Day 2: Verso l'alto!

The hike begins.

On Tuesday, I participated in a favorite pasttime of one of my patron nearly-saints, Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati: HIKING! Our group took a two-hour drive out to the 4,000ft Cannon Mountain, of the White Mountains range. To be honest, the hike to the summit was more strenuous than I expected; however, I embraced the challenge and prayed for Bl. Pier Giorgio's intercession along the way :)  Along the way, we saw bubbling brooks, dense forests, lush moss, and even a little lark. The best part was the camaraderie, the fellowship, the doing-with. We kept each other going, and I grew in my friendship with my fellow hikers.

The physical struggle was absolutely worth it. The view from the top was incredible, absolutely breathtaking. There was even a tower to catch a clearer view. Here are some of my pictures from the top:

[PS to Austria students: no, couldn't climb this one :P ]

The hike and the view brought me back to Book Mountain in the town of Gaming, Austria, where I spent the fall semester of my sophomore year. I still cannot believe that I will be studying abroad again just two years after Austria! Here are some photos from Austria Fall 2010:

Cross Rock, Rebecca and Victoria

Adventures of Braun Hilda

THE BOOK

Gaming, Austria, in Winter

Shrine of Mariazell Pilgrimage ~ Austria

Abby and Victoria at Mariazell

With friends at Durnstein in the Danube River Valley

At the top of Cannon Mountain, our group stopped for a picnic lunch, read Gerard Manley Hopkins' poems "God's Grandeur" and "Pied Beauty," and chuckled over a section of Jane Austen's amusing History of England. Two students that participated in the Oxford program last year shared their experiences and recommendations. After taking in the view for a little while longer, we began our descent down the mountain. Though it was easier and faster than the journey up, the journey down still presented some slippery rocks, sliding gravel, and steep steps.

Atop Cannon Mountain - so windy my ponytail stuck straight out to the side!

The journey down.

A sampling of foliage.

Love the way this photo turned out - captured the sun in a star shape! 

It turned out that we took the wrong path down; we ended up on the other side of the mountain, quite a ways away from the van. So, of course, two of the guys hitched a ride to the parking lot and brought the van around to the rest of us. On the way back, we had quite the time finding a gas station that wasn't out of regular fuel, enabling us to take a short driving tour of the town of Franconia. [If ever you are looking for a quaint motel in New Hampshire, this town is full of them.]

Finally, we returned to TMC and had dinner. Afterwards, a few of us read some Anglo-Saxon poetry ("The Ruin" and "The Battle of Maldon") over Shock-Top and discussed the significance of poetry as the method of transmitting the memory of the English people in preparation for the next day's lecture.

In Christ through Mary,

Victoria

The Ruins of the Castle at Durnstein, Austria