hillman1
New member
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I was going in to hike haystack and basin for my grand finale, and I was fortunate enough to have the company of ALG, Mavs00, adkatie, everestnbd, marcygirl, peakbgr, bushwacker, and Jenn(who doesn't have a screen name yet...). The day started early for jen and I, because I forgot to pack my tent, which really made her day, because she got to sleep under a tarp in the rain, so we got up pretty early. The morning was beautiful as everyone got ready for the hike ahead, and the skies were pretty blue, as we hoped for the 40% chance of showers to not rain on our "parade"(I'll get back to that part in a minute). Jen and Ashley hit it off right away, and Jen was absolutely delighted to have her own personal mountain guide for the trip. I'm pretty sure that jen had one of the greatest days of her life on that hike , just as a little side note for everyone that helped make that happen. Back to the hike though, we all took a little break at JBL, and peakbgr and bushwacker showed up, to join in. What great company this day was turning out to have for me. So we all began our adventure right there, by the steps of the lodge. The hike up to haystack was great, the trail was in great shape(except for the boyscout troop leader sucking down a few marlboros at a stream crossing), and we made excellent time to the open summit of Haystack. What an incredible peak. The views were endless in every direction, and we enjoyed a little break on the summit, and took tons of pictures. This was also Jens first time above tree line, and what a peak for that experience, the views of Marcy were awe inspiring. This was also the first hint of what lay ahead for our group, as we could see some rain way off in the distance. Then began our journey to Basin. What a hike. I was about to finish something that I started in 1997, and I was finally finishing. The climb up Basin was great, lots of rock, and one little incident with Nick that had me a little scared, when a tree broke free with an island of dirt on one of the climb sections. Spencer held it in place while Nick cleared the rock section, then the rest of the group went around it. Alg did his first trail maintenance as a 46er, as he cleared the new found dangerous obstacle from the trail, and the hazard now lies safely below the pitch on the side of the trail. We all met up at the ladder below the summit, and that is when the weather started to get a bit interesting. Thunder was sounding off in the distance, well the near kind of distance, and everyone went up, as it was the only real choice at that point. Well, the rain hit pretty hard, and very cold, and lightning bolts were blasting the summit of haystack(a little close for comfort) and my summit celebration consisted of spencer keeping jen from having a heart attack(she was a little bit scared) and me and Alg literally running over the summit to get in the trees. We all met up in the col, and handshakes and congratulations were gladly accepted by me for finishing up the 46. What a memorable 46th peak. Our adventure was far from over, as we still had to climb saddleback. That was pretty neat, with some actual sections where you do not want to look down, or think about falling. The kids went up like they had a little mountain goat in them, and jen made pretty light work of the section too. Actually, everyone did really good there, I don't know if I was the only one feeling a little fear, but it was a bit scarey in spots. The summit of Saddleback proved to be the backdrop for the I'm a 46er sign to be broken out(thanks Bob), as we soaked in the incredible views of the mountain that just scared the tar out of most of us. I have to say, Spencer handled the lightning like it wasn't even happening(he then relayed a very interesting lightning story to Jen and I). The hike out was fantastic, and we spotted some deer, and quite a few people camping for the night--some were right on the stream, and others had a fire. We let them bask in thier ignorance, as we were there to enjoy our day. The hike out soon turned to night, and this was also a first for jen, as she had never hiked by headlamp--she thought a bear would walk right up to her and eat her--I capitalized on that moment by hiking ahead of her a bit, and hid in some bushes...I imagine people heard that scream all the way back to JBL...that was a dirty trick , that was immediately reproduced by spencer--way to go. I know I'm leaving alot out, but I need to go and unload potting soil now, I wish I was back in the mountains. Looking forward to the gathering in August, and a certain families 46 on whiteface in September--I had a truly great time, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming along on the trip.
I was going in to hike haystack and basin for my grand finale, and I was fortunate enough to have the company of ALG, Mavs00, adkatie, everestnbd, marcygirl, peakbgr, bushwacker, and Jenn(who doesn't have a screen name yet...). The day started early for jen and I, because I forgot to pack my tent, which really made her day, because she got to sleep under a tarp in the rain, so we got up pretty early. The morning was beautiful as everyone got ready for the hike ahead, and the skies were pretty blue, as we hoped for the 40% chance of showers to not rain on our "parade"(I'll get back to that part in a minute). Jen and Ashley hit it off right away, and Jen was absolutely delighted to have her own personal mountain guide for the trip. I'm pretty sure that jen had one of the greatest days of her life on that hike , just as a little side note for everyone that helped make that happen. Back to the hike though, we all took a little break at JBL, and peakbgr and bushwacker showed up, to join in. What great company this day was turning out to have for me. So we all began our adventure right there, by the steps of the lodge. The hike up to haystack was great, the trail was in great shape(except for the boyscout troop leader sucking down a few marlboros at a stream crossing), and we made excellent time to the open summit of Haystack. What an incredible peak. The views were endless in every direction, and we enjoyed a little break on the summit, and took tons of pictures. This was also Jens first time above tree line, and what a peak for that experience, the views of Marcy were awe inspiring. This was also the first hint of what lay ahead for our group, as we could see some rain way off in the distance. Then began our journey to Basin. What a hike. I was about to finish something that I started in 1997, and I was finally finishing. The climb up Basin was great, lots of rock, and one little incident with Nick that had me a little scared, when a tree broke free with an island of dirt on one of the climb sections. Spencer held it in place while Nick cleared the rock section, then the rest of the group went around it. Alg did his first trail maintenance as a 46er, as he cleared the new found dangerous obstacle from the trail, and the hazard now lies safely below the pitch on the side of the trail. We all met up at the ladder below the summit, and that is when the weather started to get a bit interesting. Thunder was sounding off in the distance, well the near kind of distance, and everyone went up, as it was the only real choice at that point. Well, the rain hit pretty hard, and very cold, and lightning bolts were blasting the summit of haystack(a little close for comfort) and my summit celebration consisted of spencer keeping jen from having a heart attack(she was a little bit scared) and me and Alg literally running over the summit to get in the trees. We all met up in the col, and handshakes and congratulations were gladly accepted by me for finishing up the 46. What a memorable 46th peak. Our adventure was far from over, as we still had to climb saddleback. That was pretty neat, with some actual sections where you do not want to look down, or think about falling. The kids went up like they had a little mountain goat in them, and jen made pretty light work of the section too. Actually, everyone did really good there, I don't know if I was the only one feeling a little fear, but it was a bit scarey in spots. The summit of Saddleback proved to be the backdrop for the I'm a 46er sign to be broken out(thanks Bob), as we soaked in the incredible views of the mountain that just scared the tar out of most of us. I have to say, Spencer handled the lightning like it wasn't even happening(he then relayed a very interesting lightning story to Jen and I). The hike out was fantastic, and we spotted some deer, and quite a few people camping for the night--some were right on the stream, and others had a fire. We let them bask in thier ignorance, as we were there to enjoy our day. The hike out soon turned to night, and this was also a first for jen, as she had never hiked by headlamp--she thought a bear would walk right up to her and eat her--I capitalized on that moment by hiking ahead of her a bit, and hid in some bushes...I imagine people heard that scream all the way back to JBL...that was a dirty trick , that was immediately reproduced by spencer--way to go. I know I'm leaving alot out, but I need to go and unload potting soil now, I wish I was back in the mountains. Looking forward to the gathering in August, and a certain families 46 on whiteface in September--I had a truly great time, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming along on the trip.
