una_dogger
Well-known member
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On wednesday after work, I headed up to the Daks to spend the following day hiking with my good friend, HighonLife. I had intended to camp out near the trailhead, but it was raining pretty hard and dark by the time I reached Keene Valley, so I chose instead to crash at the Hostel. My bunkmates consisted of a group of three inner city High School kids from Brooklyn, NY; and thier chaperone. The kids had been chosen to spend the week in the Daks volunteering/shadowing Ecologists working with The Nature Conservancy. Their chaperone explained to me that the boys had won a stiff competition that involved an essay contest. They were polite boys, and I must have seemed like something of an enigma to them, but we chatted and they told me about thier planned hike the next day of Algonquin, they were being escorted by the Summit Caretaker and they thought that was really cool.
The night passed too quickly and the five alarm bell rang. I gulped down some breakfast and headed down the road to Ausable Club Trailhead, where HighonLife was waiting for me. "Happy Birthday!" she said and handed me a beautiful gift; a framed photo that she had taken of Terra and I on Colden on our first hike together. I was really touched by her kindness, and I have to say, its one of the best gifts I've ever been given..thanks again, HOL!
We laced our boots and headed down lake road together. The woods were cloaked in morning mist, the bark stained dark by the rain and the mosses and ferns a brilliant green. I love the way the woods look after a soaking rain.
We headed up the side trail to Indian Head, and explored that area for a bit before dropping back down to the main trail again and making our way up to the Colvin/Blake split. Today we had decided to climb Colvin and Blake, and add on Nippletop and Dial if the trail conditions and our stamina allowed.
For some reason, I was under the impression that these two mountains were of the gentler kind, but I was happy for the challenge of the slabs, ledges and steeps. Up and over we climbed, negotiating the ledges and joyfully pulling ourselves up each one. Just before reaching the summit, HOL gave me the "sign" and stepped aside, and I lead the final stretch to the summit. Nippletop was nearly completely socked in, but the view of the clouds settled in its folds were beautiful none-the-less. I remarked how quiet and peaceful the woods were today, as always, it was a good day to be out in the woods.
A light rain began to fall as we descended into the Colvin/Blake col. It was a cooling mist, and quite refreshing. The descent is a steep one, and we had to concentrate and pick our path carefully. The mud was starting to moisten with the fresh misting, and the trail was getting *slick*. We enjoyed the climb down, mainly for the effort and critical thinking involved. We shared our feelings on hiking trails like these, and how the lessons learned extend to all parts of our lives. I always feel like I carry a peice of the experience with me when I return from the mountains, a type of new wisdom that is difficult to verbalize, but it centers me and I return to it in my mind when the going gets tough out in the "real world". Maybe because it was my fourtieth birthday I was having thoughts like these. Or maybe it was the quiet and introspective character of the misty woods today. Yep, a good day to be out.
We reached the col and began a more moderate climb to Blake. We reached the summit and HOL once again took her now traditional summit photo for me, and me for her. I munched on trail mix while HOL fussed with her pack. I began to wonder what she was doing, because usually we break for a minute or two and then are underway again. HOL turned from her pack and presented me with a yummy hiker birthday cake! A Pria power bar with a small candle in a little candleholder that played the tune "Happy Birthday"! Aww...gee...I was sooo surprised and happy, it really made my day!
Be it known that this is now the OFFICIAL birthday candleholder of the ADK 46ers, if you are having a birthday, we will track you down and give you a little summit party! The very funny thing about all of this is that little candleholder has a mind of its own and sets itself off on the trail ..ah..the fun continues.
We returned and the rain began to intensify. On the way up the backside of Colvin, it began to come down in buckets! We really didn't think we'd see anyone else out on the trails today, but as luck would have it, we ran into a threesome heading down Colvin as we were coming up. We hiked very strongly up Colvin once again, working against time and the rain that was quickly forming streams of the trails, with muddy downspouts cascading down the ledges as we climbed up them. On the summit, we made the decision to leave Nippletop and Dial for another day. I'd be back that way for the Grace Climb, and planned to grab both peaks that day. The rain was still warm, but intense. The steeps on the way down from Colvin took on a whole new character as the eddies of rainwater swirled down them. Some of the longer and steeper sections that were fun to climb up, became a bit precarious to climb down. Easy does it, we worked it out and made it down.
Returning to the Lake Road, the trails became rivers of muddy water. We trudged straight through, what the heck? We were already soaked to the skin and knew that our day was winding down. I glanced at the river crossing where the Gill Brook trail cut in, and the water was moving strong!
The rest of the hike seemed to fly by, and soon we were back at the register. We were the first to sign in today, and I was surprised to see how many other hikers signed in after us. The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived back at the cars shortly before 3pm.
HOL and I said our goodbyes, and I reluctantly climbed into my car. What a muddy mess I was. I decided to head back to the Hostel to take a shower. Normally I just drive back to Vermont muddy, but this was way beyond muddy! Arriving at the Hostel a few minutes later, I emerged from my car resembling a drowned rat, and to my amazement, the chaperone from last night actually recognized me!! The boys had enjoyed Algonquin .
After probably the best damn shower of my life, I headed over to the Noonmark for a cheesy omelet and apple pie. Mmm..mmmm....the drive back to Vermont gets easier and easier and before I knew it I was cresting the pass on Rt 4 and gazing at a familiar ridgeline, Killington, Pico, Mendon and Shrewsbury Peaks. The fog was settled in thier notches here and there, and all signs pointed to a rainy day here in Central VT, too.
Well, I'll say this much, I may never call myself a grown up, but at 40; this Wilderness Woman is proud to consider herself "refined", mud and all.
Edited to say: Oh yeah! Today marked ADK No's 20 & 21
On wednesday after work, I headed up to the Daks to spend the following day hiking with my good friend, HighonLife. I had intended to camp out near the trailhead, but it was raining pretty hard and dark by the time I reached Keene Valley, so I chose instead to crash at the Hostel. My bunkmates consisted of a group of three inner city High School kids from Brooklyn, NY; and thier chaperone. The kids had been chosen to spend the week in the Daks volunteering/shadowing Ecologists working with The Nature Conservancy. Their chaperone explained to me that the boys had won a stiff competition that involved an essay contest. They were polite boys, and I must have seemed like something of an enigma to them, but we chatted and they told me about thier planned hike the next day of Algonquin, they were being escorted by the Summit Caretaker and they thought that was really cool.
The night passed too quickly and the five alarm bell rang. I gulped down some breakfast and headed down the road to Ausable Club Trailhead, where HighonLife was waiting for me. "Happy Birthday!" she said and handed me a beautiful gift; a framed photo that she had taken of Terra and I on Colden on our first hike together. I was really touched by her kindness, and I have to say, its one of the best gifts I've ever been given..thanks again, HOL!
We laced our boots and headed down lake road together. The woods were cloaked in morning mist, the bark stained dark by the rain and the mosses and ferns a brilliant green. I love the way the woods look after a soaking rain.
We headed up the side trail to Indian Head, and explored that area for a bit before dropping back down to the main trail again and making our way up to the Colvin/Blake split. Today we had decided to climb Colvin and Blake, and add on Nippletop and Dial if the trail conditions and our stamina allowed.
For some reason, I was under the impression that these two mountains were of the gentler kind, but I was happy for the challenge of the slabs, ledges and steeps. Up and over we climbed, negotiating the ledges and joyfully pulling ourselves up each one. Just before reaching the summit, HOL gave me the "sign" and stepped aside, and I lead the final stretch to the summit. Nippletop was nearly completely socked in, but the view of the clouds settled in its folds were beautiful none-the-less. I remarked how quiet and peaceful the woods were today, as always, it was a good day to be out in the woods.
A light rain began to fall as we descended into the Colvin/Blake col. It was a cooling mist, and quite refreshing. The descent is a steep one, and we had to concentrate and pick our path carefully. The mud was starting to moisten with the fresh misting, and the trail was getting *slick*. We enjoyed the climb down, mainly for the effort and critical thinking involved. We shared our feelings on hiking trails like these, and how the lessons learned extend to all parts of our lives. I always feel like I carry a peice of the experience with me when I return from the mountains, a type of new wisdom that is difficult to verbalize, but it centers me and I return to it in my mind when the going gets tough out in the "real world". Maybe because it was my fourtieth birthday I was having thoughts like these. Or maybe it was the quiet and introspective character of the misty woods today. Yep, a good day to be out.
We reached the col and began a more moderate climb to Blake. We reached the summit and HOL once again took her now traditional summit photo for me, and me for her. I munched on trail mix while HOL fussed with her pack. I began to wonder what she was doing, because usually we break for a minute or two and then are underway again. HOL turned from her pack and presented me with a yummy hiker birthday cake! A Pria power bar with a small candle in a little candleholder that played the tune "Happy Birthday"! Aww...gee...I was sooo surprised and happy, it really made my day!
Be it known that this is now the OFFICIAL birthday candleholder of the ADK 46ers, if you are having a birthday, we will track you down and give you a little summit party! The very funny thing about all of this is that little candleholder has a mind of its own and sets itself off on the trail ..ah..the fun continues.
We returned and the rain began to intensify. On the way up the backside of Colvin, it began to come down in buckets! We really didn't think we'd see anyone else out on the trails today, but as luck would have it, we ran into a threesome heading down Colvin as we were coming up. We hiked very strongly up Colvin once again, working against time and the rain that was quickly forming streams of the trails, with muddy downspouts cascading down the ledges as we climbed up them. On the summit, we made the decision to leave Nippletop and Dial for another day. I'd be back that way for the Grace Climb, and planned to grab both peaks that day. The rain was still warm, but intense. The steeps on the way down from Colvin took on a whole new character as the eddies of rainwater swirled down them. Some of the longer and steeper sections that were fun to climb up, became a bit precarious to climb down. Easy does it, we worked it out and made it down.
Returning to the Lake Road, the trails became rivers of muddy water. We trudged straight through, what the heck? We were already soaked to the skin and knew that our day was winding down. I glanced at the river crossing where the Gill Brook trail cut in, and the water was moving strong!
The rest of the hike seemed to fly by, and soon we were back at the register. We were the first to sign in today, and I was surprised to see how many other hikers signed in after us. The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived back at the cars shortly before 3pm.
HOL and I said our goodbyes, and I reluctantly climbed into my car. What a muddy mess I was. I decided to head back to the Hostel to take a shower. Normally I just drive back to Vermont muddy, but this was way beyond muddy! Arriving at the Hostel a few minutes later, I emerged from my car resembling a drowned rat, and to my amazement, the chaperone from last night actually recognized me!! The boys had enjoyed Algonquin .
After probably the best damn shower of my life, I headed over to the Noonmark for a cheesy omelet and apple pie. Mmm..mmmm....the drive back to Vermont gets easier and easier and before I knew it I was cresting the pass on Rt 4 and gazing at a familiar ridgeline, Killington, Pico, Mendon and Shrewsbury Peaks. The fog was settled in thier notches here and there, and all signs pointed to a rainy day here in Central VT, too.
Well, I'll say this much, I may never call myself a grown up, but at 40; this Wilderness Woman is proud to consider herself "refined", mud and all.
Edited to say: Oh yeah! Today marked ADK No's 20 & 21
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