Garfield is a fine place to finish

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Willoughby

Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
129
Reaction score
18
Location
Lexington, MA Avatar: sunset in the Gap
With apologies to Tom & Atticus.

Yesterday I climbed Mt. Garfield via the Mt. Garfield and Garfield Ridge trails with my friend Diapensia. The trails were clear. The skies were overcast; the promised clearing never arrived. The views were nonetheless spectacular, under and through the overcast. It was an awesome way to complete my NH 48!

I decided over a year ago that I would finish on Garfield. Many of my early climbs were in the Pemi, and I grew to love the wildness and isolation of the area. I wanted to have views of this special place on my last climb - and I also wanted a view of another special place, the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, that has been a pillar of my life for over 4 decades now. So I set Garfield aside as I worked through the list.

The peak was chosen far in advance, but the idea of company came much later. I hiked most of the 48 solo, enjoying the time with myself, and the feeling (however temporary) of not being responsible to anyone else. Life presses in so much, I go to the woods to escape that pressure, and I found it easier to go alone. But much as I enjoy my own company, I decided it would be more celebratory to go with a friend, and Diapensia and I had been planning to hike together for at least 3 years.

We got a later start than I usually would - not least because we ran into bad traffic on the way north - and had lunch along the trail. I yakked most of the way up, and never pulled out my camera from the trailhead to just below the summit. We reached the Garfield Ridge Trail, made the right turn, and then paused partway up to admire the views. Just below the summit Diapensia stood aside, then took pictures as I made the final ascent.

The summit views were everything I could have expected. The Twins up close, and Franconia ridge on the other side; wonderful pre-Fall colors in the valley looking south and on Owl's Head. We played name-the-peak as the clouds covered and revealed them, and spotted 30-some of the 4Ks. The Bonds stayed hidden the whole hour and a half we were up there, except for Bondcliff that eventually peeked out. A couple clouds covered Garfield as they blew up from the South, then cleared off. It was very odd to be looking through near haze, as the sun brightened on the Sandwich range.

There was one person on the summit when we arrived, he had been there for hours hoping for the right light. He hung out with us for a while as we celebrated, then headed back down. One hiker transited along the GRT below us, with his dog, but skipped the summit. And later on a father and son team came up for a while. But it was never crowded, and mostly it felt like the landscape was our own.

And the views North! We had the best view of the Willoughby gap that I've seen in many months; despite the overcast we could see between Pisgah and Hor and on to Roundtop in Quebec. We could see to Jay Peak, ~70 miles away, and into Maine as well.

Garfield was a fine place to finish. Our trip down was uneventful, as was our drive home (with an impromptu stop for Sushi in Concord). My thanks to Diapensia for interrupting the work week, and to the entire Views community for - knowingly or not - guiding, comforting, inspiring, and galling me through this trek.

Enjoy your hikes, everyone!

Final view from just below the summit:
attachment.php


The rest of my pictures are here.

Willoughby

NH 4K 48/48
NE 4K 53/67
NH T3000 84/140 (!)
 
Last edited:
I agree

Yes, finishing up on Garfield is a great idea! Too bad I already hiked that mountain, and I still have 15 to go. Congratulations on completing the 48!!

grouseking
 
48 finish

Congrats on your finish. Liz and I are close to our finish as well. However an injury has slowed our progress to a halt. Hope to be back in the game soon.
 
Congrats! Great place to finish indeed. Nothing like the views into the Pemi on a nice day.
 
Garfield is definitely in my top 5. I hadn't climbed Owl's head at that point and I remember looking down on it as it mocked me!

Congratulations!
 
Thank you, everyone, for the kind words!

Congrats on your finish. Liz and I are close to our finish as well. However an injury has slowed our progress to a halt. Hope to be back in the game soon.

Loanshark: I overstressed my knees midway through the 48. When I had to go down North Tripyramid backwards, because it hurt too much otherwise, I knew it was time to take notice! The orthopedist sent me to the PT, who made me stop hiking. I missed a few fall months, but she got me back on track, and my knees are much better now than they were before I started hiking. (How much better depends on how faithfully I do my stretches!) Here's to a reasonably speedy, but lasting recovery from whatever has slowed you down.
 
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