McRat
New member
After a late arrival to the Tarry Ho, we found festivities were well underway. After introductions to the new faces and greeting the familiar, we enjoyed a few beers by the light of the picnic tables Marc was encouraged to burn. By the time I hit the sack, the liquid groundpad-softener was working well and I fell to sleep quickly .
The next morning Team Galehead had assembled. Gary (scoutmaster), our intrepid engineer was in the Garymobile and ready to go. Karen (happyhiker), our morale coordinator, had hopped in my car for the ride with Abby (Squeaky) – my oldest daughter who was on chaperone duty for the weekend. I brought the poles.
My Jeep looked slightly like a mobile rocket launcher with the three ten foot sections of 3” diameter drain pipe taped to the roof rails. Their continued presence on my roof during the drives was a testament to the power of duct tape. Gary, Karen and I each grabbed a section of our flagpole and began the walk up the Gale River Trail.
The first few miles of this trail were a gentle incline through woods just on the cusp of autumn. The river provided white noise and pleasant views, as we lugged the poles up. They were fairly light, but as awkward as carrying any ten foot long object would be. We were grateful that there weren’t many tight turns, and the poles were even somewhat useful for the river crossings.
After reaching a nice viewpoint towards the Twins, the trail becomes a bit more uppity on the way up to the Garfield Ridge Trail. After a short push, I was back on my least favorite trail working my way to Galehead Hut.
Abby and I explored the hut, enjoying the partial views as some of the higher summits were in the clouds. Surprised to run into a few northbound thruhikers, we shared some Oreos and conversation while we waited to regroup.
We scurried up the trail to Galehead, assembled and rigged the flagpole, and had Old Glory flying above the trees within minutes of Noon. Over the next two hours we met several hikers, many of whom had come up for a stay at Galehead Hut with an AMC Chapter group. One such hiker, ‘Whiney Fox’, turned out to be my second surprise encounter with a Fool Scout ice cream sandwich recipient. Small world, even in the Pemi…
After 2:00 we lowered and folded the flag, disassembled the flagpole and headed back to the car. The descent to the clearing was getting tougher with the poles, but before long we were back on the gentle section of trail. Squeaky even hauled the poles for a little while, not bad after finishing her 10th 4,000 footer after a year long break. Even though I feel the peak is often underrated – I think we will all agree that next year none of us will want to touch Galehead with a ten foot pole.
We rode back to the campground to the fine hospitality of BobnGeri, and enjoyed another night by the fire sharing stories and catching up with old friends. An excellent conclusion to a great day hiking.
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9/11 evokes all sorts of emotion, both in the incident and the aftermath. For me, what I remember best is the rally around the flag. Sure, there were no doubt cynical politicians exploiting the situation – but for a brief time in the face of a national tragedy, we were united under the symbol of our nation.
On the scrubby summit of Galehead (and undoubtedly other peaks) people from all walks of life and beliefs were briefly united again - not as Democrat or Republican, black or white, rich or poor - but as fellow countrymen driven together by a tragedy which had hoped to tear us apart.
Though my trust in my government has been shaken, my sense of trust and obligation to my fellow citizens has only grown. I hold on to the hope that when it counts, we can lay aside our differences and work together for the common good.
Why wait for another tragedy?
(Check back here for Pics later)
The next morning Team Galehead had assembled. Gary (scoutmaster), our intrepid engineer was in the Garymobile and ready to go. Karen (happyhiker), our morale coordinator, had hopped in my car for the ride with Abby (Squeaky) – my oldest daughter who was on chaperone duty for the weekend. I brought the poles.
My Jeep looked slightly like a mobile rocket launcher with the three ten foot sections of 3” diameter drain pipe taped to the roof rails. Their continued presence on my roof during the drives was a testament to the power of duct tape. Gary, Karen and I each grabbed a section of our flagpole and began the walk up the Gale River Trail.
The first few miles of this trail were a gentle incline through woods just on the cusp of autumn. The river provided white noise and pleasant views, as we lugged the poles up. They were fairly light, but as awkward as carrying any ten foot long object would be. We were grateful that there weren’t many tight turns, and the poles were even somewhat useful for the river crossings.
After reaching a nice viewpoint towards the Twins, the trail becomes a bit more uppity on the way up to the Garfield Ridge Trail. After a short push, I was back on my least favorite trail working my way to Galehead Hut.
Abby and I explored the hut, enjoying the partial views as some of the higher summits were in the clouds. Surprised to run into a few northbound thruhikers, we shared some Oreos and conversation while we waited to regroup.
We scurried up the trail to Galehead, assembled and rigged the flagpole, and had Old Glory flying above the trees within minutes of Noon. Over the next two hours we met several hikers, many of whom had come up for a stay at Galehead Hut with an AMC Chapter group. One such hiker, ‘Whiney Fox’, turned out to be my second surprise encounter with a Fool Scout ice cream sandwich recipient. Small world, even in the Pemi…
After 2:00 we lowered and folded the flag, disassembled the flagpole and headed back to the car. The descent to the clearing was getting tougher with the poles, but before long we were back on the gentle section of trail. Squeaky even hauled the poles for a little while, not bad after finishing her 10th 4,000 footer after a year long break. Even though I feel the peak is often underrated – I think we will all agree that next year none of us will want to touch Galehead with a ten foot pole.
We rode back to the campground to the fine hospitality of BobnGeri, and enjoyed another night by the fire sharing stories and catching up with old friends. An excellent conclusion to a great day hiking.
------------------------------
9/11 evokes all sorts of emotion, both in the incident and the aftermath. For me, what I remember best is the rally around the flag. Sure, there were no doubt cynical politicians exploiting the situation – but for a brief time in the face of a national tragedy, we were united under the symbol of our nation.
On the scrubby summit of Galehead (and undoubtedly other peaks) people from all walks of life and beliefs were briefly united again - not as Democrat or Republican, black or white, rich or poor - but as fellow countrymen driven together by a tragedy which had hoped to tear us apart.
Though my trust in my government has been shaken, my sense of trust and obligation to my fellow citizens has only grown. I hold on to the hope that when it counts, we can lay aside our differences and work together for the common good.
Why wait for another tragedy?
(Check back here for Pics later)
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