SherpaKroto
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Ok, I know you just want the Pictures
But here is the report:
A strange sequence of events freed up my entire weekend so I planned to meet shizzmac and Gris in the Great Gulf to tackle the Madison Gulf and Buttress Trails. I always felt this was a big gap in my trail list, and couldn't wait!
At 9:00 AM on Friday my cell phone rang and I heard "Hi, Paul? This is <Ms Gris>. Are you going to see <Gris>?" She was quite concerned as their daughter was having some physical issues on a 2 week backpack trip, and the AMC was trying to make arrangements to have her picked up. I got the info from Ms Gris, called Dara at Pinkham, and realized that plans were going to change, and quickly. I had put in some extra time at work, and asked the boss if I could scoot out a bit earlier than planned. With everyone filled in on the plan, I headed up to NH while Dara drove to East B Hill Rd to retrieve Gris's daughter.
I got to the Great Gulf Trailhead at 5:15PM, and was on the trail by 5:30. I was carrying a heavier than normal pack to train for the coming Rainier trip. I felt pretty good, but was being extra careful with every step. I reached the Bluff by 6:45, stopped to take in the view (one of my favorites), and headed off again at 7:00. I figured Gris and Sean would be at Clam rock, but soon passed it, with no one in sight, so continued on. At Chandler Brook, Gris had hung a note as I asked, and I found out I still had some miles to go as they were camped at the Buttress trail. I was thinking that I would get a nice work out tonight! I made it to a stream crossing and foolishly took the most direct route. The light was fading and I misjudged the angle of the rock, and the distance. Before I knew it, I was off balance, with about a 10 foot drop to a huge boulder awaiting me on my right. I fought with all I had to keep from going over, and realized I was not winning. For what seemed like an eternity, I gave everything I had to try to regain my balance, and finally, a slight nod of my head was what tipped the balance in my favor. I made it across, but sat looking at what could have happened. I've been hiking for a long time, and this shook me up more than any other near miss, or fall. As I looked at what I had avoided, I realized that I was now down to 7 lives...
I soon heard Sean and Gris, and saw their lantern through the trees. These are great guys to backpack with, and this time was no exception. I had carried a few beers up to surprise them, but in their typical fashion, I was outdone. Let's just say that we figure Sean's pack weighed in near 70 lbs. I expected the grill to come out any minute! I filled Gris in, and he took it real well, but knew that his plan to hike 6 Husbands would have to wait. Gris, we owe you a repeat performance. You pick the time! We caught up, wound down, and slowly headed off to the tents.
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, but humid. We lingered a bit longer than expected, and headed off around 10:30. We had agreed to hike out together to the Madison Gulf trail, and part ways there. I was still trying to push, so headed off ahead. I felt great, and got into a zone where I was just moving along the trail (that has not happend to me in years!). It felt great, but all of the sudden, I came out of my trance and thought "Damn, I don't hear the stream anymore, and I KNOW I didn't cross it". At the same time I looked up and sure enough, there was a white blaze, and Lowes Bald Spot could be seen in the very near distance. I was on the Madison Gulf trail, about 2 miles past the turnoff! I've been on the Great Gulf trail so many times, I guess it felt too familiar. Doing a bonehead pirouette, I hot footed it thinking that Sean was saying "Sherp is such an a*hole. He couldn't even wait for me!" I also knew that he'd be pushing hard trying to catch me, not knowing I was about 3 miles behind him! After 40 minutes, I ran into Gris who now has another good Sherp story. He said he had left Sean about 30 minutes before. Yikes! Well, I was going to get the workout I wanted anyway! I corrected my tourist loop, and was soon headed up the Madison Gulf trail toward the hut. It was turning into a long day.
The Madison Gulf trail stands right up and smacks you shortly after leaving the Great Gulf trail. When it's not steep, it's rough. Usually both. All the time you are saying "well, it's steep, but not real bad". then you hit the brook, then the first of the slabs, and you know you've been lulled. If you can relax and take in the beauty, it is everywhere around you. With trying to catch Sean, I was having trouble doing that, but finally just went with the flow - and started having a fantastic time. I heard the birds, drank in the mist from the cascades, felt the small cracks in the slabs. Soon enough - there was Sean talking to an AT section-hiker. A sight for sore eyes indeed! His first words "Sherp, I thought you were such an a*hole for not waiting! I've been pushing hard to catch you!" That was it, and we were off. The rest of the Madison Gulf trail is best told with pictures (see link above). Lets just say we spent a lot of time looking up. Straight up!
We decided that we'd hang out at the hut rather than try to bag Madison summit as neither of us had been on the Buttress Trail before, so wanted to leve ourselves plenty of time. I always get a kick out of the atmosphere at a hut. Today was no different, but at least the ratio was about 4-1 in favor of women to men, so the sights were easier on the eyes (I feel a red square coming for that comment). We hung out and spoke to some guys my age who were doing a presidential hut traverse. They were really enjoying their trip, and it was nice to chat.
Sean and I decided to head out at 6:00 figuring we would have no trouble covering the 2.2 miles to the campsite before dark. As we started down the Buttress trail, I saw two hikers in the distance and told Sean that if it was ok with him I'd let them know that we had plenty of room on our site (the only one in the area). I figured I'd catch them eventually, but was surprised when I had closed the gap within about 20 minutes. I asked them where they were headed, and sure enough, they were heading to our site. We exchanged introductions, and Susan's first question was "when does this trail go down?" Kelly asked me how long I though it would take me, and I said I expected about 2 hours. She told me that she was having problems with her headlamp, and asked if she could borrow mine, saying she knew that she could not get there before dark. I appreciated her willingness to ask a fellow hiker for assistance when the opportunity presented itself, and was only happy to help. I had a second headlamp back at the campsite, and knew I could make it well before sunset. I gave Kelly the headlamp, told them both I was going to head off, and that Sean was right behind me. With that, off I went with a new agenda! I really enjoyed the Buttress trail. It drops rather quickly, then flattens for a wooded section before dropping again steeply to a large boulder field that must be crossed. You get fantastic views along the Great Gulf and Jefferson's Knee from the boulder field. I wanted to hang around, but figured I'd best get to the campsite. After the boulder field, the trail again drops into the scrub, and you soon reach the campsite about .2 miles further. I took off the 2 braces, hopped into the cold water, toweled off, changed, had a snack, relaxed, and starting wondering where everyone was. Sean showed up at 8:30 and said Susan and Kelly were quite a ways behind. Sean went through the same routine I just did, and at 9:10 we were looking at each other and I said "Let's go up to the Boulder field to see how they are doing". We got back up to the field, took in a real nice dusk view, and waited. We found it much warmer than the temps near the natural A/C provided by Jefferson Brook below. I looked at Sean and told him I was going to climb back a few cairns to see how they were doing. Still no sign of them. I yelled back and told Sean I'd continue a bit further, stopping at every cairn to look ahead. Still no one. I finally told Sean I was going to the end of the boulder field, and headed up. With one cairn left, I saw their headlamps, and felt relieved. I heard a voice say "I see a light!", and when they got closer I asked if they were ok. "No - we were just deciding to sleep here". Kelly yelled down to me to ask if I could carry her aunt's pack. I took the opportunity to try to lighten things up by commenting that it was "Susan" a while ago, and were they playing on my sympathy? It seemed to work, though Susan did not want me to carry her pack. I convinced her that we could collectively move better if I carried it as I was well rested. Once they knew things were fine, all went well. We covered the boulder field, and when they both started feeling a bit tired, I pointed out our lantern shining brightly through the spruce at the campsite down below. That put smiles on everyone's faces! We had one more comical moment as "Sherpa the Chivalrous" was so intent on lighting the way for Susan that I lit her way right into a small brook. Smooth...
continued...
But here is the report:
A strange sequence of events freed up my entire weekend so I planned to meet shizzmac and Gris in the Great Gulf to tackle the Madison Gulf and Buttress Trails. I always felt this was a big gap in my trail list, and couldn't wait!
At 9:00 AM on Friday my cell phone rang and I heard "Hi, Paul? This is <Ms Gris>. Are you going to see <Gris>?" She was quite concerned as their daughter was having some physical issues on a 2 week backpack trip, and the AMC was trying to make arrangements to have her picked up. I got the info from Ms Gris, called Dara at Pinkham, and realized that plans were going to change, and quickly. I had put in some extra time at work, and asked the boss if I could scoot out a bit earlier than planned. With everyone filled in on the plan, I headed up to NH while Dara drove to East B Hill Rd to retrieve Gris's daughter.
I got to the Great Gulf Trailhead at 5:15PM, and was on the trail by 5:30. I was carrying a heavier than normal pack to train for the coming Rainier trip. I felt pretty good, but was being extra careful with every step. I reached the Bluff by 6:45, stopped to take in the view (one of my favorites), and headed off again at 7:00. I figured Gris and Sean would be at Clam rock, but soon passed it, with no one in sight, so continued on. At Chandler Brook, Gris had hung a note as I asked, and I found out I still had some miles to go as they were camped at the Buttress trail. I was thinking that I would get a nice work out tonight! I made it to a stream crossing and foolishly took the most direct route. The light was fading and I misjudged the angle of the rock, and the distance. Before I knew it, I was off balance, with about a 10 foot drop to a huge boulder awaiting me on my right. I fought with all I had to keep from going over, and realized I was not winning. For what seemed like an eternity, I gave everything I had to try to regain my balance, and finally, a slight nod of my head was what tipped the balance in my favor. I made it across, but sat looking at what could have happened. I've been hiking for a long time, and this shook me up more than any other near miss, or fall. As I looked at what I had avoided, I realized that I was now down to 7 lives...
I soon heard Sean and Gris, and saw their lantern through the trees. These are great guys to backpack with, and this time was no exception. I had carried a few beers up to surprise them, but in their typical fashion, I was outdone. Let's just say that we figure Sean's pack weighed in near 70 lbs. I expected the grill to come out any minute! I filled Gris in, and he took it real well, but knew that his plan to hike 6 Husbands would have to wait. Gris, we owe you a repeat performance. You pick the time! We caught up, wound down, and slowly headed off to the tents.
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, but humid. We lingered a bit longer than expected, and headed off around 10:30. We had agreed to hike out together to the Madison Gulf trail, and part ways there. I was still trying to push, so headed off ahead. I felt great, and got into a zone where I was just moving along the trail (that has not happend to me in years!). It felt great, but all of the sudden, I came out of my trance and thought "Damn, I don't hear the stream anymore, and I KNOW I didn't cross it". At the same time I looked up and sure enough, there was a white blaze, and Lowes Bald Spot could be seen in the very near distance. I was on the Madison Gulf trail, about 2 miles past the turnoff! I've been on the Great Gulf trail so many times, I guess it felt too familiar. Doing a bonehead pirouette, I hot footed it thinking that Sean was saying "Sherp is such an a*hole. He couldn't even wait for me!" I also knew that he'd be pushing hard trying to catch me, not knowing I was about 3 miles behind him! After 40 minutes, I ran into Gris who now has another good Sherp story. He said he had left Sean about 30 minutes before. Yikes! Well, I was going to get the workout I wanted anyway! I corrected my tourist loop, and was soon headed up the Madison Gulf trail toward the hut. It was turning into a long day.
The Madison Gulf trail stands right up and smacks you shortly after leaving the Great Gulf trail. When it's not steep, it's rough. Usually both. All the time you are saying "well, it's steep, but not real bad". then you hit the brook, then the first of the slabs, and you know you've been lulled. If you can relax and take in the beauty, it is everywhere around you. With trying to catch Sean, I was having trouble doing that, but finally just went with the flow - and started having a fantastic time. I heard the birds, drank in the mist from the cascades, felt the small cracks in the slabs. Soon enough - there was Sean talking to an AT section-hiker. A sight for sore eyes indeed! His first words "Sherp, I thought you were such an a*hole for not waiting! I've been pushing hard to catch you!" That was it, and we were off. The rest of the Madison Gulf trail is best told with pictures (see link above). Lets just say we spent a lot of time looking up. Straight up!
We decided that we'd hang out at the hut rather than try to bag Madison summit as neither of us had been on the Buttress Trail before, so wanted to leve ourselves plenty of time. I always get a kick out of the atmosphere at a hut. Today was no different, but at least the ratio was about 4-1 in favor of women to men, so the sights were easier on the eyes (I feel a red square coming for that comment). We hung out and spoke to some guys my age who were doing a presidential hut traverse. They were really enjoying their trip, and it was nice to chat.
Sean and I decided to head out at 6:00 figuring we would have no trouble covering the 2.2 miles to the campsite before dark. As we started down the Buttress trail, I saw two hikers in the distance and told Sean that if it was ok with him I'd let them know that we had plenty of room on our site (the only one in the area). I figured I'd catch them eventually, but was surprised when I had closed the gap within about 20 minutes. I asked them where they were headed, and sure enough, they were heading to our site. We exchanged introductions, and Susan's first question was "when does this trail go down?" Kelly asked me how long I though it would take me, and I said I expected about 2 hours. She told me that she was having problems with her headlamp, and asked if she could borrow mine, saying she knew that she could not get there before dark. I appreciated her willingness to ask a fellow hiker for assistance when the opportunity presented itself, and was only happy to help. I had a second headlamp back at the campsite, and knew I could make it well before sunset. I gave Kelly the headlamp, told them both I was going to head off, and that Sean was right behind me. With that, off I went with a new agenda! I really enjoyed the Buttress trail. It drops rather quickly, then flattens for a wooded section before dropping again steeply to a large boulder field that must be crossed. You get fantastic views along the Great Gulf and Jefferson's Knee from the boulder field. I wanted to hang around, but figured I'd best get to the campsite. After the boulder field, the trail again drops into the scrub, and you soon reach the campsite about .2 miles further. I took off the 2 braces, hopped into the cold water, toweled off, changed, had a snack, relaxed, and starting wondering where everyone was. Sean showed up at 8:30 and said Susan and Kelly were quite a ways behind. Sean went through the same routine I just did, and at 9:10 we were looking at each other and I said "Let's go up to the Boulder field to see how they are doing". We got back up to the field, took in a real nice dusk view, and waited. We found it much warmer than the temps near the natural A/C provided by Jefferson Brook below. I looked at Sean and told him I was going to climb back a few cairns to see how they were doing. Still no sign of them. I yelled back and told Sean I'd continue a bit further, stopping at every cairn to look ahead. Still no one. I finally told Sean I was going to the end of the boulder field, and headed up. With one cairn left, I saw their headlamps, and felt relieved. I heard a voice say "I see a light!", and when they got closer I asked if they were ok. "No - we were just deciding to sleep here". Kelly yelled down to me to ask if I could carry her aunt's pack. I took the opportunity to try to lighten things up by commenting that it was "Susan" a while ago, and were they playing on my sympathy? It seemed to work, though Susan did not want me to carry her pack. I convinced her that we could collectively move better if I carried it as I was well rested. Once they knew things were fine, all went well. We covered the boulder field, and when they both started feeling a bit tired, I pointed out our lantern shining brightly through the spruce at the campsite down below. That put smiles on everyone's faces! We had one more comical moment as "Sherpa the Chivalrous" was so intent on lighting the way for Susan that I lit her way right into a small brook. Smooth...
continued...
I guess our super hero costumes come in the mail next week 
