halia and flammeus
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- Joined
- Dec 15, 2007
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It was The Swede's idea. How about a nabbing of the four bushwack peaks, he suggested, back a month or so ago. A few of us expressed interest, and I took on the job of Administrator, responding to inquiries and organizing the date. I guess that was only natural since it was framed as Flammeus and my anniversary hike.
The final line up was: Ralph/Hermit, his buddy George, Tom and I, and The Inconquerable Swede. And of course The Belgians (Iske and Lily). We left cars at Peekamoose Road, and thanks again Ralph for volunteering your vehicle for transport. The hike started at the stone pillars on Moon Haw Road.
Immediately we were treated to Ralph and George's wonderful intimate knowledge of the area - flora and fauna. A telephone pole impregnated with bear hair and whittled by scratch marks merited a quick photo stop. Loads of bear scat, an awesome bear print in mud (the dogs immediately destroyed - who brought them anyway???), and a boatload of elevation gain later, and we were at Hermit's Ledge. Ralph led us through tricky areas - finding the switchbacks that made ascending the steep rocky areas easy. Thanks again Ralph. The views were gorgeous, some haze and high wispy clouds.
We signed in at Friday's canister about 1.25 hours after starting out. Whew. I was soaking wet, so off came the wet shirt, on with the dry. [This process got repeated with every ascent until I ran out of dry shirts! The guys were very polite about not teasing me (the only female on the trip) about my wardrobe changes - I just seem to freeze if I let my clothes dry on me - even though they are high tech quick dry material.
] Ralph led us back down to the herd path on the east side of Friday and Balsam Cap, and we hiked on over to Balsam Cap. Approx 40 minutes later, we were on a second ledge, once again ooohing and aaaahing over the gorgeous views to the east - great views of Wittenberg and Cornell, the Ashokan reservoir, and something shiny in West Hurley (a roof?). The ascent up BC from Friday wasn't as intense as getting up Friday (let's face it - from the road to the top of Friday is some crazy multiple thousand feet elevation gain - not much feels like that!).
We stopped at the BC canister, and got suited up for the next leg. Up until this point, we'd stayed on herd paths and bark roads. To me, our route had felt "coastal" - I could see and feel the Hudson River on my left shoulder, and knowing it was there kept me oriented. Turning "inland" felt a little intimidating and the clear warnings from Ralph about how much more difficult the going was to be in the next section increased my sense of heading into the Heart of Darkness (ok, I'm exaggerating, but only a little!). Pullovers, long sleeves, and eye protection in place, we dove in.
It felt bizarre at times, stumbling and crashing along, watching Ralph, compass out, taking bearing after bearing, keeping us laser-focused on Rocky. Down into the col, and up into the rocks. It really wasn't that bad.
A little over an hour, and we were climbing through the tough parts of Rocky's east "face". At one point, Lily required lifting and being handed to me. Ever get "handed" half your weight while balanced on a cliff? Whomp. Not dangerous, just intense.
The canisters must be magnetically attracted to Ralph... we marched right up to Rocky's at roughly one p.m. Lunch break, photos, rest, and one we went.
By now, we're a little tired (OK, not The Swede. I'm not sure he got tired.). Packs are lighter, legs are heavier. Soon off Rocky's summit, we crashed through some much thicker stuff, and popped out into a brilliantly sunny fern covered opening. Wow. Further along, Ralph and George showed us signs of a bear lair. On the way up Lone I saw a couple of big, healthy looking birch trees - beautiful specimens. We didn't really find much of a herd path from Rocky to Lone, but just stuck religiously to the compass readings. Worked out great. 2:30 p.m. and we have signed in at all our canisters. On to the Peekamoose -Table trail.
This part felt like a slog to me. I was hungry for easier walking, the dogs were thristy (despite Ralph's incredibly kind and thoughtful aiming for water stops for them - not much water up there - yes, Tom and I carried extra for the dogs, but they needed a real puddle to tank up). Flammeus was tired. I wasn't tired (I was still mentally competing with The Swede, who looked fresh as a daisy). Denial...
We followed Ralph up again. Up up up. Until kaboom - we were on a ledge, on the east side of Table, marveling at what we'd just done. That view is absolutely a just reward for the climb - it is a sweeping grand commanding view of the Burroughs range, the bushwack peaks, the unnamed bump off to the south of BC, the reservoir, and distant views to the north - Devil's Path, KHP, Tom Cole and Black Dome... and triumph. Victory. The trail is nigh, and freedom of step, swinging of arms, awaits.
We stepped onto the trail at 3:30. Four miles, and one more ascent to go. Flammeus was really unhappy with the whole "one more ascent" part. He whined about this not being in the brochure.
The next photo break was at the view spot at the 3500 ft point, south of the summit. Those views were spectacular - BLM off in the distance, with Double top and the whole Big Indian "chain" defining the western horizon, and fairy tale layers of hill and valley to the south. The sun was warm and yellowing, the shade getting deeper, and the trail was steep as hell all the way back to the car.
The Swede and Ralph just took off. They trail hike at a clip I couldn't keep up with, and after the inital competitive urge dwindled, I settled into my stride. Flammeus and George took up the rear, and we spread out enough that I had a good two miles or so of hiking completely alone with my dogs. Alone, deep in thought, good-tired, and introspective... I couldn't have ended the awesome day more perfectly.
A great crew, benevolent weather, and miles of trailless wilderness. Can't wait to do it again sometime!
The Swede was the official photographer but my photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30705651@N02/
The final line up was: Ralph/Hermit, his buddy George, Tom and I, and The Inconquerable Swede. And of course The Belgians (Iske and Lily). We left cars at Peekamoose Road, and thanks again Ralph for volunteering your vehicle for transport. The hike started at the stone pillars on Moon Haw Road.
Immediately we were treated to Ralph and George's wonderful intimate knowledge of the area - flora and fauna. A telephone pole impregnated with bear hair and whittled by scratch marks merited a quick photo stop. Loads of bear scat, an awesome bear print in mud (the dogs immediately destroyed - who brought them anyway???), and a boatload of elevation gain later, and we were at Hermit's Ledge. Ralph led us through tricky areas - finding the switchbacks that made ascending the steep rocky areas easy. Thanks again Ralph. The views were gorgeous, some haze and high wispy clouds.
We signed in at Friday's canister about 1.25 hours after starting out. Whew. I was soaking wet, so off came the wet shirt, on with the dry. [This process got repeated with every ascent until I ran out of dry shirts! The guys were very polite about not teasing me (the only female on the trip) about my wardrobe changes - I just seem to freeze if I let my clothes dry on me - even though they are high tech quick dry material.
] Ralph led us back down to the herd path on the east side of Friday and Balsam Cap, and we hiked on over to Balsam Cap. Approx 40 minutes later, we were on a second ledge, once again ooohing and aaaahing over the gorgeous views to the east - great views of Wittenberg and Cornell, the Ashokan reservoir, and something shiny in West Hurley (a roof?). The ascent up BC from Friday wasn't as intense as getting up Friday (let's face it - from the road to the top of Friday is some crazy multiple thousand feet elevation gain - not much feels like that!). We stopped at the BC canister, and got suited up for the next leg. Up until this point, we'd stayed on herd paths and bark roads. To me, our route had felt "coastal" - I could see and feel the Hudson River on my left shoulder, and knowing it was there kept me oriented. Turning "inland" felt a little intimidating and the clear warnings from Ralph about how much more difficult the going was to be in the next section increased my sense of heading into the Heart of Darkness (ok, I'm exaggerating, but only a little!). Pullovers, long sleeves, and eye protection in place, we dove in.
It felt bizarre at times, stumbling and crashing along, watching Ralph, compass out, taking bearing after bearing, keeping us laser-focused on Rocky. Down into the col, and up into the rocks. It really wasn't that bad.
A little over an hour, and we were climbing through the tough parts of Rocky's east "face". At one point, Lily required lifting and being handed to me. Ever get "handed" half your weight while balanced on a cliff? Whomp. Not dangerous, just intense.
The canisters must be magnetically attracted to Ralph... we marched right up to Rocky's at roughly one p.m. Lunch break, photos, rest, and one we went.
By now, we're a little tired (OK, not The Swede. I'm not sure he got tired.). Packs are lighter, legs are heavier. Soon off Rocky's summit, we crashed through some much thicker stuff, and popped out into a brilliantly sunny fern covered opening. Wow. Further along, Ralph and George showed us signs of a bear lair. On the way up Lone I saw a couple of big, healthy looking birch trees - beautiful specimens. We didn't really find much of a herd path from Rocky to Lone, but just stuck religiously to the compass readings. Worked out great. 2:30 p.m. and we have signed in at all our canisters. On to the Peekamoose -Table trail.
This part felt like a slog to me. I was hungry for easier walking, the dogs were thristy (despite Ralph's incredibly kind and thoughtful aiming for water stops for them - not much water up there - yes, Tom and I carried extra for the dogs, but they needed a real puddle to tank up). Flammeus was tired. I wasn't tired (I was still mentally competing with The Swede, who looked fresh as a daisy). Denial...
We followed Ralph up again. Up up up. Until kaboom - we were on a ledge, on the east side of Table, marveling at what we'd just done. That view is absolutely a just reward for the climb - it is a sweeping grand commanding view of the Burroughs range, the bushwack peaks, the unnamed bump off to the south of BC, the reservoir, and distant views to the north - Devil's Path, KHP, Tom Cole and Black Dome... and triumph. Victory. The trail is nigh, and freedom of step, swinging of arms, awaits.
We stepped onto the trail at 3:30. Four miles, and one more ascent to go. Flammeus was really unhappy with the whole "one more ascent" part. He whined about this not being in the brochure.
The next photo break was at the view spot at the 3500 ft point, south of the summit. Those views were spectacular - BLM off in the distance, with Double top and the whole Big Indian "chain" defining the western horizon, and fairy tale layers of hill and valley to the south. The sun was warm and yellowing, the shade getting deeper, and the trail was steep as hell all the way back to the car.
The Swede and Ralph just took off. They trail hike at a clip I couldn't keep up with, and after the inital competitive urge dwindled, I settled into my stride. Flammeus and George took up the rear, and we spread out enough that I had a good two miles or so of hiking completely alone with my dogs. Alone, deep in thought, good-tired, and introspective... I couldn't have ended the awesome day more perfectly.
A great crew, benevolent weather, and miles of trailless wilderness. Can't wait to do it again sometime!
The Swede was the official photographer
but my photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30705651@N02/
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