LION'S HEAD & BEAR MOUNTAIN

Riga Shelter

Life has been pretty hectic as of late. My son is a ball of energy, trips to the ER for my wife (scary), work, more work...you know...life. My entries have dwindled recently which will hopefully improve. To help clear my head I spent this last weekend backpacking around northwest CT on the AT. I took my oldest friend backpacking for his first time. Besides temperatures dropping around the 20's we really enjoyed our time together. We drove to Salisbury and parked at the Lion's Head trail head. We hiked up and over Lion's Head, hooked up with the AT and then summited Bear Mt. This was also Chris' first time to Bear Mt, Connecticut's highest peak.  We snacked on blueberries and cheese and backtracked a few miles to set up camp at Ball Brook campsite. All in all, a successful trip.

The greenhorn trying to keep warm.

Cold morning. Great views.

NATIONAL PARK WEEK

The National Park Service recently announced this year's free visitation period.  National Park Week will be taking place April 17th through the 25th.  So take that much needed vacation and enjoy the outdoors with your friends and family.

GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB CENTENNIAL

Today is the Green Mountain Club's 100th birthday!  On March 11, 1910, twenty-three people gathered in Burlington, VT and started the GMC, turning the Long Trail from dream to reality.  Today, the Long Trail is a 273 mile hiking trail along the ridge line of the Green Mountains, from Massachusetts to Quebec.  I have been a GMC member for a few years now and will be volunteering this coming spring to help celebrate 100 years of amazing history.  See you on the trail!

 

ROOT BEER LADY

Dorothy Molter lived for 56 years in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Knife Lake. She made root beer and sold it to canoeists in the BWCAW, thus becoming the "root beer lady."

Dorothy first came to Knife Lake in 1930 when she was 23.  In 1934 she stayed full-time to assist Bill Berglund, who owned and operated the Isle of Pines Resort.  When Berglund died in 1948 Dorothy became the owner of the resort.  In the winter she would live in the winter cabin, and in the summer she moved into a tent-cabin on the summer island.  Dorothy was visited by thousands of people every year, obtaining over 4,000 signatures in her guest book in a single summer.  She had no utilities, used bottled propane for cooking, hand-cut ice from the lake to cool her root beer and lived 36 miles from the nearest town.

Due to the Wilderness Act, the Isle of Pines Resort was purchased by the United States government, and Dorothy was ordered to leave.  Petitions began to circulate and she became the last person allowed to live in the BWCAW until she died in 1986.

MY SON'S FIRST HIKE

My wife and I took our son on his first hike in People's State Forest this weekend.  He was in his kid carrier of course, but he enjoyed the scenery and fresh air nonetheless.  When we got back to the car I finally got to use my Duluth changing pad that I received last father's day.  That is one burly changing pad...thanks Kate!