Willoughby
Member
With apologies to Tom & Atticus.
Yesterday I climbed Mt. Garfield via the Mt. Garfield and Garfield Ridge trails with my friend Diapensia. The trails were clear. The skies were overcast; the promised clearing never arrived. The views were nonetheless spectacular, under and through the overcast. It was an awesome way to complete my NH 48!
I decided over a year ago that I would finish on Garfield. Many of my early climbs were in the Pemi, and I grew to love the wildness and isolation of the area. I wanted to have views of this special place on my last climb - and I also wanted a view of another special place, the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, that has been a pillar of my life for over 4 decades now. So I set Garfield aside as I worked through the list.
The peak was chosen far in advance, but the idea of company came much later. I hiked most of the 48 solo, enjoying the time with myself, and the feeling (however temporary) of not being responsible to anyone else. Life presses in so much, I go to the woods to escape that pressure, and I found it easier to go alone. But much as I enjoy my own company, I decided it would be more celebratory to go with a friend, and Diapensia and I had been planning to hike together for at least 3 years.
We got a later start than I usually would - not least because we ran into bad traffic on the way north - and had lunch along the trail. I yakked most of the way up, and never pulled out my camera from the trailhead to just below the summit. We reached the Garfield Ridge Trail, made the right turn, and then paused partway up to admire the views. Just below the summit Diapensia stood aside, then took pictures as I made the final ascent.
The summit views were everything I could have expected. The Twins up close, and Franconia ridge on the other side; wonderful pre-Fall colors in the valley looking south and on Owl's Head. We played name-the-peak as the clouds covered and revealed them, and spotted 30-some of the 4Ks. The Bonds stayed hidden the whole hour and a half we were up there, except for Bondcliff that eventually peeked out. A couple clouds covered Garfield as they blew up from the South, then cleared off. It was very odd to be looking through near haze, as the sun brightened on the Sandwich range.
There was one person on the summit when we arrived, he had been there for hours hoping for the right light. He hung out with us for a while as we celebrated, then headed back down. One hiker transited along the GRT below us, with his dog, but skipped the summit. And later on a father and son team came up for a while. But it was never crowded, and mostly it felt like the landscape was our own.
And the views North! We had the best view of the Willoughby gap that I've seen in many months; despite the overcast we could see between Pisgah and Hor and on to Roundtop in Quebec. We could see to Jay Peak, ~70 miles away, and into Maine as well.
Garfield was a fine place to finish. Our trip down was uneventful, as was our drive home (with an impromptu stop for Sushi in Concord). My thanks to Diapensia for interrupting the work week, and to the entire Views community for - knowingly or not - guiding, comforting, inspiring, and galling me through this trek.
Enjoy your hikes, everyone!
Final view from just below the summit:
The rest of my pictures are here.
Willoughby
NH 4K 48/48
NE 4K 53/67
NH T3000 84/140 (!)
Yesterday I climbed Mt. Garfield via the Mt. Garfield and Garfield Ridge trails with my friend Diapensia. The trails were clear. The skies were overcast; the promised clearing never arrived. The views were nonetheless spectacular, under and through the overcast. It was an awesome way to complete my NH 48!
I decided over a year ago that I would finish on Garfield. Many of my early climbs were in the Pemi, and I grew to love the wildness and isolation of the area. I wanted to have views of this special place on my last climb - and I also wanted a view of another special place, the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, that has been a pillar of my life for over 4 decades now. So I set Garfield aside as I worked through the list.
The peak was chosen far in advance, but the idea of company came much later. I hiked most of the 48 solo, enjoying the time with myself, and the feeling (however temporary) of not being responsible to anyone else. Life presses in so much, I go to the woods to escape that pressure, and I found it easier to go alone. But much as I enjoy my own company, I decided it would be more celebratory to go with a friend, and Diapensia and I had been planning to hike together for at least 3 years.
We got a later start than I usually would - not least because we ran into bad traffic on the way north - and had lunch along the trail. I yakked most of the way up, and never pulled out my camera from the trailhead to just below the summit. We reached the Garfield Ridge Trail, made the right turn, and then paused partway up to admire the views. Just below the summit Diapensia stood aside, then took pictures as I made the final ascent.
The summit views were everything I could have expected. The Twins up close, and Franconia ridge on the other side; wonderful pre-Fall colors in the valley looking south and on Owl's Head. We played name-the-peak as the clouds covered and revealed them, and spotted 30-some of the 4Ks. The Bonds stayed hidden the whole hour and a half we were up there, except for Bondcliff that eventually peeked out. A couple clouds covered Garfield as they blew up from the South, then cleared off. It was very odd to be looking through near haze, as the sun brightened on the Sandwich range.
There was one person on the summit when we arrived, he had been there for hours hoping for the right light. He hung out with us for a while as we celebrated, then headed back down. One hiker transited along the GRT below us, with his dog, but skipped the summit. And later on a father and son team came up for a while. But it was never crowded, and mostly it felt like the landscape was our own.
And the views North! We had the best view of the Willoughby gap that I've seen in many months; despite the overcast we could see between Pisgah and Hor and on to Roundtop in Quebec. We could see to Jay Peak, ~70 miles away, and into Maine as well.
Garfield was a fine place to finish. Our trip down was uneventful, as was our drive home (with an impromptu stop for Sushi in Concord). My thanks to Diapensia for interrupting the work week, and to the entire Views community for - knowingly or not - guiding, comforting, inspiring, and galling me through this trek.
Enjoy your hikes, everyone!
Final view from just below the summit:
The rest of my pictures are here.
Willoughby
NH 4K 48/48
NE 4K 53/67
NH T3000 84/140 (!)
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