HuiYeng
Active member
After my miserable Seward Range hike, I was all set to finish my ADK 46 on either Haystack, Basin or Saddleback, either one would make a great peak to finish. Many interesting hiking options were discussed to make this a memorable finish but I ended up picked the most ridiculous option which may very well be the most memorable one after all. I decided to solo the Haystack and Basin the day before the finish, and then the next day, about 12 hours later, I'd hike in again with my friends to finish on Saddleback.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous the day I hiked Haystack and Basin. I was blessed with clear and warm day and had both magnificent summits all to myself. The trails after JBL were somewhat ragged, with thin snows covered the icy surface, it made the hike just a tad more challenging. But otherwise it was an absolutely fabulous day hiking in the Great Range.
I got back to the Hostel around 7 PM, met up with Damian (WSC) and Bob (NH_Mtn_hiker) and ran into Karen (kmac) who also stayed at the Hostel. Jason and Gillian joined us around 11:30 PM, and all of us the VFTTers take over the entire hostel.
The next morning, we met up with Jay and Mookie at the Garden trail head, a crew of 7 started the trek under a cloudy skies. We felt a couple of drizzle while at the parking lot, and it gradually turned into steady rain when we arrived at the Interior Outpost. We continued on under the cold rain, with Jason's singing to "entertain" us. Hmmm... I'm not sure which one was worst, listening to Jason's rendition of "It's My Party" or the rain
? By the time we reached the east peak of Saddleback, we realized that we forgot our friends Jameson and Korbel at the Hostel, Heaven forbid I should have to finish my ADK #46 sober. So we decided to turn around. We descended down the mountain, back to the Hostel where we're happily reunited with Jameson and Kobel and a couple of fully body red heads. Mookie claimed that he had better things to do than hang around with us and left. I think he was going to the mall to pick up his Britney Spears "Womanizer" outfit for Halloween. Unlike last time when he was wearing Britney's schoolgirl outfit, I hope this time he'll shave his beard, for the children's sake!! Later Jason and Damian cooked us gourmet dinner. After dinner, Gillian tied us down to our chair to play board games, Damian showed off his vast knowledge in Trivial Pursuit and I kicked some asses in the most unlikely game that I can win, Balderdash! We drank, laughed and then drank and laughed some more, what a great company and great way to end the day. "Frick-an-deau"!!
The next morning, with most of the alcohols gone, there's no point of going back up to try to finish my 46 again. So instead, Damian and I headed over to Vermont, finished up my 5th VT 4000 footers on Killington.
7 days later, I finally saved enough gas money for another trip to Adirondack. I recruited 2 suckers, I mean friends to join me. This time, we made sure we have the trust worthy one to bear the alcohol. We made the summit at 11:58 AM under clear blue sky. We spent some quality time at the summit enjoying each other's company, well honestly, I only enjoyed the company of Jameson, Courtney and Kim were just OK. We got off the mountain and drove home under a beautiful crescent moon.
So finally, I want to thank the academy... oh no, the Adirondack Mountain Club, for maintaining the trails and blazing the herdpaths. The Spa-quality ADK mud had nourished my legs, added character to my boots. The cuts and bruises from pushing through some thicker HPs decorated my otherwise smooth arms, leaving a possibly permanent scar on my left arm that was collected from Marshall. No pain no gain, I guess.
Anyway many of you had hiked with me on my quest of 46, I very much appreciate all of you for being there with me. Jay, Jason, Gillian, Damian, Bob, mookie, Kim and Courtney, thanks for making my #46 so special and really memorable. It gives the lyrics "...you would cry too if it happened to you..." a whole different meaning to me from now on.
Pictures from Haystack, Basin and Saddleback and Saddleback the sequel
The weather was absolutely gorgeous the day I hiked Haystack and Basin. I was blessed with clear and warm day and had both magnificent summits all to myself. The trails after JBL were somewhat ragged, with thin snows covered the icy surface, it made the hike just a tad more challenging. But otherwise it was an absolutely fabulous day hiking in the Great Range.
I got back to the Hostel around 7 PM, met up with Damian (WSC) and Bob (NH_Mtn_hiker) and ran into Karen (kmac) who also stayed at the Hostel. Jason and Gillian joined us around 11:30 PM, and all of us the VFTTers take over the entire hostel.
The next morning, we met up with Jay and Mookie at the Garden trail head, a crew of 7 started the trek under a cloudy skies. We felt a couple of drizzle while at the parking lot, and it gradually turned into steady rain when we arrived at the Interior Outpost. We continued on under the cold rain, with Jason's singing to "entertain" us. Hmmm... I'm not sure which one was worst, listening to Jason's rendition of "It's My Party" or the rain
? By the time we reached the east peak of Saddleback, we realized that we forgot our friends Jameson and Korbel at the Hostel, Heaven forbid I should have to finish my ADK #46 sober. So we decided to turn around. We descended down the mountain, back to the Hostel where we're happily reunited with Jameson and Kobel and a couple of fully body red heads. Mookie claimed that he had better things to do than hang around with us and left. I think he was going to the mall to pick up his Britney Spears "Womanizer" outfit for Halloween. Unlike last time when he was wearing Britney's schoolgirl outfit, I hope this time he'll shave his beard, for the children's sake!! Later Jason and Damian cooked us gourmet dinner. After dinner, Gillian tied us down to our chair to play board games, Damian showed off his vast knowledge in Trivial Pursuit and I kicked some asses in the most unlikely game that I can win, Balderdash! We drank, laughed and then drank and laughed some more, what a great company and great way to end the day. "Frick-an-deau"!!The next morning, with most of the alcohols gone, there's no point of going back up to try to finish my 46 again. So instead, Damian and I headed over to Vermont, finished up my 5th VT 4000 footers on Killington.
7 days later, I finally saved enough gas money for another trip to Adirondack. I recruited 2 suckers, I mean friends to join me. This time, we made sure we have the trust worthy one to bear the alcohol. We made the summit at 11:58 AM under clear blue sky. We spent some quality time at the summit enjoying each other's company, well honestly, I only enjoyed the company of Jameson, Courtney and Kim were just OK. We got off the mountain and drove home under a beautiful crescent moon.
So finally, I want to thank the academy... oh no, the Adirondack Mountain Club, for maintaining the trails and blazing the herdpaths. The Spa-quality ADK mud had nourished my legs, added character to my boots. The cuts and bruises from pushing through some thicker HPs decorated my otherwise smooth arms, leaving a possibly permanent scar on my left arm that was collected from Marshall. No pain no gain, I guess.
Anyway many of you had hiked with me on my quest of 46, I very much appreciate all of you for being there with me. Jay, Jason, Gillian, Damian, Bob, mookie, Kim and Courtney, thanks for making my #46 so special and really memorable. It gives the lyrics "...you would cry too if it happened to you..." a whole different meaning to me from now on.
Pictures from Haystack, Basin and Saddleback and Saddleback the sequel
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