Camp Squanto was cancelled for the week we planned to go. So instead we went on our own trip to the White Mountains. After driving up, we took the gondola ride to the top of Cannon Mountain. It was a quick ride to the top and the views were great. We camped at the Lafayette campground right in the Franconia Notch valley. The campground had nice sites next to an open field and there was a nice camp store.
The next day we hiked Mt Washington via the Tuckerman Ravine trail. It took us almost 4 hours to hike up. We stopped for extra breaks at some creek crossings. Near the Hermit Shelter, we use the water pump to fill up our water bottles. It was mostly sunny and 60 degrees which was near a record high temperature. At the summit, there were many people who drove up. We took our time to look around from the summit. The hike down was slow with the steep sections and with our legs nearly out of gas. It took almost as long to hike down.
The next day we drove across the White Mountains on the Kancamagus Highway to Fryeburg Maine to canoe 10 miles on the Saco River. We rented 4 canoes from Saco River Canoe & Kayak which worked out well. At the beginning of the canoe trip, progress was slow. But by the end, the scouts had greatly improved their canoeing technique and paddled along swiftly. We nearly had the river to ourselves and only saw a few other people all day. We stopped for a long break at a section with a steep sandy slope that the scouts ran down. The slope also had some clay to play in. At another stop, there was a dead tree over the river that was good for jumping off and swimming. We saw many birds along the river including a bald eagle who watched us from a tall pine tree overhanging the river.
The last day we planned to hike the Franconia ridge. But the weather forecast was for 100% rain. So we decided to drive home early instead.