Zipline Adventure

We joined about 20 new friends from the Meetup groups Global Gourmet and Dynamic Professionals at Empower Leadership Sports in Middletown, CT for a challenging and fun 3 hours of ziplining with two obstacles, both 60 feet or so off the ground - a vertical cargo net (which you climbed across) and a high wire (which you walked across while clinging to ropes hanging at about 7 foot intervals from a wire above) - between lines 3 and 4.  Of course, we were buckled in the whole time.   It was our first zipline experience and truly exhilarating.  Many thanks to Carl Sanderson for the photos.

The platforms could get a bit crowded

The landing

Mary on the cargo net

Art on the cargo net

Mary getting ready for the high wire 

Art on the high wire

Art after final zip line

Selfie at the end

AMC Hikes from Cardigan Lodge

Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7, 2014

The Appalachian Mountain Club's Cardigan Lodge is a lovely small lodge with friendly helpful staff in the AMC Cardigan Reservation adjacent to the Cartridge Mountain State Park near Canaan, New Hampshire.  A variety of hiking trails start near the front door.

Mary and I had the privilege of co-leading the weekend hikes with hike leader Barbara Beckerman.  Co-leading fulfilled the final requirement for us to be AMC day hike leaders.

Saturday, we hiked toward a peak named Firescrew (3064').  We were only about 15 minutes from the peak when we decided to turn back due to a threatening thunderstorm but it was a great hike.

When the threat of the storm passed in the afternoon, we hiked to pretty waterfall - Welton Falls.

                  

This was the biggest leech I've ever seen.  It was caught by a boy at the falls.  I posted a video to Instagram ArtCT.

We returned via the Back 80 trail a very easy but very pretty trail.

We returned to the lodge about 4:30 and it started to rain about 10 minutes later

On Sunday, a beautiful clear day, we hiked to Cardigan peak (3155') via the Manning, Holt and Clark trails and returned via the West Ridge, Ranger Cabin, South Ridge, Skyland, Vistamont, Holt and Manning trails which took us to South Peak (2864'), Rimrock (2860') and Orange Mtn (2684').  

 

We bid our farewell to Cardigan about 4:00 pm.

Thursday - Reykholt to Reykjavík to Newark to Hamden

The day was bright and sunny for our our final drive.

It has been an outrageously wonderful trip but it is time to come home.  Our dirty clothes vastly outnumber our clean clothes and Iceland does not know about laundromats (where do the folks who do not have washers do their wash?) plus we have to deal with Blue Car Rental about the accident eventually and it might as well be today.

It was an easy trip to the airport with a quick stop at Þingvellir National Park to see a small portion of the continental rift that runs through the middle of Iceland.

View of Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland as we approached Þingvellir

Þingvellir National Park 

Our last look at Icelandic lava as we approach the airport.

Blue Car Rental was pretty reasonable but we had to pay the deductible.  If both cars were moving (and both were) it is considered both contributed to the accident.

The flight was great, took off on time, and we had a free seet in our row, no turbulance and we landed early. The pilot landed the plane in Newark like he was Jeff Gordon coming in for a pit stop.  We were half way down the runway before the wheels touched down with a thud and a sway.  The brakes were applied hard and we came to a quick stop about a foot from the gate.

There was a question on the Customs Declaration about fruit and vegetables - they took two bananas and two oranges that we thought we might eat on the plane but didn't and let us keep some carrots and two apples.

There was another question about being in proximity to animals or being in a farmers field.  Well Iceland is basically recent lava with not enough vegetation to support for sheep, lava that has enough vegetation to support sheep, hay fields or villages.  The whole country is basically a farm.  You can't hike and not come in close proximity to sheep, lots of sheep.  The few cows and the horses have better fences.   So we answered yes. Iceland must not be country where the US worries about animal diseases because they did not ask us about how we came in contact.

We are safely back in Hamden looking forward to seeing the kids and grand kids.

Wednesday - Hvolsvöllur to Reykholt

Our last full day Iceland 

It was a day of waterfalls, geysers and small towns as our visit to Iceland winds down.

The day started with a dramatic sky which cleared by the afternoon. 

And a drive across the expanding prairie.

With some friends along the way.

Our waterfall of the day.  It was impressive, but also ore touristy than other places we visited on Iceland.

And a bit of the flora and fauna

Fortunately we were just leaving when the busses started arriving!

Then the boiling hot springs at Geysir.

Strokkur went off about every 5-7 minutes while were there.

Mary at the top of a small mountain we hiked at Geysir.

Art at the top of a small mountain we hiked at Geysir.

A fox across the field on the way down 

A sample of the flora and finally a bee!

Some blue poop and what caused it

Washing the mud off our boots after the joke.  They were caked with red mud at the beginning of the hike.

What the well dressed camper wears in a sleeping bag room (in bad light for the camera).

One more friend along the way.

Last night in Iceland at the Guethouse Fagrilundur