Father-Son Hiking Trip

For Father’s Day last year, Nick gave Ray a coupon to do the Franconia Ridge Loop, a steep and challenging 14 km hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The route takes about eight hours and has almost 4,000 feet of altitude gain.

The White Mountains are known for their magnificent views, but also for the quickly changeable weather and exposure to the elements. There are many tragic tales of hikers who’ve lost their lives by being caught off guard by the weather. Ray is well aware of how dangerous these mountains can be as he attempted this hike with Ottawa’s Alpine Club some years ago. The weather as they ascended turned dangerously cold, in the range of minus 50 to minus 70 with the windchill. Even though the group were all experienced hikers, most ended up with frostbite and it was a scary experience. If even one thing had gone wrong, it might have ended very differently.

Fortunately, the weather was ideal for Nick and Ray’s ascent, with clear visibility and spectacular views. The drive to New Hampshire took about seven hours (they stayed two nights at an AirBnb), but they both agreed that the trip and the climb was well worth it.

Ray was pleased to discover that he can still keep up with Nick on these challenging adventures, and his knees held up throughout (though he did make Nick haul the gear).

Nick got back to Kingston in time for moving day. He’s still in the same house, but his four female housemates have finished grad school now, and four guys have taken their place.

I love when a picture captures more than just a moment in time. The picture on the left has always been a favourite of mine because if an alien arrived and asked what 12-year old boys are like, you could show them this picture. Nick’s reading a comic book, Sean’s playing on his Nintendo DS, there’s a soccer ball, a drum set, a guitar, a mini hockey stick, a mess on the floor, two pairs of bare feet, summer tans, and a carefree atmosphere.

The picture on the right captures grad student life, hockey playoffs on one screen, boxing match on the other, empty beer bottles, empty pizza boxes and a collegial atmosphere. Nick’s feet aren’t in the pic, but odds are they’re still bare.

My 60 at 60 list is progressing slowly. I had a sleep study done this month and I’m including that because it was a new and uncomfortable experience.

Not exactly the Hilton…

I have good sleep habits. I go to bed at the same time most nights, don’t drink caffeine after noon, and rarely drink alcohol, and I sleep between seven and eight hours a night, but I don’t wake up feeling rested and often need a nap during the day. Also…Ray says I snore – which is a relatively recent development – and I have restless leg syndrome – which is not a recent development (my legs have twitched and jumped when I’m tired since my early teens). My Fitbit claims that, although I’m getting a ‘normal’ amount of sleep, the time spent in deep sleep is significantly lower than average for women my age (usually about 17 minutes), so I decided to get it checked out.

Thankfully I talked to someone who’d had a sleep test done so I had an idea of what to expect. It’s a bizarre experience. You sleep overnight in a doctor’s office, with sensors and wires all over your head and body, a strap around your chest, another around your waist, and a tube under your nose. There’s a camera in the room and someone watches and listens to you all night.

I lay down, asking myself how anyone could possibly sleep with all those wires and tubes attached…and then immediately fell asleep. They woke me at 5:30 and said I was the last one there and that I’d had the best sleep (there are about six rooms I think). I was very proud of myself. Perhaps I’ve found my gift. Champion sleeper. I haven’t gotten my results yet, but the observer said my legs had a very active night. Does that count as exercise do you think?

I cashed in my birthday coupon and joined Lorrie and Josée at Camp Picton’s Escape Room, called Spy’s Workshop. It’s my favourite escape room to date. We followed it up with ice cream on the way home and then sushi dinner with the guys. They have a second room so I suspect we’ll be back for more.

I never got around to doing an April challenge, and May has snuck up on me, so for my May challenge I’ll do something I’d already started even though I didn’t plan it as a challenge. Ray does the majority of the cooking in our house (okay, the vast majority) mostly because he doesn’t mind cooking. I do mind. Ray’s been getting tired of coming up with meal ideas, so I thought I should start making more of an effort in that department.

60 at 60 list:

1. January challenge: 30 days of Flow Yoga
2. Memory challenge: Identify all 195 countries in the world on a map (using Seterra app) 
3. Sunbathe on the au naturel island
4. Try pickleball
5. Climb a waterfall
6. February challenge: study Portuguese (use Duolingo daily)
7. Initiate coffee with someone you don’t know
8. Calabogie mini-vacay with Tim & Pamela
9. Get an iPhone
10. Spa afternoon with Joanna
11. Visit Portugal with Karen
12. Sign up for competitive dragon boating (with Josee)
13. Learn to crochet (with Sarah)
14. Experience a total solar eclipse (with Ray, Rick & Josee)
15. Take a dip in an Ontario lake in April (with Nick & Megan)
16. Have a sleep assessment done at a sleep clinic
17. Escape Room birthday celebration with Lorrie & Josee
18. May challenge: Plan and make two or three meals per week