South Patuckaway (fire tower), June 6, 2009

This entry is an exception to our blog rule -- this is NOT a White Mountain hike. However, we had such a great time camping and hiking this weekend that I wanted to post it here anyway.

Friday night we arrived at Patuckaway State Park in Nottingham, NH. Soon afterward, Diamondridge and her two daughters, Gwynna, McRat and his three kids, and Isabella arrived. Isabella was there with two other families, so her 13 year old hung out with those friends while my two played with McRat's kids and DiamondRidge's kids. (That was a mouthful, hopefully it made sense).


After having much fun by the campfire, we retired to our tents. The next morning (Sat.), we set out to visit South Patuckaway's fire tower. The roundtrip mileage was .8 miles, which was perfect for the short-distance-hikers in our group.

After following a very bumpy road, we made it to the trailhead. Our motley crew:




It was a nice, easy-to-moderate trail.









Sage would sometimes run ahead, and then sit and wait for us to catch up.




Both my girls were having a fantastic time. They greatly enjoy the company of the McRat's kids and DiamondRidge's kids.

Squeaky, McRat's oldest, often became a young-child-magnet. My two, and DiamondRidge's youngest, frequently took hold of her hand.





The pretty trail continued...




...we came to some stone steps...






...and then it flattened out. We were near the summit.



Looking up to the left during the final approach, we saw the fire tower through the trees.




A very short climb brought us up to its base.



The land around the tower was pleasant -- lots of rocks to sit upon, and some green areas too. Here's one nice little space, complete with hummingbird feeder.




We climbed the tower and took in the views.












My two goofballs enjoyed themselves up there.



We climbed down and sat on the rocks, enjoying lunch with our friends. After our meal, Sage and Alex went off to explore a bit with the other kids. Here Sage has found something of interest in the grass. Henry observes nearby.

Another tiny creature is found on a rock.

While the kids explored, McRat tried to fly a kite from the tower. Alas, there was little wind.

After a while, we headed on down. 'Twas an easy descent, we made it back to the trailhead in no time.

Many thanks for the good times, folks!