Woodstock, NH (USA)

Dayhike & Dine #24!  Despite not sleeping well last night (and truly wanting to stay in bed), I departed my condo this morning at 0815 so I could drive to Bradford (Vermont) and meet up with my favorite hiking group.  Eight of us (and one dog, Jenna) assembled at the Park & Ride and, by 0915, we were carpooled up (traded 8 cars for 3) for our drive across the New Hampshire mountains and into the Pemigewasset Valley.  This trip (NH-10, NH-116, NH-112, I-93 and US-3) took almost an hour and we arrived at the trailhead (at the north end of The Flume parking lot) by 1015.  Surprisingly, it still wasn't raining - however, we knew we had limited time before the weather turned nasty.  Initially taking the paved entry path for the Pemigewasset Trail, we soon diverted towards the west on another path that took us under US-3 and I-93.  I'd not looked at the map before we started so wasn't sure exactly where we were headed.  I continued following the blue blazes and, fortunately, trail signs soon gave clues about our destination: Indian Head Lookout on Mount Pemigewasset (2.5K feet).  We had an ascent of roughly 1.2K feet, in about 1.6 miles of hiking, and I was quite interested in finding out whether my heel bursitis had improved enough to weather this kind of White Mountain slog.  My other (non-impactful) exercising appeared to have been sufficient for me to quickly regain my trail legs (whew!) and the trip to the top wasn't too painful.  After we arrived at the Indian Head Lookout, we had just enough time to spot distant landmarks - Moosilauke, the Kinsmans, Loon Mountain Resort, the thin ribbon of I-93 as it snaked it's way through Franconia Notch - before the rain hit.  Most of us were prepared for the wet weather but a few hadn't brought gear for it.  As a result, some talk about proceeding farther along Mount Pemigewasset's summit was squelched and we began our descent.  Actually, I should say that we began to make our way *carefully* down the trail.  The walking surface had, by this point, gone from damp to slippery.  Due to everyone's precautions, our group got spread out pretty far apart.  Ultimately, we arrived back at our cars by 1230, with close to four miles of mountain hiking under our belts - not a bad walk!  But our day wasn't through - the "dine" portion was still unfinished.  From The Flume lot, we drove south about five miles and soon arrived at the town of Woodstock (New Hampshire).  Our destination was the Woodstock Inn & Brewery and we were fortunately to get a table in the crowded restaurant.  Along with many great conversations I had today, more were added during the pleasant (late) lunch hour we spent together.  By the time we were finished, the feelings of being drenched and tired had been replaced by one of a full belly and friendship.  Departing Woodstock (1415), we retraced our drive across the mountains.  Along the way, we passed through areas of rain and clear blue sky.  This bouncing ball of weather landed on "rain" when we arrived in Bradford on the Connecticut (1515).  Dang - I'd hoped for another paddle before going home...  To make it back to Hanover, I used US-5, crossed the river and then took US-10 to River Road.  It was rainy all the way so I hung up my paddle after arriving (1600).  Fortunately, my heel (still) feels good.  Very glad to have been able to participate in yet another successful community hike/dine event - special thanks to Jared (the organizer) for setting up a great day in the White Mountains!