LenDawg
New member
The goal was simple, knock another winter 4K off the list and see the lunar eclipse.
Chinooktrail and I parked at the Zealand parking lot at 1:00 PM ready and anxious to get back to a 4K hike. We chose Hale since it was on several of our lists, most significantly, on both our winter 4K list. We headed up Zealand Road on bare-boots under sunlight and comfortable temperatures with little wind. We packed for warm winter weather and snowy conditions, consisting of both crampons and snowshoes. We switched to snowshoes just before the trailhead to Hale. We passed one hiker with his dog heading out. They had broken trail on Sugarloaf and looked to be ready for a long nap after all that work.
We were quite relieved to find four hikers in snowshoes coming off the Hale Brook Trail as we got to the trailhead. I don’t think we would have completed our goal if trail breaking were to have been a necessary this day.
Our initial ascent in the lower parts of the trail was on a decent pace. As we made way, the serenity of the forest was quite heart-warming. “I don’t think we’re in Stamford, CT anymore, Toto!” We made our way to the side-slope section and watched as the wind gusted through portions of the forest across the way from us. Small cyclonic snow-spouts spun through the valley between us and the top of Mt. Hale. It was quite picturesque.
The side-step section was a little bit tricky since the snow was wet and eager to compact and roll. We headed up through the switchbacks leaving a small smiley face in a snow cap on one of the trees we passed.
The final ascent was long and tiring as both of us were getting hungry. Still, we appreciated several fine lookouts of the mighty Presis cutting in and out of cloud cover. We also paused for a moment to appreciate the complete silence of the scene. The wind had cut out completely leaving a calming stillness.
We finally broke out to the top of Mt. Hale and climbed to the top of the rock pile. We looked around for a few minutes, and then left the summit for our descent. We moved our headlamps to easily accessible places, had a quick bite to eat, and started to lookout for a glimpse of the moon which would need to break through a thin cloud cover in order for us to see it.
Chinooktrail was having some difficulties with her foot-nerve dilemma. Still, she kept a steadfast smile on her face and pursued on.
Under darkness and with headlamps we passed ‘Pierre’, the face in the snow we made earlier, the side-slope section which was now a little easier to pass as the snow was more firm, and a group looking to overnight on Hale. As we neared the bottom of the trail, we saw our first glance of the moon and the lunar eclipse. The sky continued to clear as we came out to Zealand Road. We had the opportunity to see the entire final stage of the eclipse as the moon went from fully shadowed to its beautiful full moon stage.
As the full moon came back out of its eclipse and we neared the end of Zealand Road, clouds rushed into the area and a full snow shower fell on us. It was a great way to end this beautiful hike. Nature is an amazing every-day occurrence. When she has those special days like today, it is even more amazing!
Chinooktrail and I parked at the Zealand parking lot at 1:00 PM ready and anxious to get back to a 4K hike. We chose Hale since it was on several of our lists, most significantly, on both our winter 4K list. We headed up Zealand Road on bare-boots under sunlight and comfortable temperatures with little wind. We packed for warm winter weather and snowy conditions, consisting of both crampons and snowshoes. We switched to snowshoes just before the trailhead to Hale. We passed one hiker with his dog heading out. They had broken trail on Sugarloaf and looked to be ready for a long nap after all that work.
We were quite relieved to find four hikers in snowshoes coming off the Hale Brook Trail as we got to the trailhead. I don’t think we would have completed our goal if trail breaking were to have been a necessary this day.
Our initial ascent in the lower parts of the trail was on a decent pace. As we made way, the serenity of the forest was quite heart-warming. “I don’t think we’re in Stamford, CT anymore, Toto!” We made our way to the side-slope section and watched as the wind gusted through portions of the forest across the way from us. Small cyclonic snow-spouts spun through the valley between us and the top of Mt. Hale. It was quite picturesque.
The side-step section was a little bit tricky since the snow was wet and eager to compact and roll. We headed up through the switchbacks leaving a small smiley face in a snow cap on one of the trees we passed.
The final ascent was long and tiring as both of us were getting hungry. Still, we appreciated several fine lookouts of the mighty Presis cutting in and out of cloud cover. We also paused for a moment to appreciate the complete silence of the scene. The wind had cut out completely leaving a calming stillness.
We finally broke out to the top of Mt. Hale and climbed to the top of the rock pile. We looked around for a few minutes, and then left the summit for our descent. We moved our headlamps to easily accessible places, had a quick bite to eat, and started to lookout for a glimpse of the moon which would need to break through a thin cloud cover in order for us to see it.
Chinooktrail was having some difficulties with her foot-nerve dilemma. Still, she kept a steadfast smile on her face and pursued on.
Under darkness and with headlamps we passed ‘Pierre’, the face in the snow we made earlier, the side-slope section which was now a little easier to pass as the snow was more firm, and a group looking to overnight on Hale. As we neared the bottom of the trail, we saw our first glance of the moon and the lunar eclipse. The sky continued to clear as we came out to Zealand Road. We had the opportunity to see the entire final stage of the eclipse as the moon went from fully shadowed to its beautiful full moon stage.
As the full moon came back out of its eclipse and we neared the end of Zealand Road, clouds rushed into the area and a full snow shower fell on us. It was a great way to end this beautiful hike. Nature is an amazing every-day occurrence. When she has those special days like today, it is even more amazing!
