Its been a month since my last post and I have to admit, this is the longest quiet spell that KW has had in a while. Life has sent me into a tailspin and I have been living by the motto "when you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on". After a few stressful weeks, I decided to step away from some of the noise. I grabbed my dog, my friends, and my camping gear and headed north for a weekend in the woods and on a quiet lesser-known lake in Central New Hampshire.
Squam Lake is the smaller quiet neighbor to famous Lake Winnipesaukee. It is located just below New Hampshire's famous White Mountains in the middle of the state, an area called 'The Lakes Region". Big Squam is 6,791 acres, 6 miles long, 4 miles wide and 98 feet deep with 61 miles of shoreline. It is the second-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire.
I posted about this beautiful lake and my secret camping and beach spot on the lake here. I was hesitant to share this beautiful part of New England as we all know instagram and social media has ruined many a good "secret spot". But while I am sharing this lake which does have a touristy area and swimming locations, I am greedily keeping this secret campground and beach to myself.
The weekend I fondly labeled "attempt #1 to regain my sanity" started with an early Saturday morning drive up to New Hampshire. An early start meant out the door by 7am to make the 3.5 hour drive north. The drive was uneventful and included the essential stops like bathrooms, gas, and the state liquor store. By 11 am we were setting up at the beach- unfolding lawn chairs, tying up hammocks, lightening the coolers, and blowing up our array of lake floats.
We spent the day lounging on the beach with no itinerary, something I had not done in a very long time (a very, very long time). Sipping cold beer, eating sandwiches, floating on the lake, reading, and swinging in hammocks on a perfectly warm sunny 80 degree day. Not too hot, not too cold, just one of those perfect summer days (even though its still techinically spring). When the sun started to set, we headed to our campsite where we set up our tents, started a fire, and cooked up our dinner.
Dinner was pre skewered chicken and veggie kabobs with an orzo pasta salad. The night ended with s'mores and bourbon by the fire. When enough bourbon had pumped through our bloodstream to make sleeping on the floor much more enjoyable, we headed to our tents for the night. I fell quickly asleep in the quiet woods with a few of the many trees on a perfect camping 52 degree night. I left the rain fly off and bundled up in my sleeping bag, swapping the nightly white of a box fan and ping of a cell phone for frogs, birds, coyotes, and wind in the trees.
Dinner was pre skewered chicken and veggie kabobs with an orzo pasta salad. The night ended with s'mores and bourbon by the fire. When enough bourbon had pumped through our bloodstream to make sleeping on the floor much more enjoyable, we headed to our tents for the night. I fell quickly asleep in the quiet woods with a few of the many trees on a perfect camping 52 degree night. I left the rain fly off and bundled up in my sleeping bag, swapping the nightly white of a box fan and ping of a cell phone for frogs, birds, coyotes, and wind in the trees.
In the morning we packed our bags and spent a few more hours relaxing at the beach before making the 3.5 hour drive back "south" to Connecticut. It was just two days in New Hampshire but it was the reset I needed to maintain a portion of the sanity. No schedule, nowhere to be, nothing to do but relax in my hammock and put a dent in my book.
Lots of updates coming your way including my Stonington post two years in the making, and a little bit about my new hometown.
Lots of updates coming your way including my Stonington post two years in the making, and a little bit about my new hometown.
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