Coast (6,288 feet).  What makes it difficult besides the steep ascent in the final mile is the erratic weather conditions at the top.  While the weather is gorgeous through most of the way, the final mile is usually extremely foggy with little visibility and extreme wind conditions.  On our hike, it was 40-50mph (strength of a tropical storm).

  Most of us took off on Friday.  It’s about a 7 hour drive depending on traffic.  I left around 10 and got there at 5pm.  My friends rented a really nice get-away home, with a pool.  All 14 of us were able to sleep comfortably throughout the house.  When we go there, we started the grill and began eating and drinking.  Some went for a swim while others played pool or air hockey in the basement level.  Eventually, we played cards and drank the rest of the night, while some people were still arriving.  Around 2:30, we all went to bed, hoping to get just enough sleep for the hike the following day.

  Just after 6AM, everyone had to wake up and get ready.  Everyone had to pack their water and snacks, get their gear on, etc.  Afterwards, we went out to grab a quick breakfast and some sandwiches for lunch.  Our hike began at 9AM.

   

  

  Rather funny that this picture was taken next to the Avalanche information.

   

  The first couple of miles of the hike was pretty leisurely.  What surprised me most was the amount of people that were hiking.  I’ve been on many hikes, but this hike had swarms of people everywhere!  The visiting center was huge and there was a lot of parking.  I have only heard of this mountain last year from a friend who did it in the winter.  Interestingly, much of the people are from Canada.  You can tell from all the QUEBEC license plates on the cars and all the French being spoken on the trails.

  Once we got past the 2 mile mark, the trail became narrower and steeper.  No longer were we able to walk side-by-side going up.  Everything was single-file and there wasn’t really any room for you to stop and rest.  Everyone behind you is waiting for you to move so there was pressure to move as quickly as possible.  About another mile up, you come out of the forest and out in the open where the views are beautiful.

  

  Single-file.

   

  

  Once out of the forest and out in the open.

   

  Out in the open area, there’s just a lot of rocks in front of you and you have to walk and climb.  The summit looked pretty close, almost a stone throw away.  The reality was that there was it was a lot higher than what we were able to see.  The fog did a great job of concealing that.

   

  

  We thought that was the top.  It’s actually much further and higher than that.

   

  

  Up in the clouds!

   

  

  Hiking to Mordor.

   

  It got to point where the hike was getting insanely steep.  We had to practically scramble through all types of rocks, trying to keep balance.  Since we couldn’t see the top, all we could do was keep going.  Along the way, many people who were making their descent would tell us that we’re close.  All we kept on hearing was “15 more mins!”  Who knows, maybe it was 15, but it felt like an hour.

  

  It’s getting REALLY steep!

   

  When we finally made it to the top of the rocks, there was a road and a parking lot!  We didn’t even know there was a road to drive up there.  People were getting out of their cars and the first thing that came to mind were “cheaters!”  We had to cross the road, climb a flight of stairs before we got to the summit.

  

  A piece of cake.

   

  As you can see from the picture above, only 5 of us made it to the top.  It was pretty evident 20 minutes into the hike, who was fast and who was slow.  We got here a little past noon, so it took us roughly 3 hours.  We decided to go into the visitor center up top, relax and eat lunch.  We knew there were at least 3 other people who were going to make it so we waited for them.  After about 35 mins, two of my friends came into the place and were congratulated them on a job well done.  It was the first time hiking for the both of them and I was really impressed by their determination.  They told us that they were going to take the shuttle down ($30!) because they were just not physically capable to hike back down.

  On our way down, we bumped into another two friends, one of which I thought had given up and turned back.  He wanted to hike down with us so we waited for him while he made it to the top and back down.  The biggest surprise was as the 6 of us were going down, we bumped into another 4 who were almost there.  They were cramping and hurting, but they kept with it.  All-in-all, only 1 person didn’t make it to the top.  The other 7 got to the top and took the shuttle down while the 6 of us were destroying our knees.  It got to the point where I felt the ligament on my left knee was sore and I limped the last two miles.  I couldn’t even lift up my left leg without wincing in pain so it was quite the struggle.  We got to the bottom at 5pm, so the whole hike took us 9 hours, including the hour up top where we waited around and ate.

  When we got back to the house, some people were swimming.  Others were BBQing and drinking beer and a few were sleeping.  We had dinner reservations at 8 so we had to get ready for that not too long later.  We went to this “high class” restaurant that had a dress code of collared shirts and pants.  When we walked in, it was pretty full, but there was no sound at all.  I guess no one talks during dinner in New Hampshire.  We had our own private room, which was good since we would have definitely bothered the other patrons.

  Upon opening the menu, everything on it was cheap!  They had burgers and fish and chips on the menu.  Even with drinks and a couple of bottles of wine, it only came out to be about $60 a person with tax and tip.  Wasn’t bad at all.

  

   

  We drove right back to the house and I was suffering food coma.  I really wanted to sleep, but these guys came all the way to celebrate with me so I stayed up.  We drank and played cards until everyone was either too tired or too drunk to stay up.  I don’t think I drank so much Scotch in one weekend.

  We woke up the next morning, packed and cleaned up the place.  Then we went to this family restaurant in the neighborhood that had phenomenal food.  I had Lobster Benedict and it was delicious.  I’m not even a fan of lobster!  After brunch, it was a 7-8 hour drive back home.  The weather was gorgeous and I was surrounded by my closest friends.  Can’t ask for more.  

  What an awesome weekend.  We’re planning on coming back again to do it in the winter.  It’s going to be EPIC!

   

   

  • 11:46 am
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