Roaming around Mt. Monroe

This hike had a dual purpose (for me): hitting No. 47 on the hit parade of peaks _ Mt. Monroe _ and participating in the now-annual 9/11 memorial Flags of the 48 hike.

I had originally hoped I would finish the New Hampshire 4,000 footers atop Monroe, and then hike up to Mt. Washington _ the next mountain to the north _ thinking it would be a fitting way to end up on the mountain where my quest to hike all the NH48 all began.

But for one reason or another, I found myself with a chance to hike to Monroe as part of the 9/11 tribute with still one more mountain left on the list.

I was relieved in many ways because I was feeling uneasy mixing celebration with tribute. How could I truly bask in the glow of accomplishing the NH48 if I was out for the solemn occasion of remember those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks? It's not that these 9/11 tributes are completely tearful events; they're not. It's still a joy to be out in the mountains. But I also didn't want to trivialize the memorial hike.

SherpaK, FantasmaGris and I hatched a plan to head to the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail and then hike along the southern presidential range. I've always wanted to do what's known as a "traverse" _ hiking along an entire ridgeline that connects a series of peaks _ so I was looking forward to this hike even more than usual.

We began our morning by parking at the Edmands Path, the midway trailhead leading to the Crawford Path ridgeline _ providing a nice bailout point if the weather turned or we fatigued.

Then, it was on down the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.

As we were doing our last minute rituals to get ready to hit the trail, an SUV pulled up alongside us, a man and his yellow lab got out while his passenger remained in her seat. The dog was clearly anxious to get started and his owner cried out, "Jessie!" beckoning him back to the car. She dutifully returned to her master.

I turned to Sherpa and said, "Hey, could that be Terry?" I'd seen posts on the AMC's Web site over the years from the infamous, some would say notorious, Terry, and trip reports featuring her pooch, Jessie, and her husband, Wayne. At first, Sherpa looked at me like I was nuts. But he boldly approached the car and asked the woman in the front seat if she was Terry. Sure enough, in the flesh!

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