Climbing a mountain after work? Me too!

Hi Everyone!

So this week I had the pleasure of staying in the beautiful 'Lakes Region' of New Hampshire. It has been a wonderful week of fairs and visits and I have met some great students!

But after a long day of recruiting I wanted to take advantage of these surroundings so a few of us decided to do something different.

So myself and two admission friends, ventured out on a perfect fall afternoon. Destination: Mount Major in Alton, NH. Elevation: 1786 feet. Everest it is not but it is one of the most heavily hiked mountains in New Hampshire.

Joining me on this sojourn were:

Julie from Wentworth Institute of Technology

Nik from St. Joseph's College in Maine

I have to give Nik credit for doing extensive research and bringing this great spot to our attention. He said that it should take about 45 minutes to get to the top...it was more like 1:30 but we did stop a few times.

The first "stop" was not planned. Nik courageously saved Julie and me from what he was sure was a skunk. Upon further review it was actually a black and white dog...A terrier I believe. Needless to say, we didn't let Nik forget about this one for the rest of the hike!

Julie and Nik leading the way

This picture gives you a sense of how beautiful the trail was. It is also a deceptive picture as you may think this was just an easy, flat walk through the woods. Oh not true...not true at all.

See? It's starting to get steep and Nik clearly is ok with that...In fact, more than once, he sprinted up some of the more steep inclines. I chose to not do that and instead take pictures...

Eventually we made it to the first main overlook which was about two-thirds of the way up. We had some fantastic views:

What a view!

Julie and Nik agree. Two thumbs up!

This is proof that I actually went on this hike and didn't just let them borrow my camera as I stayed in the car...

Julie wasn't afraid of the edge!

Nik wasn't either.

I was but I didn't tell anyone.

About 20 minutes later we finally made it all the way to the top. It was worth the wait. There were a good amount of people at the top enjoying the view and taking a much needed break.

Julie checking out the view.

All of us at the top. At this point I couldn't feel my legs...

Concrete evidence that this is a small world? The friendly hiker that took this photo? Her son was an applicant to Stonehill last year and I had accepted him! Although he ultimately decided to go elsewhere, she told me to be on the lookout for her other son who is a sophomore in High School. Travel season takes you all over but I didn't expect to be doing some recruiting at the summit of a mountain! I guess next time a climb one, I'll be sure to bring along a few business cards!

Well that's it for me. I'll be sure to catch up with you all soon!