Timex

I've been wearing a Timex watch ever since I can remember. You remember their slogan: "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking." Well, corollary to that is if something does go wrong with your watch, the Timex Service Center will either repair it or replace it (for a small fee).

In 2008, I brought my Timex Ironman watch to one of those mall kiosks for a battery replacement. Mistake. The waterproof seal was never the same. After several pool swims, the display began to fade. So I sent it in and within a couple weeks they sent me a replacement. They charged me 50% of the original cost of the watch, so 50% of $75 = $37.50. Not bad I thought.

So that replacement had been doing just fine for quite some time, until... well, I like to roll the band around on my wrist. Sometimes I like the face to be on the inside of my wrist and sometimes on the outside, and instead of taking the watch off, I just wrangle/force it around to the other side when I feel like it. All was fine until one day while switching the orientation on my wrist, pop - the band broke. Turns out that the part of the band that broke is permanently molded to the face of the watch. Again, I went through the process of sending in the watch (sent on Aug 18) and just today (Sep 29) - exactly 6 weeks later (a bit long since they said they were a bit swamped lately) received a brand new replacement watch, total amount due: just $10. It's the most recent comparable model to what I had with a heart rate monitor, so it's a very useful, sensitive, quality piece of equipment.

Top: Old watch with broken band (watch itself still works).
Bottom: Brand new replacement watch.

I am a satisfied customer and just wanted to share this brief story.

But while I'm talking about Timex, I'll also share some notes about their foray into the GPS watch space.

Last year I purchased the Timex Global Trainer Ironman GPS watch. I called it the "hockey puck watch" cause it was so big. But it was packed with cool features - especially the ability to track multiple segments in one consecutive workout (e.g. Swim, T1, Bike, T2, Run) so as a triathlete I thought it would be a great training and racing tool. Well, it was a bust. I was happy to be able to use it up in New Hampshire on some long hikes where I used it to chart elevation and topography, but right here in Boston along the open expanse of the banks of the Charles River, I experienced much difficulty "locking" the GPS on satellite signals. Pretty frustrating when you go out for a run, but then have to stand there holding your arm up to the sky for a few minutes while it "searches for satellite". Ugh. And even the times when I was able to get a GPS lock and start a run, often times it would drop partway through and I would lose my speed/distance details. Thankfully I purchased the TGT at REI, and so was able to return it and get my money back.

All that said, I'm hoping Timex has learned from whatever design issues the TGT faced, and have corrected them in their latest soon-to-be offering (expected to be released this Oct 2011): the Timex Run Trainer. From a feature perspective, this is a running watch only. I'm looking forward to trying one out when they're released.

FUNtastic Nantasket Triathlon

I was supposed to do the FUNtastic Nantasket Triathlon (sprint distance) last weekend, but wasn't able to make it. On top of two great days of hiking in NH (see Galehead Hut and Beyond post), some other fun stuff kept me from it. This status update last Sunday morning (the morning of the race) "summed" things up:

Weekend math: [last night] * (Beehive + "Party to Celebrate Everything" + late night dining at Felipe's) + [this afternoon] * (heading down to the Patriots game) = [this morning] * (-sprint triathlon + a little extra sleep + brisk fall run instead)

Galehead Hut and Beyond

Great two-day journey into the mountains of New Hampshire. From Boston took I-93 to Rt. 3 to Gale River Loop Road, about a 2.5 hour drive. Summarized itinerary and stats [trail names in brackets]:

Elevations in order of itinerary:

3,800' - Galehead Hut

4,902' - South Twin Peak

4,761' - North Twin Peak

4,024' - Galehead Peak

4,500' - Garfield Peak

A bonus to this itinerary is checking off four more mountains from the NH 48 4000-footers list, so that makes 18 out of 48 covered thus far. I like these multi-day, multi-peak hikes. And this route did not disappoint in regards to the views and terrain, pictures and captions are further below.

Equipment

Wore my trusty Asics Trabuco Trail running shoes along with my awesomely moisture wicking SmartWool socks. Brought my NorthFace sleeping bag awkwardly bungeed to my REI Flash 30 backpack. Brought an extra nalgene bottle pre-loaded with lemon-line Gatorade powdered mix, but never used it. Just stuck with one water bottle the whole trip (re-filled at the hut) and only drank water, the benefit of a cooler weather outing.

Did all the hiking in hiking pants and a long sleeve tech shirt, usually rolled up the sleeves – and also had arm warmers and light gloves for those cooler spots along the trails. Wore a Mizuno “BreathThermo” hat, great at keeping head and ears warm and dry. For both days hiking temps were between 34F – 45F, perfect if you ask me – cool and insect free hiking!

The Trails

The trails were pretty reasonable. As usual, I did well ascending quickly but kept very cautious while descending. Didn’t tape up either of my ankles, didn’t feel I needed to despite my previous record with sprains. I guess I was crossing my fingers. The toughest trail was the Garfield Ridge Trail (from Galehead Hut to the summit of Mount Garfield) – just didn’t expect a ridge trail to be so undulating and it was pretty rocky too. That said the Mount Garfield Trail which connects back down to the trailhead on Gale River Loop Road from just below the summit of Mount Garfield had to be one of the easiest trails I’ve ever been on in NH. If you are looking for a minimally technical, relatively easy day hike that provides some decent views, I would recommend taking this trail up and down Garfield. The last 10 minutes to the summit are rocky (along the Garfield Ridge Trail), but otherwise – a very forgiving gradient and good footing (comparatively). There are even several stream crossings to keep things fun and interesting. So when taking the Mount Garfield trail down on day 2, since it was such an easy trail, broke into a running gait at times. So much fun cruising down, albeit still an easy pace with a ~14 lb. pack to carry.

The Galehead Hut

Nice hut nestled in the ridge between Mount Galehead and the South Twin Peak. Sleeps 38 in bunks stacked 3 or 4 high. Relatively sparse accommodations providing a mattress, pillow and a couple wool blankets, along with cold running water, dinner and breakfast. The hut is completely off the grid – all the electricity comes from solar panels and a wind turbine on the roof. So that’s pretty cool. I think I saw some propane tanks in the back, so they might use those for cooking. Given that the hut is not heated, it was interesting how in the afternoon the hut was so cold since it was empty, but later at night when it was a full house, it warmed up with everyone’s body heat. I guess 38 people generate a lot of warmth!

Dinner at 6pm was great, my tummy felt full from the vegetarian cuisine prepared for me and a couple other guests. After dinner a few games and a little party ensued (wine and even Macallan scotch were kindly shared). Lights out was around 10pm. Sleeping at night was fine, not nearly as cold as might be expected. It was about 28F outside, but kept toasty warm in my unzipped sleeping bag. The only slight noise was that of the wind turbine on the roof swirling frantically with every gust of wind. The sweetest part though was being awoken at 6:30am to a member of the crew serenading us to “Summertime” from Porgy & Bess. My favorite part of the song was: “One of these mornings / You’re gonna rise up singing / Then you’ll spread your wings / And you’ll take to the sky”. She had a great voice, wish I could wake up every morning to singing like that. Breakfast at 7am was satiating too, while the hut crew performed a skit reminiscent of the old Hans and Franz SNL bit, hilarious breakfast theater, cinnamon sprinkled on oatmeal provided a final warm welcome to the mountains before setting out in 34F morning temps for day 2 of hiking.

Wrap-Up

Lots of interesting people met along the way, including a gentleman celebrating his 50^th birthday with a hut-to-hut trip with his two teenage sons, a roving party group of 10 folks who defined “mountain hut party” and a playfully sparring couple - the wife was exuberantly working her way through her second iteration of the NH 48 4000-footers list, while the husband appeared completely disinterested in anything much to do with mountains, he just wanted to eat lunch at the summit of Garfield. They were funny, but so very happy.

After reaching the Garfield Trailhead, coming off the mountain unscathed, there was a 1.6 mile trek along the Gale River Loop Road back to the car parked at the Gale River Trailhead. Decided to leave the backpack and gear at the Garfield Trailhead and just run the distance (~11 minutes) to fetch the car and return back, body felt great and it was just much easier that way.

As for preparations, probably should have brought a map and should not have forgotten my mobile phone at home before leaving for the trip, but did enough quick research to get through the trails further honing my navigation and dare I say mountaineering skills.

Feel so very fortunate to have spent this time in the mountains, in nature completely off the grid.

Pictures and Captions

(click on an image to enlarge)

All set to start - sleeping bag strapped to backpack - total weight about 14 lbs.

Started out at the Gale River Trailhead

They had just finished (last month, Aug 2011) the new trail replacing the old eroded trail paths.

It's hard to tell even with the backdrop against the dark trees, but it started snowing.
Those are snowflakes that landed on my wrist.

These signs were always helpful. Closing in on the Galehead Hut.

Galehead Hut

Galehead Hut

Outside temp = 34F

Christmas in September?
On the way up to the South Twin Peak from the Galehead Hut.

It doesn't get much prettier than this, does it?

Rocky trail close to the top of the South Twin Peak.

South Twin Peak - view of the Franconia Ridge
(l to r: Flume, Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln, Lafayette)

South Twin Peak looking toward the North Twin Peak

North Twin Spur trail from the South Twin Peak toward the North Twin Peak 

North Twin Peak lookout to the left

Westerly view in the distance of the Franconia Ridge from the North Twin Peak
and of Galehead Mountain in the foreground on the left.
If you look closely you can see the Galehead Hut down the slope of Galehead Mtn.

Southerly view of the frosted over South Twin Peak from the North Twin Peak
and of Galehead Mtn on the right in the picture with the Galehead Hut in view as well.

North Twin Spur trail on the way back up and over the South Twin Peak

A pretty steep section going back towards the South Twin Peak.
That's about 25 feet straight down.

Closing in on the South Twin Peak from the North Twin Peak

Re-summiting the frosted over South Twin Peak coming from the North Twin Peak

Made it back down to the Galehead Hut and headed over to the Frost Trail to ascend Galehead Mountain

The summit of Galehead Mtn - no view

View from an outcropping on Galehead Mtn looking back down at the Galehead Hut
and in the distance North Twin Peak (left) and South Twin Peak (upper right)

Sunset from the Galehead Hut porch

Lights out in the bunks

Member of the Galehead Hut crew setting up for breakfast

Humorous skit by the crew during breakfast

Setting out from the Galehead Hut that morning looking back at the wind turbine and shot of the moon 

Garfield Ridge Trail across from the Galehead Hut to Mount Garfield

Garfield Ridge Trail - undulating and rocky

My 'artsy' shot - stones on the bottom of clear still water reflecting the heights of the trees

Open rock face approach to the summit of Mount Garfield

Final approach to the summit of Mount Garfield.
Remnants of an old fire tower, just a shallow four wall structure.

From the summit of Mount Garfield - Franconia Ridge
(l to r: Flume, Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln, Lafayette)

Owl's Head on the left

Galehead Mtn just over the lip of the stone structure, with the South Twin Peak above it in the center,
saddling the Galehead Hut then the North Twin Peak sweeping to the left and
way off in the distance on the far left - yes, that snow-capped mountain is Mt. Washington.

Galehead Mtn closer on the right hand side, with the South Twin Peak above it in the center,
saddling the Galehead Hut then the North Twin Peak sweeping to the left and
way off in the distance on the far left - yes, that snow-capped mountain is Mt. Washington.

Feeling the peaceful glow of this stream crossing in such a beautiful natural setting.

Thanks for reading and taking a look at all the pictures!

Summer Recap

It's been a while since I posted a recap of my run training miles this year, mostly because I've been battling an injury (left calf strain), so my miles were limited. Well, unfortunately it's still not healed fully, but I'm managing it ok and it hasn't kept me from running lately. A couple other ailments derailed me for a bit, but still managed to log some mileage through the hot summer. Here's the recap:

So happy September is here. My favorite month of the year. Cool enough to get a fast-paced run in without melting and still warm enough to lounge around comfortably. No heat, no fan, no a/c. Just a nice breeze around the Charles River and through the window of my Back Bay abode, where I now kick back and contemplate if I'll hit 1,000 miles this year...