pike's hikes

by Sue Pike appeared week of August 28 2017 in the York Weekly, Portsmouth Herald, Foster's Daily and more I  was hiking up Mt Moosilauke last weekend. Toward the start, about 20 feet back from the trail, a Chicken of the Woods mushroom beckoned to us. The size of a stop sign, at least a couple pounds in weight, its bright yellow color glowing, it seemed to be asking us to come collect and eat it. We still had many miles to go so we decided to pick it up on the return. Coming back down we looked and looked but couldn’t find it, I think this loss is probably going to haunt me forever. It looked like the most perfect Chicken of the Woods fungi I have ever seen. Chicken of the Woods on an old oak   Sue Pike photo While I love the subtlety of nature, I also like things that are easy to identify - blue jays and cardinals, oak and maple trees, and edible mushrooms that cannot be mistaken for anything else. Chicken of the Woods fungi are one such mushroom. If you know ...

Wild River Hike Wild River Trail to Black Angel Trail to Basin Trail  Evan's Notch Maine July 18 2016 Overview: This was an approximately 7 mile hike with  1300/1400 feet in elevation. It took us about 5 hours-we didn't walk fast, but also the terrain was rougher than I anticipated--the Black Angel trail, in particular, was where most of the elevation gain occurred.    My hiking partner had a mild injury so picked this as a relatively easy hike.      I thought this hike was going to be low-key and boring (I like hikes that take you above treeline ideally, or at least to good views).  I was wrong. This one didn't have views out over the mountains but was one of the most beautiful hikes I've done.     The Hike: We started at the Wild River Campground (about 5 miles up Wild River Road, a left off of Rte 113 -the beautiful narrow road that winds its way through Evan's Notch).  The Wild River Trail (an old railr...