Mt. Cardigan, NH

Spent the 4th of July weekend in Alexandria, NH, near Bristol, at the AMC Mt. Cardigan campground. The weather was fantastic, and we had fine company and a great time. On Wednesday I spent time with my family in Maine, then my sister Jen and I headed over to Bristol, NH on Thursday morning from the Portland area. It was an idyllic ride through pretty NH and ME towns and past farm land and meadows, all the while listening to Fleetwood Mac. We arrived and set up camp. We were the first campers on site.

On Friday a large group of us headed up the Holt and Clark trails from the campground, to the summit of Mt. Cardigan (3,155 ft.). The trail was fairly moderate until the last 1/4 mile, which consisted of open slabs of very steep rock. Luckily it was not too windy, but the sun was hot. The summit offered fantastic, panoramic views. We ate our lunch then headed down the Manning trail. The trail ran along the summit for awhile, on open, rocky ridges with blueberry bushes and shrubs. The views were great. Once in the woods again, the trail was steep for the rest of way down.
Our group of hardy ladies and sensitive men, resting on the summit

On Saturday all the gals went kayaking on the Pemigewasset River. It was all downstream so the paddling was leisurely, except when we ran into some cross winds. We stopped for lunch and a swim, on a sandbar. We were the only folks around. The water was deliciously refreshing, and the temperature perfect. It was a great time and fine weather.

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