Moar New England Hikes!

Hey guys! Or, 您好! I am actually writing this post from Hangzhou, China. Hangzhou is a moderate-sized city in the Zhejiang Province, one of the "top 10 happiest cities in China" according to some vague statistic. I can see why: it is a lot more laid back than its more urban siblings, Shanghai and Beijing, and seems even rather chill in comparison to New York. It is quite nice here, though extremely humid, but it's nothing an A/C can't fix. The driving...is not so chill, though. There are literally no rules on the road, and it seems like seat belts are actually obsolete.

Anyway, a blog entry about my current experience as a mentor for high students in Hangzhou is yet to come. This entry is one I should have written a few weeks ago - my itinerary of yet another pleasant hike in the Whites, the Mt. Jackson-Mt.Webster traverse. It was a smaller distance covered than the last hike I went on (Tripyramid Traverse + more) but it was still full of very risky slopes and rock-climbing type rock formations which required significant climbing.

The plan is in yellow! 

Climbing some waterfall type things along the way.

Some nice forest-y ravines!

Living on the edge, yet in contemplation - it's my style :) 

Now I look super chill here, but getting down was extremely, extremely dangerous.
Basically canyoning without a harness. Dunno if I would do again. 

And finally, behold ... THE VIEW FROM THE TOP! 

Okay, okay, I am totally kidding, That is 100% photoshopped. As you may have guessed from the cliff photo, both mountaintops we climbed were immersed in the clouds, so our view was white, white, and more white. But, the waterfall and cliff climbing certainly made up in excitement for the lack of views, and we rewarded ourselves with dinner at a Mexican restaurant on some highway in NH. 

Because of this side trip, we only returned to Cambridge at 2AM, at which point I did not feel like being dropped off at Kendall to retrieve my bike. What can happen in just one night to a locked bike near MIT Medical? Nothing, right? How wrong I was when I showed up behind MIT Medical the next day, and found both my bike and chain missing. That's what I get for not using U-Locks and being lazy. :D I guess getting a bike stolen is one of those life experience you just have to go through at some point, at least as a motivation to combat your own laziness if nothing else. Moral of the story: Hikes are awesome, bikes are too, but do not sacrifice one for the other if you can help it, and make sure you have some awesome German friends who will give you one of their spare bikes when you need it! :) 

Speaking of my German suitemates, I moved out of Tang this Saturday, feeling a little bit bittersweet. After all, I am leaving this view, which I know I'll miss greatly... 

Even more so, I'll miss the late night conversations with three of my awesome suitemates (two visiting students from Germany and Austria) and one architecture masters student, the 8-hour work day that always allowed for outdoor activities afterwards, free ice cream, late-night bike rides to dances and rinks, the ability to do anything I want whenever I feel like it on the weekends, the tapping of summer rain, random concerts on the streets, making friend with grumpy cats, braving the Charles River winds and currents, stargazing and impromptu tea parties... In short, Boston summer, you rocked!!

Also. Guys. Blog. Come on! I wanna hear about how all your summers are going and what new things and experiences you are having. Allez allez allez!!