eddogg12
New member
This was an important trip for me. Not only was this going to be my younger brother's 1st summit experience, but also to spend some time in the woods with him was something I was definitely looking forward too.
We set out on Crane Pond road around 2pm Saturday. Since the water was high at the end of the road we parked by goose pond and took the bypass trail around it. We signed into the trailhead for an overnight and we were off. I forgot how wide and nice the trail was. The trail was in good shape and pretty dry, despite the rain that took place overnight. There was a few downed smalls trees nothing out of the ordinary to get over. The trail began to incline as we started to climb. The one thing about Pharaoh mountain is the lack of switchbacks, It's a straight on approach. I cautioned my brother about some of the wet rocks on the trail as I knew these would be a caution spot on the descent. We continued on climbing and chatting. Chatting about how scouts used to be, and how we used to go camping together years ago.
We Continued to climb until we paused for a rest, I pointed out the fact that at this point we were gaining some elevation and that looking through the trees through the tiny lookouts and.....my GPS we were getting close. At this point my brother was getting pretty excited, as I stepped aside and let him take lead we continued on. We started to pick up the pace. We were alone on the ridge, and recalling the sign-in at the trailhead I was hoping we might have the summit to ourselves. We pushed hard the last few feet and hit summit. The last time I seen my brother's face like that, I'm pretty sure it was Christmas morning. He was loving it. The sky's were a bit cloudy but yielded pretty good views. Nice views to the North into the high peaks. We sat down for a late lunch, at that point I realized we weren't alone. A very friendly chipmunk decided he wanted to sit in for lunch too. zooming back and forth over rocks and around trees. he paused a few times for some pictures. I cautioned by brother about feeding him. seems like a good thing to do, but just by the way he was acting you could see the he was already dependant on hike's lunches. We finished up lunch and explored around the large summit. My brother was pretty concerned about locating the summit marker so we searched until we found it. At that point it was time to descent and make our way back to the junction and head towards Oxshoe pond for the night.
Aside from taking it slow in a few slick spots the descent was uneventful. We took our time on summit, and once we were off the mountain and back in the woods we were losing sunlight pretty fast. I wanted to get back and cook some dinner before it was dark. We made it back to the juntion and hike out to Oxshoe pond for the night. We decided to pitch the tent we brought and skip the leanto even though it was empty. I figured sine I carried it all day we minds well use it. We set up camped and ate dinner. At this point it was dark, and it was time to hang the bear bag and scout for some wood for a small fire before we turned in for the night. The area was pretty well picked over, and the majority of our fire consisted of a constant supply of dried up pine needles bunches. We talked while my brother enjoyed him sunflower seeds. At this point the fire was dying down and it was time to turn in. We headed for the tent and called it a night.
The next morning we awoke to a very beautiful, sunny, and calm Oxshoe Pond. I snapped a few pictures and it was time for breakfast. After my brother did a good job of burning his eggs in the cookware I loaned him, we cleaned up, packed up and headed back for the car. The hike back was a nice walk in the woods and it was back to the car. After CLEANING UP SOME GARBAGE AND FINISHED OFF EXTINGUISHING A UNATTENDED CAMP FIRE FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE by Crane pond, we got back. Unloaded and headed home. By brother assured me this wouldn't be our last hike together and he was looking forward to the next one. I think he got bit by the bug.
Pictures
We set out on Crane Pond road around 2pm Saturday. Since the water was high at the end of the road we parked by goose pond and took the bypass trail around it. We signed into the trailhead for an overnight and we were off. I forgot how wide and nice the trail was. The trail was in good shape and pretty dry, despite the rain that took place overnight. There was a few downed smalls trees nothing out of the ordinary to get over. The trail began to incline as we started to climb. The one thing about Pharaoh mountain is the lack of switchbacks, It's a straight on approach. I cautioned my brother about some of the wet rocks on the trail as I knew these would be a caution spot on the descent. We continued on climbing and chatting. Chatting about how scouts used to be, and how we used to go camping together years ago.
We Continued to climb until we paused for a rest, I pointed out the fact that at this point we were gaining some elevation and that looking through the trees through the tiny lookouts and.....my GPS we were getting close. At this point my brother was getting pretty excited, as I stepped aside and let him take lead we continued on. We started to pick up the pace. We were alone on the ridge, and recalling the sign-in at the trailhead I was hoping we might have the summit to ourselves. We pushed hard the last few feet and hit summit. The last time I seen my brother's face like that, I'm pretty sure it was Christmas morning. He was loving it. The sky's were a bit cloudy but yielded pretty good views. Nice views to the North into the high peaks. We sat down for a late lunch, at that point I realized we weren't alone. A very friendly chipmunk decided he wanted to sit in for lunch too. zooming back and forth over rocks and around trees. he paused a few times for some pictures. I cautioned by brother about feeding him. seems like a good thing to do, but just by the way he was acting you could see the he was already dependant on hike's lunches. We finished up lunch and explored around the large summit. My brother was pretty concerned about locating the summit marker so we searched until we found it. At that point it was time to descent and make our way back to the junction and head towards Oxshoe pond for the night.
Aside from taking it slow in a few slick spots the descent was uneventful. We took our time on summit, and once we were off the mountain and back in the woods we were losing sunlight pretty fast. I wanted to get back and cook some dinner before it was dark. We made it back to the juntion and hike out to Oxshoe pond for the night. We decided to pitch the tent we brought and skip the leanto even though it was empty. I figured sine I carried it all day we minds well use it. We set up camped and ate dinner. At this point it was dark, and it was time to hang the bear bag and scout for some wood for a small fire before we turned in for the night. The area was pretty well picked over, and the majority of our fire consisted of a constant supply of dried up pine needles bunches. We talked while my brother enjoyed him sunflower seeds. At this point the fire was dying down and it was time to turn in. We headed for the tent and called it a night.
The next morning we awoke to a very beautiful, sunny, and calm Oxshoe Pond. I snapped a few pictures and it was time for breakfast. After my brother did a good job of burning his eggs in the cookware I loaned him, we cleaned up, packed up and headed back for the car. The hike back was a nice walk in the woods and it was back to the car. After CLEANING UP SOME GARBAGE AND FINISHED OFF EXTINGUISHING A UNATTENDED CAMP FIRE FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE by Crane pond, we got back. Unloaded and headed home. By brother assured me this wouldn't be our last hike together and he was looking forward to the next one. I think he got bit by the bug.
Pictures
