Turnbill
Member
The temperature fell to 34 in the shelter during the night. I woke up to feel poor Nell shivering next to me. I pulled my down jacket out of my pack and threw it over her and after a short time she warmed up and slept soundly. By 4:00 AM Nell was ready to get up. Every rustle coming from the direction of Carl, the hiker who had showed up the previous evening, caused her to lift her head, look over my bag and whine. Carl had set up a small bivy sack in the shelter to ward off the wind, which had been blowing through the lean-to frequently all night, and Nell was very curious about it. At 5:00 I decided I’d been staring at the ceiling of the shelter long enough and began to get up. At the same time, Carl unzipped his bivy, which Nell took as an invitation to visit.
Carl and I made breakfast and packed up. He was headed in the same direction as me, and we flip-flopped on the trail most of the day, as one or the other of us took a break. The wind was still blowing strong, but there was more sun then clouds as I headed up the trail. Today was the Official Day of the One Day on the AT Photo Project, so I made a quick jaunt back up to Barren to take a few shots for the record. I then returned to my pack at the junction of the Cloud Pond side trail and headed towards Fourth Mtn.
I have to say that, though I had heard the trail was very difficult, with lots of ups and downs, I found it to be a very nice hike as well as really beautiful. Yes, the trail does cross one slate ridge after another for it’s whole length, but between each ridge were wonderful little valleys, with mossy streams and open woods full of great spots to camp. Fourth Mtn Bog was really nice, though if it had been warmer, I imagine it would have been black fly hell.
At around 8:30, Nell and I took a coffee break on the summit of Fourth Mtn, where there were limited views, but it was sunny and warm and out of the wind. We hiked on to Monument Cliff on Third Mtn, where the views were better, but the wind was much stronger. Though it was about 11:30, the temperature was still in the low 40’s. Still, we managed to find a sunny, sheltered spot and took a break for lunch. We headed out again and after taking a side trail to look at West Chairback Pond, crossed Columbus Mtn at around 1:00 and reached Chairback Gap Lean-to shortly after.
Originally, I had planned to spend the night here, but it was still early in the day and the last forecast I had heard called for rain on Monday. The clouds were starting to fill in again and rain certainly looked like a possibility. So, after a short break, I decided to push on through the last 4 miles back to the KIW Road. We crossed Chairback Mtn., our last summit, at around 2:00 and then began the very steep decent down a talus slope. I wondered if I had made the right decision to continue, as my legs were getting a bit wobbly, but after we made it to the bottom the rest of the trail was fairly easy. The temperature also warmed up considerably and was over 60 (which felt tropical after two days in the 40’s) by the time we reached the KIW Road. We arrived back at the car at around 3:30 and were surprised to find the parking area totally full, with cars and trucks lining the road for a quarter mile on either side. As we loaded up, I got the first and only black fly bite of the trip.
Anyway, great trip and a big thanks to the folks who helped me plan for it!
Day 2 Photos
Carl and I made breakfast and packed up. He was headed in the same direction as me, and we flip-flopped on the trail most of the day, as one or the other of us took a break. The wind was still blowing strong, but there was more sun then clouds as I headed up the trail. Today was the Official Day of the One Day on the AT Photo Project, so I made a quick jaunt back up to Barren to take a few shots for the record. I then returned to my pack at the junction of the Cloud Pond side trail and headed towards Fourth Mtn.
I have to say that, though I had heard the trail was very difficult, with lots of ups and downs, I found it to be a very nice hike as well as really beautiful. Yes, the trail does cross one slate ridge after another for it’s whole length, but between each ridge were wonderful little valleys, with mossy streams and open woods full of great spots to camp. Fourth Mtn Bog was really nice, though if it had been warmer, I imagine it would have been black fly hell.
At around 8:30, Nell and I took a coffee break on the summit of Fourth Mtn, where there were limited views, but it was sunny and warm and out of the wind. We hiked on to Monument Cliff on Third Mtn, where the views were better, but the wind was much stronger. Though it was about 11:30, the temperature was still in the low 40’s. Still, we managed to find a sunny, sheltered spot and took a break for lunch. We headed out again and after taking a side trail to look at West Chairback Pond, crossed Columbus Mtn at around 1:00 and reached Chairback Gap Lean-to shortly after.
Originally, I had planned to spend the night here, but it was still early in the day and the last forecast I had heard called for rain on Monday. The clouds were starting to fill in again and rain certainly looked like a possibility. So, after a short break, I decided to push on through the last 4 miles back to the KIW Road. We crossed Chairback Mtn., our last summit, at around 2:00 and then began the very steep decent down a talus slope. I wondered if I had made the right decision to continue, as my legs were getting a bit wobbly, but after we made it to the bottom the rest of the trail was fairly easy. The temperature also warmed up considerably and was over 60 (which felt tropical after two days in the 40’s) by the time we reached the KIW Road. We arrived back at the car at around 3:30 and were surprised to find the parking area totally full, with cars and trucks lining the road for a quarter mile on either side. As we loaded up, I got the first and only black fly bite of the trip.
Anyway, great trip and a big thanks to the folks who helped me plan for it!
Day 2 Photos
