July Circus with MITOC - July 28-30

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Leading up to this trip, there was anxious anticipation about the forecasted rain. Nevertheless, the Acadia trip had toughened my skin and I was undeterred by the potential storms. I had enjoyed Acadia despite being soaked for two days and figured that a little rain wouldn't do much harm on this trip to the White Mountains. Plus, the rain would be part of the immersion in nature.

We drove up to the MITOC cabin on Friday night, stopping at Hannaford - a New England grocery chain with a large selection and good prices (thank you low New Hampshire taxes!) - along the way. One group decided to leave soon after trip planning to hike Moosilauke under the moonlight, sleep on the mountain, and wake up for the sunrise. I decided against it for my attachment to sleep and lack of layers for sleeping in mountaintop temperatures. 

When the Moosilauke group returned in the morning, we departed for Morgan-Percival along with part of the all-nighter group. Like most White Mountain trails, the Morgan trail started like a walking path before suddenly increasing in steepness. First it was ladders, then climbing through a cave, and then clinging to the rocks on a narrow section of the trail. Lots of fun!


There were also wild blueberries hidden in the crevices of the rocks!

Near the top of Morgan, we had a beautiful view of Squam Lake.

There were two routes to Percival; we took the cave route. Before reaching the cave section, we had to climb down rocks. I was reminded me of childhood while scooting down the rocks - reminded of scooting down the stairs or climbing up the sofa. Using all fours to feel and maneuver through the rock formations made me feel connected with my roots. I felt far removed from the civilized world where I walk on two feet everywhere - an amazing feeling!

In the caves, we had to take off our backpacks and squeeze through holes that were small enough to test my flexibility but big enough for us to all pass through. It was also nice that there was always a rock to put my foot on or balance myself on. Props to whoever was crazy enough to think of blazing a trail through the rocks! The MITOC leaders really made me feel comfortable on this trail; I probably wouldn't have attempted this trail otherwise.

After the hike, we cleansed ourselves of sticky sweat and bug spray with a swim in the lake. It started to drizzle at that point, but we didn't care - the rain and lake water were both refreshing! By the time we left the lake, the rain had become heavier. After quickly changing in a makeshift changing room, consisting of a tarp hanging from an open trunk door, we headed back to camp.

Dinner was chicken fajitas, cooked in the cabin oven. Having access to a stove, fridge, microwave, and perks of electricity made this Circus a completely different experience from my previous Circus in October 2021. How easy it was to make tea, I marveled even at the end of the Circus. 

Unfortunately due to the rain, there was no campfire so I settled for munching on a few marshmallows instead of my obligatory camping trip s'more. As I drifted off to sleep, my hair smelled like onions and peppers instead of the usual campfire smoke.

The weather on Sunday was beautiful. The day before was humid and rainy, but on Sunday the air was cool and crisp - like a lovely fall day. On the agenda was Roberts which had many lookouts to the lake and surrounding mountains. We took the steep way up and down, but fortunately we were blessed with lush blueberry fields. Some of the blueberries that received the most sun were as big as small grocery store blueberries. We took many delicious blueberry pit stops. Nothing beats popping a handful of blueberries directly from the bush into my mouth!

We got large cups of ice cream before heading back to civilization!





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