Randolph NH 2019 Adventures – Adaptive Mount Adams Hike

After being married to Barton for 15 years, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if you say – he can’t – oh, Barton will. With a gleam in the eye. And a contagious smile that will convinces the most fiercest skeptic.

One of Barton’s bucket list items has been to climb Mount Adams in the White Mountains, NH. Why?

Eight Cutter cabins, what I have called “Cutterville” are in the valley, looking at the full White Mountain Range. We sit on the back porch looking at the clouds shift and move over Mount Adams. And, as a child, Barton couldn’t romp with family as they climbed the family mountain trails. He would see the spark of a mirror and dreamed of the trails through the mountain range.

Last year, Barton and a friend from CTI Leadership began scheming about a way to get Barton up the mountain range. So when we planned two whole weeks up in the Randolph cabin’s this year, the plan was afoot.

We connected with the Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country.

The director did several recons, and the news was not great – the trails were tough. It was recommended we choose another mountain. But Barton convinced them that it wasn’t the pretty vistas he was after, it was a hike on family land. And they were willing to give it a go. Maybe not the Summit – but a shorter hike. To get a feel for what was possible.

In the meantime, we chose a few dates, put the word out to family, and watched the weather. The day before, it was 50/50 chance – and again, we convinced our partners to give it a go. Let’s just see what happens.

The morning of the hike, over 30 family members and friends of all ages showed up with backpacks and water in toe. Barton’s cousin even let me borrow her mountain hiking boots.

We moved Barton into a wheelbarrow / rickshaw contraption and headed through the woods.

It takes 6 people to volunteer to get the adaptive wheels moving – one in the back and front, the two real haulers. And four side walkers – two on each side.

The trails were so narrow, many times we had to drop the reigns on the side to move around trees and through brush.

We stopped at an amazing waterfall for lunch.

I had a blast, hot and sweaty after about five minutes on the trail. My dad and stepmom were even able to make it,

and they were in much better shape than I was. On the way down, stepping over crystalized rock, I was in awe of the land, how precious our land is, how it is changing, and our unintended impact.

I loved it, soaking in every view of being in the woods, winding around creeks, slopping through mud, scrambling over rocks. It was the most fun on a hike I had ever had!

Yes, we did get rained on a bit, and we broke out the rain gear. Breaks for water. They were hauling Barton up that mountain in record pace.

What I love most, was how Barton mentioned on the way down the mountain, the angle was just right and after going over rocks and boulders, the pace felt like he was walking.