Pisgah State Park: Leisurely Hike

We went hiking in Pisgah State Park in New Hampshire. It was an 8 mile hike with 1152 feet elevation gain/loss. 

Maybe you notice it is not much elevation gain we usually do. That is true, we wanted to do a little leisurely walk. 

First as our ritual we stopped by a coffee shop. This time we choose a local coffee shop in the town of Kneene, NH, on the way to the Pisgah park. 

Their coffee was great. I got Colombian decaf coffee. I am a decaf drinker, so there is always limited option. Usually normal brewed coffee in the pot prepared has only one kind decaf. This place has 2 kinds decaf available! 

Another exciting fact about the pot is that they use Zojirushi pot. That is a Japanese best brand for pots. That made my day. 

New Hampshire culture is different. Usually baristas are very friendly. It seems that local people interact and chat a lot more than big cities like San Francisco or Boston. 

Coffee shops are good places where those culture can be seen.  

One of the baristas asked us, "Are you guys on a little adventure?"

She asked so, probably because we were wearing hiking pants and shoes. 

Mr.N answered, "We will go hiking."

The barista asked, "Nice. Where are you going?"

Mr.N answered, "Pisgah State Park."

The barista was excited and "Nice. I went there last week. It is beautiful this time."

We talked about the trail there. It was nice.

Then we started hiking from trailhead. We started from Kilburn loop trail, then went to an unnamed trail. According to the map on the Alltrails (the App I use), there are no names on the trails except for Kilburn loop trail. Also there are many more trails in addition to trails showed on the Alltrails map. 

Peaceful forest

Hikes are pleasant. Not many people there but some local people. We hiked up to the hills and found a viewpoint. So we decided to have lunch there. A couple with a dog also stopped nearby and had a snack. Probably because of the dog they sat down relatively far, but we heard the dog moving since the dog had a bell. Sometimes the doggy came near us for food smell, but then the dog was called by owners. It was cute and funny. 

The couple left earlier than us, then we passed them. At some point I went to the "restroom". Mr.N went to the toilet as well, but guys are much faster than girls. I left my backpack along the trail and went far, because it was hard to find privacy. While I was on business, I heard the bell ringing. The doggy passed Mr.N standing by my backpack. 

When I came back to the trail, Mr.N laughed and told me, "The lady with the dog said, ""We don't look at. Everybody does."" hehehe"

Frozen Lake

All the ponds we passed were frozen. Despite those facts, it was not so cold, probably because elevation was less than 1500 feet above sea level.

Around the lake were marshy. It was a pretty view. We stopped by a lake and sat on the rocks. It was peaceful. 

１１月後半のとある週末にニューハンプシャー州のピスガー州立公園にハイキングへ出かけた。この日はカジュアルなハイキング。やく６キロ、４００メートルの高低差。

まずは近くの街でコーヒーを飲んだ。ニューハンプシャー州のカルチャーとして人々がフレンドリーでいい人達というのがある。この日もコーヒーを飲んでいるとバリスタが話しかけてきて我々が行くピスガー州立公園が綺麗だよと教えてくれた。

そしてキルバーンループトレイルからハイキング開始。私たちが使っているアップ、 Alltrailsには載ってないトレイルが次々と出てきて間違えそうになったがとりあえず予定したルート通りに行くことができた。

ここピスガーの森はとても静かで綺麗だ。そしてローカルの人が少し歩いているだけでほとんど遠くからここまで歩きに来る人はいないようだ。そのためかとてもピースフル。

途中でベルをつけた犬を連れたハイカーに会った。途中でお昼のサンドイッチを食べていると匂いにつられてか犬が近くまで来たが（笑、飼い主に呼び戻されていた。可愛い。

このハイキングではいくつか湖を通り越したが全て凍っていた。冬の到来を感じさせるハイキングではあったが、海抜３００メートル程度のためそこまで寒くはなかった。

ハードコアなハイクもいいがたまにはこういったカジュアルなハイクも楽しいなと思った日だった。