Quasi presi traverse 8/25/09

[bristlecone]

Feeling that I was missing the mountains more than the city would miss me, I nipped out for a quick fix. This was also the first time I had been up to the whites this year without carrying ski equipment; it was very nice being unencumbered. Some running, some walking, some idly looking at views.

Stashed a bike at caps TH and parked at Edmands. I set off into a morning world of sunlight shining through waterdrops clinging to anything and everything. I was hoping to enjoy some of those carefully placed stones and that wonderful "always climbing, never steeply" strategy. The path did not disappoint.

Perfectly cool hiking weather and reasonably clear views, a nice break from the sticky weather of late.

The morning unfolded well, touring the summits from Eisenhower up through the upper reaches of the Crawford Path.

A necessary watering stop at the rockpile summit was made as brief as possible. I needed to get to this, reached by a short rock hop.

Corn season may be upon us in most of New England, but up here, the corn harvest has come and gone some time ago.

I treated myself to fresh socks. Maybe not the freshies that people typically look for here, but yet oh so nice.

It was my first time on Clay. A nice peak, and there was no good reason for me to have been neglecting it.

This trip was fueled by PowerBlobs.

They might have been the next big thing, but I overdid the coriander in a batch of fifty

From Jefferson, the time seemed fine for a trip out to Adams. Madison? Not so sure.

I sure do like the views in these parts.

 

[bristlecone]

part 2

Madison? Time was tight, but why not (obligatory shot).

Madison was enjoyable as always, but it was hard not to interpret the view to the west as a graph of the activation energy needed to get home.

Starting my slowest climb of the bunch (obligatory shot).

Hey, it's working! My legs are still climbing!

About twenty steps short of Edmands Col, I suddenly developed an acute craving for lamb curry - the kind where the lamb just dissolves in your mouth (oh my God!) But I didn't have rogan josh or steamy naan, I just had Jefferson - so best to put on my bib and dig in for the final climb.

Up top, the shadows were getting longer. Time to get this horse back to the barn.

I like running downhill, there's a nice sort of "woo-hoo" about it. The fast and furous bike descent of Jefferson Notch was also good on "woo-hoo." I pedaled for a total of less than a minute in the entire ride back to Edmands, back to the car 9:30 after it had all started.

So I skipped Pierce, Jackson, and Webster, but climbed Adams and Jefferson twice. I didn't do an end-to-end using a northern trailhead, but formed a bit of a loop with a gravity-assisted bike return. The book tells me that my 18.8 mi hiking segment was just short and 9300' gain was a bit more than the minimal traverse. My legs tell me that they are used.

Some trip trivia:
I was wearing shorts.
Sweat did get in my eyes but did not fill my shoes.
My laces were round and did not come untied; however, I did employ the "double-knot" method.
No chafing, thanks to preventive application inspired by reading some recent horror stories.

btw- anyone know of any good Indian places in the whites, in case this is not my last mountain-induced curry craving?