buckyball1
New member
After my Friday night stay at the Roadhouse, i have an easy morning and then drive to Jay Peak Ski Area in Vt for the wedding of a good friend's son, about 3 1/2-4 hours away on a series of nothing roads across western ME and northern NH/VT. If you've not been to Jay in awhile, you would not believe the development-large new hotel, golf course, monstrous condominiums--on and on. The mountains are almost overshadowed... and we wail re wind farms?? Had a good time with old friends, but had to abstain form alcohol; drove back to the Roadhouse to crash about 1AM-totally exhausted. Sneaking quietly into he bunk room, i find a thru hiker watching TV, something like "Killer's Behind Bars"
, say hi and ask him politely if he might forgo the TV or watch the one in the common room so i can get badly needed sleep--he says "no"--wow. Too tired to do anything else, i grab a sheet/pillow and head down the hall to sleep on a bed in one of the private rooms. Up at 5, i almost succumb to the urge to crush the guys food when i see it on the kitchen table, but just get my gear ready and head north again. Today is:
Pt 2900-2910'-Peak lies right outside the boundary of Parc Gosford. When a fried did the peak years ago, he was able to drive right to the swath near Deer Pond and had a quick, easy ascent to the peak. That road is now on Domtar land, gated, locked, land posted (but still perhaps the only reasonable access??).On Friday, i chatted with the gatehouse person-same guy i met several years back when doing Gosford and the NEHH Boundary peak and after asking about beta on a possible "trail",he showed me a part of a network by Sentiers Frontaliers which would actually dump me behind the gate on a legally useable section of that Domtar road.
The trail is a labor of love looking thing, a mish mash of small clearings, boggy land, old roads, newer roads, woods and the swath. This section of the network takes you to the swath and then over to the Saddles and Mt Marble.The trail is primative in spots and badly in need of clearing /work (grown in with tons of blowdown). It is however well marked (though still easy to lose) and very was a welcome "break" from the usual hikes--all i had to do was "go".
After the trail hits the swath it weaves back and forth between the woods and the swath, using the easier woods when the swath is steep. I could have used this to go around the in your face wall from hell of the swath going up East Saddle (which almost killed me on a very long day last year), but didn't even know it was right there. The hike was easy, quick and fun. At the rounded HOL summit, I searched back and forth a various depths into the woods for a jar. It should have been an easy "spot" and i suspect neither JP's nor any others have survived as the SF-1 trail passes right by there.
Easy hike, but beat from 3 days on the road with short sleep, i return quickly to the car and feel the first drops of the forecast rain (gets much heavier driving home). Back at the Gosford gate, the attendant and i chat about the trail (he wants to know all about conditions/suggestions for improvement), i thank him for his help and he gives me a red plastic triangle that SF use to mark the trails-nice.
forgot to mention-all 4 border crossings pretty smooth.
productive few days and now to sleep (or watch Breaking Bad?)
-18- and soon to pause while i hit Oregon and cool places further afield
jim
, say hi and ask him politely if he might forgo the TV or watch the one in the common room so i can get badly needed sleep--he says "no"--wow. Too tired to do anything else, i grab a sheet/pillow and head down the hall to sleep on a bed in one of the private rooms. Up at 5, i almost succumb to the urge to crush the guys food when i see it on the kitchen table, but just get my gear ready and head north again. Today is: Pt 2900-2910'-Peak lies right outside the boundary of Parc Gosford. When a fried did the peak years ago, he was able to drive right to the swath near Deer Pond and had a quick, easy ascent to the peak. That road is now on Domtar land, gated, locked, land posted (but still perhaps the only reasonable access??).On Friday, i chatted with the gatehouse person-same guy i met several years back when doing Gosford and the NEHH Boundary peak and after asking about beta on a possible "trail",he showed me a part of a network by Sentiers Frontaliers which would actually dump me behind the gate on a legally useable section of that Domtar road.
The trail is a labor of love looking thing, a mish mash of small clearings, boggy land, old roads, newer roads, woods and the swath. This section of the network takes you to the swath and then over to the Saddles and Mt Marble.The trail is primative in spots and badly in need of clearing /work (grown in with tons of blowdown). It is however well marked (though still easy to lose) and very was a welcome "break" from the usual hikes--all i had to do was "go".
After the trail hits the swath it weaves back and forth between the woods and the swath, using the easier woods when the swath is steep. I could have used this to go around the in your face wall from hell of the swath going up East Saddle (which almost killed me on a very long day last year), but didn't even know it was right there. The hike was easy, quick and fun. At the rounded HOL summit, I searched back and forth a various depths into the woods for a jar. It should have been an easy "spot" and i suspect neither JP's nor any others have survived as the SF-1 trail passes right by there.
Easy hike, but beat from 3 days on the road with short sleep, i return quickly to the car and feel the first drops of the forecast rain (gets much heavier driving home). Back at the Gosford gate, the attendant and i chat about the trail (he wants to know all about conditions/suggestions for improvement), i thank him for his help and he gives me a red plastic triangle that SF use to mark the trails-nice.
forgot to mention-all 4 border crossings pretty smooth.
productive few days and now to sleep (or watch Breaking Bad?)
-18- and soon to pause while i hit Oregon and cool places further afield
jim
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