Wow. That's still just about all I can say. The moment I had been patiently waiting for happened in the most perfect way possible. I am truly blessed!
Usually people hike Mt. Carrigain for their 48th peak because of the amazing 360 degree views. On a clear day, you can see over 40 of the 48 4,000 footers. We chose it for #23 because the weather was supposed to be perfect and wanted to be able to take in the views. We headed up to NH Friday night with my Dad on the motorcycles since it was bike week. What could be better than spending a weekend doing what we love the most?!
Saturday morning, we stopped for breakfast at Bagel's Plus (so yummy) and then made our way to the trail head. My dad saw us off and said he would be back later that afternoon once we were back down. Little did I know about a certain plan! We chose to hike the Signal Ridge Trail which is 10 miles RT. We were both happy that Sawyer River Road was reopened, so we didn't have to tack on an additional 4 miles like some people had to do when it was closed. I read that the trail was "relentless" so I was a little nervous. The first 1.7 miles until the trail splits are pretty flat. The elevation gain is saved for the last 3 miles!
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| Start of the hike |
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| Signal Ridge Trail |
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| 5 miles to the summit! |
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| Rocky trail |
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| Sean at the stream crossing, thankfully the water was not too high |
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| 3.3 to go! |
The first 1.7 miles were pretty flat, slightly muddy and quite buggy. I was fully prepared with my new bug hat and net to avoid the annoying black flys, but did not end up wearing it since there weren't any. The trail was full of mosquitos but bug spray did the trick to keep them away. The trail began to gain elevation after this point, but it was not nearly as steep as I expected. I had read the trail had no switch backs and was "relentless" but that was not the case, neither of us thought it was that bad.
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| Blue bird sky |
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| Enjoying the trail |
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| Loving my new Gregory Pack, very comfortable |
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| My hunny! The light makes me look like I have no eyebrows! |
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| False summit- 0.5 mi. to go! |
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| The fire tower at the summit |
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| Mt. Carrigain 4,700' |
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| Beautiful views |
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| Mt. Washington & the Presidential Range |
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| First time up the tower, it was windy and chilly! |
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| Soaking in the views |
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| <3 |
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| Signal Ridge |
We went up the fire tire right away when we reached the summit to soak in the views. It was absolutely beautiful, we truly got lucky with a perfect day on the summit! We took a bunch of pictures but then headed down because it was windy and chilly on the tower. We took a long break, ate lunch and then looked at the map and decided we wanted to go up the tower again to place all of the peaks we had climbed that we could. I packed everything back into my bag, ready for our hike back down when we were finished.
When we were back on the tower for a 2nd time, we met a couple people from my home town and someone else from only a few towns away. It's amazing how everywhere we go we meet people from home.
After placing peaks and more pictures, I was ready to start the hike back down. I remember turning around to ask Sean if he was ready and noticed that he had pulled a little box out of his pocket and was beginning to get down on one knee. I immediately burst into tears because I knew what was coming. I covered my mouth in complete shock, what a perfect surprise! The man from my home town said, "quick, give me your camera" and I am so thankful I did. I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I just hugged Sean and somewhere in that moment I said yes and the ring was on my finger. I just stood there for a while in shock. I had been waiting for this moment, always wondering how Sean would do it. I could't have dreamt a more perfect proposal.
The crowd was full of congratulations and kind words. Only in the hiking community are complete strangers so kind. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. We want to sincerely thank everyone who shared our big moment with us.
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| Right before the big event!! |
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| Biggest surprise ever! |
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| This captures the moment perfectly, I was in shock! |
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| Tears of joy :) |
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| So happy |
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| Almost fell on my face a couple times on the way down checking this baby out!! |
The hike back down was a joyful one, passing by quickly. We didn't hike too fast, talking about our future wedding and how excited we were. When we finally got back to the parking lot, my dad was waiting for us. I showed him the ring and started crying again! I was so happy that the two most important men in my life were both with me in that special moment.
We were blessed with a perfect day, one that will never be forgotten. Now Mt. Carrigain holds a new meaning to us, a memory we will cherish forever :)
