Reset, Recharge, Repeat

When I close my eyes I can see blue sky, green trees, white slushy snow, and slippery rocks.

We meet a lot of great people in this job and get to do some amazing things. As a result, it very often leads to some really nice friendships. This makes sense, right? We build trust. We look out for each other. We push ourselves. We have time on our adventures to engage in conversation and talk about our challenges, hopes, and dreams — though fear not introverts, we can be quiet and enjoy the simple sounds of nature as well, as some guests prefer. This is the stuff that often builds quality bonds between people.

So it’s not that uncommon for a former guest and a guide to have ongoing conversations after trips. Talking about the next visit, reminiscing about the last one or a prior one, maybe asking for a gear recommendation or two, or just checking in. In this case Redline Guide Mike Maciel had been discussing his schedule and availability with a returning guest for a while as she worked out her next visit. She comes up to recharge in nature — her version of a reset. But she had some things going on in her life and wasn’t sure if it was going to be worth making the long drive for just a one-day trip, plus she really wanted some nice weather.

Although our guest may have been uncertain, Mike was anything but. He knew it was expected to be beautiful out and “the mountains were calling.” Those 50-degree sunny, Fall Thursdays are the very types of days Mike left his corporate career for. The only question remaining, really, was if he’d have some company on his hike. After finishing up his trip on the Osceolas and taking his phone off of “airplane mode” as he got back to I-93, he got his answer. It was a go, apparently, as he was greeted by the following text:

"I assume you are in the woods today, just wondering if you are still free tomorrow."

Yes! Twenty minutes later she had a room booked in Lincoln, NH, and was already driving up. Mike set out to grab her a pair of microspikes and to inform us there would be a last minute booking form coming through. He started to put together a plan for a great place to take his guest on a bluebird day and quickly decided on Mt Moosilauke, a popular and beautiful 4802′-foot alpine summit on the 4000-footer list. It would be perfect.

We can let the pictures describe the day, as well as another text from our guest after she had finished the long drive back home:

"When I close my eyes I can see blue sky, green trees, white slushy snow, and slippery rocks."

Sounds to us like it was recharge complete. Looks that way, too…