Globe Corner Blogs

Kilimanjaro--photo by Meghan

I climbed Kilimanjaro in the fall of 2006, taking the Machame route. The Machame route is arguably the most scenic: camera crews having chosen this route for the Kilimanjaro iMax movie. It is also one of the longer routes and one of the more arduous.

The Machame route, however, is not a technical climb and requires no previous mountaineering skills. I will add, though, that some ropes may have proved comforting when faced with the 1,000-foot drop above jagged rocks and the leap requiring lots of faith to get to the other side of the path.  The summit was not as easily reached as I had suspected, based on the large number of tourists who climb it every year. It took seven days of hiking for six to eighteen hours per day. Clouds often obstructed our promised good view, but sometimes I got a rare glimpse of the spectacular scenery as though I was in an airplane taking aerial photographs.

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A New England Autumn by Ferenc Mate

Today, it is fall in Boston. Perhaps not on the calendar, but certainly in the air. The crickets of late-summer have stopped their song. The sky is low and gray. The local Farmer’s Market was full of crisp apples and fat heirloom tomatoes. Chrysanthemums are blooming and the leaves on the trees have turned dull in preparation for their brilliant costume change.

Autumn is a dressy affair in New England. When the trees finally do put on their finest, people migrate north en mass to drive the Kancamagus Highway or even hike the Long Trail in Vermont. I myself am looking forward to fresh apple cider, apple pie, apple cobbler, and those sugary maple candies they make in cute shapes.

Until then, I watch the skies darken further and hope the rain doesn’t pull down the leaves prematurely. And I rejoice in the excuse to wear sweatshirts and curl up inside reading all day.

Mt Ascutney, VT -- photo by Jess

When choosing a day hike, I think it’s always important to have a sense of the vertical rise of the mountain and the total distance of the hike. That being said, I also know that hikers really seek a stunningly rewarding summit view that screams “take my picture!” and congratulates them for their hard, sweaty work.

With all this in mind, Mount Ascutney, located in Southern Vermont on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont, is a fun and challenging day hike good for all ages. Even if you lack tons of hiking experience, or are hiking with younger children, Mount Ascutney is quite managable and the Weathersfield Trail has a couple of convenient scenic stopping points ideal for a GORP (good old-fasioned raisins and peanuts) and a water break. Continue Reading »