What a beautiful, beautiful weekend! Cool, clear and bright... one to remember come the dog days of August.

Saturday I returned to Peary Mountain in Brownfield to complete the hike I started a couple weeks ago, but cut short due to camera problems. I retraced my steps to the south summit, about a mile of moderate walking.

Views to Kearsarge North and Mt. Washington from south summit of Peary Mountain, Brownfield.
All photos by Carey Kish

The big granite bench was there to greet me, and plunking down, I was once again treated to a mountain panorama that ranged from Mount Chocurua to Mount Washington to the Royces in Evans Notch. Snow still streaked the flanks of the big Rockpile. What a day to be up there!

Here, on Peary, I had lunch guests: black flies. Not many and not too bad, but still you know there's more to come. So I bugged up with juice and took care of the minor annoyance.

Bluets on the trail to Peary Mountain.

This time all went well with the new mini-tripod. Nothing like having fully charged batteries to help with the picture taking!

The north summit is another 15 minutes along the ridge. The trail there is less worn, but if you stick to the ridge it's straightforward.

Once on top there's a fabulous view of sprawling Pleasant Mountain. It's well worth the extra effort.

Pleasant Mountain from the north summit of Peary.

Back to the car I trundled up Route 113 to Fryeburg and slid into the Jockey Cap Country Store & Motel. It's the trailhead for Jockey Cap, a short, fun climb that I hadn't done since my rock climbing days a few years back.

The trail up Jockey Cap starts in-between the Jockey Cap store and motel.

I took the old trail to the right that parallels the road, then shoots up the dome at a steep grade. I could just as easily have clambered up the left side. Either way, it's 10 minutes, maybe 15 and you're up. You can't beat the views for the brief effort.

The cliffs of Jockey Cap through the trees on the hike up.

And owing to the unique profile survey monument on top, dedicated to Admiral Robert E. Peary himself (a Fryeburg resident from 1878-79), you can identify every peak large and small in a 360-degree circle. It's a must-see!

The unique profile survey monument on top of Jockey Cap, dedicated to Admiral Robert E. Peary, the famed polar explorer.

Thanks to the monument it's possible to identify all the mountains in a 360-degree arc.

Ice cream and a cold beverage at the store below capped off a fine day on the trail.

Sunday was a different day, a day of outdoor-related stuff, but little physical activity. Got to have 'em every now and then.

The trunk of the car was unloaded, and out came snowshoes, ice ax, ski boots and poles, crampons.

Off came the ski rack. On went the kayak rack.

Out came the chainsaw for a good test run, along with tools and safety gear, bar oil and gas et al, for next weekend's maintenance trip to East Carry Pond to knock out the blowdowns on my section of the AT.

Then the backpack was loaded up with gear for a long Memorial Weekend hike.

And so the day went, interspersed with the occasional Corona with lime to keep the thirst at bay. All good.

What was your weekend in the outdoors like?

Anybody know the scoop on Admiral Peary's time in Fryeburg? I'm curious to know that bit of history.