There is a gorgeous hike in New Hampshire at Franconia Notch State Park – it's part of the White Mountains and has been featured in National Geographic's top hikes in the world. At the top there are 360-degree views for over a mile along the ridge. Dave and I had been trying to go hiking there for months - each weekend it was either bad weather or we were too busy or tired from the week. Finally on November 5th the timing worked out for us to go.

The day before our hike, I was looking at the weather and realizing that NH is definitely colder than MA, and also that Franconia Ridge is only 1,000 feet shorter than Mount Washington - which means that the weather there is pretty rough around this time of year - they were predicting 32 degrees and snow flurries for the summit. I texted Dave to let him know and ask if we should change our plans and just wait until next summer to go to the mountain. We probably wouldn't be able to see any of the awesome views if there were clouds in our way anyway.

Dave did not want to change plans. He assured me everything would be okay. This is what made me think that something was up - because usually he's pretty easy going and we probably would've decided not to go. So I went with it.

I got to his house at 7:00AM so that we could drive up to Conway, NH to get breakfast at Peaches – a place he had been to before and loves. We drove the two hours up there, walked up to the door, only to find that it was closed for the weekend. Not to be defeated, we quickly looked up other breakfast places on Yelp, and were able to walk to the next best rated one - and get a seat right away. I should note that the restaurant was packed, and we only got a seat right away because we had two in our party instead of three or four. We did get a lot of glares from the other potential patrons as we walked past to be seated.

We finished breakfast and drove the last hour to the trail head. We started hiking - after a minor incident trying to find bathrooms (apparently the visitor center closes for the season around October 31st - so you had better not have to use the facilities after that). The first part of the hike was pretty awesome - it felt warmer than I thought it would be, the woods smelled amazing - there were pretty babbling brooks... it was WONDERFUL.

At first, most of the hikers looked like us - amateur hikers geared up in jeans and sneakers. Then about halfway through, there was a radical shift, and everyone looked like they were dressed to go on an expedition with Sir Edmund Hillary. They were wearing crampons, carrying backpacks full of rappelling gear, etc. etc. Serious hikers. A few of them, eyeing us in our sneakers and thin jackets, asked if we were going to hike up to the ridge. When we told them that we had planned on it, they immediately cautioned us against it - "It's winter up there! You're not dressed for it." So we had to reevaluate.

We decided that we would make it up to the hut that was located right at the crest of the mountain, and then head back down after that - just so we could say that we made it to at least a small summit. The way up was treacherous because of all of the snow and ice - I seriously thought that I was going to break my face and have to take a life flight off the mountain. Needless to say, there was a LOT of prayer involved.

We finally made it to the hut, which was closed and boarded up for the season. There were groups of people milling around here and there - we decided to go to the other side of the hut to eat our trail mix and drink some water. We had a spontaneous snowball fight (because obviously – there was snow), ate our food, and then Dave said "Well – do you want to head back down?"

At this point, I thought that I had misread this whole thing and that this was actually just a fun adventure hike and nothing more. Oh well. Not a big deal. At least I got some exercise, and it was very pretty.

So I turned around to pack up my stuff and get moving. But then – catching me off-guard, Dave said, "Oh, but before we go back down..." and he knelt down on one knee in the snow, holding up the ring, and said,

"Maybe this will encourage you on the way down. Will you marry me?"

I don't know if guys do this or not, but girls definitely picture that moment in their heads and envision what they'll say.

I said none of the things I was going to say.

Here is what I said: First, "Oh my goodness..." and then, "Yes, obviously!" What weirdo says "yes, obviously?!"

Thankfully Dave is still willing to marry me after that, and I'm so glad – because he is my favorite person. I mean, who else would plan an epic mountaintop proposal adventure? My adventure buddy for life, that's who.

Yes I know that's mushy, and no I don't care.

Travel

Courtyard Boston Milford