Tom Rankin
Well-known member
(Tuesday at the Hudson Valley Beer night, we had a few Keegan Ales)
(Wednesday we had dinner at the Gilded Otter Brew pub.)
We drove up to Vermont Thursday night and stayed with Pamola and Whichway. We hit the People's Pint on the way up. A few more good beers were quaffed at Chez Pamola.
Friday we got up early and picked up Paradox and Zippy, and headed to Whiteface and Passaconaway. We went up the Blueberry Ledge Trail and hit Whiteface first. It was warm and the mosquitoes were out in force, along with a few black flies. I was feeling a little slow, but we made it to the top in around 3 hours. The views were ok, but it was a little hazy. Snow was almost non-existent and the trails were pretty dry. Onward to Passaconaway. The drop between the 2 is about 750 feet, and it took a while but we made it. The small spring stream near the top was awesome! We drank a lot of water here! Mmmmmm. Passaconaway has a view just before the summit, and a spur trail to the treed summit. After waiting for Laurie and Paradox to go down the LONG view trail north of the summit, we headed off. The way down was mostly gradual, and we arrived back in about 9 hours.
Paradox calculated that we had done about 12 miles, 4,100' of elevation gain and burned about 4,000 calories! So to celebrate we drove back to his house, showered and then hit the Woodstock Station. Again, Mmmmmm!
Saturday we went alone to Zealand. The weather was cool, and just about right for hiking. We went up from the Zealand campground and passed the beaver ponds, fully expecting to see a moose any second. Unfortunately, we did not. We stopped briefly at the hut and had a nice long drink. The presence of electricity, toilets, a well-pump, propane, etc. made it not quite a wilderness experience, but the view from the front porch is truly wilderness! We continued up the now steep trail and made it to the ridge, where the view point is SPECTACULAR! We could see a huge amount of the Pemi, and several of the Presis. Wow!
Continuing on, we went over a few bumps along the Twin Way. There was a little snow here and there, and about 4 FEET in one place!
But fortunately, it was still firm. The summit of Zealand is treed, but there is a very pretty sign there. We met Buffalo at the top and another young man just as we started down. Nice to chat with you!
The way back was uneventful, with a brief stop at the now busy hut. It's a fairly easy trail to the hut and there lots of kids and families there. But we saw a couple that was trying to bring up their child in a 3 wheeled stroller. It was NOT working!
We had dinner at Moat Mountain Brewery in North Conway.
Sunday we went to Garfield. We bumped into Denise the night before at the Hotel, and decided to hike with her. We drove to the West end of the Gale River Loop, but it was gated. So, we went back to the East end and found the road open past the Galehead TH and all the way to the Garfield TH. We started out with the temps around 50 and the prediction of no rain for several hours. WRONG! It started raining about half way up. We put on rain gear and continued. At least the trail was in good shape, and well graded. We made good time and reached the junction and then shortly after, the open summit. There was some snow and ice near the top but nothing that could not be navigated in bare boots with a little care. The rain was coming down pretty hard at the top and it was cold and windy. My choice of a poncho was not a good one! It blew up over my face, making it hard to breathe, and soaking me from top to bottom! After wrestling it back in place, we beat it back below the tree line. Back to the car in 5 hours total.
On the walk back, the rain stopped, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out! Exactly what the forecast did NOT predict! Argh! But we did notice that the summit was still in the clouds even several hours after we got back to the Hotel. So, maybe there were no views for anyone until much later in the day. Italian Oasis was closed, so we had some good food and beers at Faybans near Bretton Woods. The Mets were unable to complete the sweep but they did win 2 out of 3!
So now it's Sunday night. Tomorrow we're driving back and trying to hit a couple of fire towers and make it 7 brewpubs in 7 days!
Stay tuned...
(Wednesday we had dinner at the Gilded Otter Brew pub.)
We drove up to Vermont Thursday night and stayed with Pamola and Whichway. We hit the People's Pint on the way up. A few more good beers were quaffed at Chez Pamola.
Friday we got up early and picked up Paradox and Zippy, and headed to Whiteface and Passaconaway. We went up the Blueberry Ledge Trail and hit Whiteface first. It was warm and the mosquitoes were out in force, along with a few black flies. I was feeling a little slow, but we made it to the top in around 3 hours. The views were ok, but it was a little hazy. Snow was almost non-existent and the trails were pretty dry. Onward to Passaconaway. The drop between the 2 is about 750 feet, and it took a while but we made it. The small spring stream near the top was awesome! We drank a lot of water here! Mmmmmm. Passaconaway has a view just before the summit, and a spur trail to the treed summit. After waiting for Laurie and Paradox to go down the LONG view trail north of the summit, we headed off. The way down was mostly gradual, and we arrived back in about 9 hours.
Paradox calculated that we had done about 12 miles, 4,100' of elevation gain and burned about 4,000 calories! So to celebrate we drove back to his house, showered and then hit the Woodstock Station. Again, Mmmmmm!
Saturday we went alone to Zealand. The weather was cool, and just about right for hiking. We went up from the Zealand campground and passed the beaver ponds, fully expecting to see a moose any second. Unfortunately, we did not. We stopped briefly at the hut and had a nice long drink. The presence of electricity, toilets, a well-pump, propane, etc. made it not quite a wilderness experience, but the view from the front porch is truly wilderness! We continued up the now steep trail and made it to the ridge, where the view point is SPECTACULAR! We could see a huge amount of the Pemi, and several of the Presis. Wow!
Continuing on, we went over a few bumps along the Twin Way. There was a little snow here and there, and about 4 FEET in one place!
But fortunately, it was still firm. The summit of Zealand is treed, but there is a very pretty sign there. We met Buffalo at the top and another young man just as we started down. Nice to chat with you! The way back was uneventful, with a brief stop at the now busy hut. It's a fairly easy trail to the hut and there lots of kids and families there. But we saw a couple that was trying to bring up their child in a 3 wheeled stroller. It was NOT working!
We had dinner at Moat Mountain Brewery in North Conway.
Sunday we went to Garfield. We bumped into Denise the night before at the Hotel, and decided to hike with her. We drove to the West end of the Gale River Loop, but it was gated. So, we went back to the East end and found the road open past the Galehead TH and all the way to the Garfield TH.
We started out with the temps around 50 and the prediction of no rain for several hours. WRONG! It started raining about half way up. We put on rain gear and continued. At least the trail was in good shape, and well graded. We made good time and reached the junction and then shortly after, the open summit. There was some snow and ice near the top but nothing that could not be navigated in bare boots with a little care. The rain was coming down pretty hard at the top and it was cold and windy. My choice of a poncho was not a good one! It blew up over my face, making it hard to breathe, and soaking me from top to bottom! After wrestling it back in place, we beat it back below the tree line. Back to the car in 5 hours total.On the walk back, the rain stopped, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out! Exactly what the forecast did NOT predict! Argh! But we did notice that the summit was still in the clouds even several hours after we got back to the Hotel. So, maybe there were no views for anyone until much later in the day. Italian Oasis was closed, so we had some good food and beers at Faybans near Bretton Woods. The Mets were unable to complete the sweep but they did win 2 out of 3!
So now it's Sunday night. Tomorrow we're driving back and trying to hit a couple of fire towers and make it 7 brewpubs in 7 days!
Stay tuned...
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