WSC
New member
Well it wasn't really a crime, but it was one of those experiences where you find yourself off trail, the sun has set, miles from home and a story just perfect for Mohoamed Ellozy's accident report. This happened two weeks ago, the day before Thanksgiving. Yesterday my hiking partner and I returned to find out where we went wrong.
Two weeks ago, 7summits and I choose to do for us a major hike. We would start at Sawyer River Road and Finish on Zealand Road. We Hiked up Signal Ridge to Mt. Carrigan, my first time, 7summits second.We were rewarded with sun, no wind and excellent visability.
We then hiked down Desolation trail, and entered the wilderness. The plan was to hike the Wilderness Trail to Thoreau Falls Trail, maybe bushwack a little off the trail to the Old Thoreau Falls Trail, return to the new trail and make it to Ethan Pond Trail. Ethan Pond Trail was the goal, because it is an easy trail to follow, same with Zealand, mostly flat, and would not be a problem at night with headlamps.
We were doing fine and on schedule. Many blowdowns along the wilderness trail,some water crossings all were manageable. We arrived on Thoreau Falls Trail. After a mile or so, we attempted to cross the river to get to the old trail.
The water was just too high, with enough ice to cause worry. We went up the trail a bit to see if there were any spots that were doable. We could not find any so after a bit called it off and headed for home. It was getting late, we thought we could still make it to Ethan Pond trail by sunset, Thoreau Falls Trail had other ideas.
So Far the trail was distinct with minor blowdowns, but then it started to become less clear, little or no markings, and it tough to see where the trail went to as there were more and more blowdowns that obsured the trail.
We went about 10 minutes off the trail, following and old route, but when it became clear we turned around and retraced our steps and found the correct route. We became more cautious, and were carefull at the next couple of tricky areas. However now it was getting close to dark. We came to one spot where we were clearly on trail and the trail seemed to stop, we eventually figured it out, but it happened again, and this time it was dark and we made a wrong turn.
Knowing we were close to the falls, we stayed along the river hoping to cross the trail at the top of the falls. We got to the base of the falls but got stuck as we were blocked by a major wall, we tried to climb over it, but it was pitchblack except for our headlamps, we were tired and there was no clear way over it. At this point I was thinking that they would send a rescue party for us out on Thankgiving day, and that my family and friends would never let me here the end of it, and that my wife would never let me go hiking again. We had overnight gear, but did not want to spend the night.
We both kept our heads, We knew we were at the base of the falls, and according to the map, if we crossed and headed in a north east direction we would get to the Ethan Pond Trail. We looked and found a way to cross, and then did a bushwhack and made it to the trail. Luckily 7summits has the eyes of an eagle and spotted the blaze. What a relief, we then had an uneventfull 4 mile walk back to the car, with the stars and the light from Zealand Hut leading the way.
Two weeks later 7 summits wanted to return to find out just how close we were and where we did all our crossings. We came back, started at Zealand Trail at 7:00 made it to Thoureau Falls by 10:30. The Falls were beautiful, lots of ice and great view of Mt. Bond. It is amazing how much view we missed because of the dark. We tried to cross the falls, however the water was too high with too much ice, even little further up was the same. We ended up going back on the Ethan Pond trail 0.3 miles further up crossing a footbridge and bushwhacking to the other side of the falls, were we retraced our steps, found out were we went wrong. We were not that far off, but it was much clearer in the daylight. We figured out where we crossed over and took two videos of the problem areas. Which 7 summits will post soon. All and all it was a great hike. I am glad I hiked with such a great partner who would still hike with me again after such an ordeal.
WSC
Two weeks ago, 7summits and I choose to do for us a major hike. We would start at Sawyer River Road and Finish on Zealand Road. We Hiked up Signal Ridge to Mt. Carrigan, my first time, 7summits second.We were rewarded with sun, no wind and excellent visability.
We then hiked down Desolation trail, and entered the wilderness. The plan was to hike the Wilderness Trail to Thoreau Falls Trail, maybe bushwack a little off the trail to the Old Thoreau Falls Trail, return to the new trail and make it to Ethan Pond Trail. Ethan Pond Trail was the goal, because it is an easy trail to follow, same with Zealand, mostly flat, and would not be a problem at night with headlamps.
We were doing fine and on schedule. Many blowdowns along the wilderness trail,some water crossings all were manageable. We arrived on Thoreau Falls Trail. After a mile or so, we attempted to cross the river to get to the old trail.
The water was just too high, with enough ice to cause worry. We went up the trail a bit to see if there were any spots that were doable. We could not find any so after a bit called it off and headed for home. It was getting late, we thought we could still make it to Ethan Pond trail by sunset, Thoreau Falls Trail had other ideas.
So Far the trail was distinct with minor blowdowns, but then it started to become less clear, little or no markings, and it tough to see where the trail went to as there were more and more blowdowns that obsured the trail.
We went about 10 minutes off the trail, following and old route, but when it became clear we turned around and retraced our steps and found the correct route. We became more cautious, and were carefull at the next couple of tricky areas. However now it was getting close to dark. We came to one spot where we were clearly on trail and the trail seemed to stop, we eventually figured it out, but it happened again, and this time it was dark and we made a wrong turn.
Knowing we were close to the falls, we stayed along the river hoping to cross the trail at the top of the falls. We got to the base of the falls but got stuck as we were blocked by a major wall, we tried to climb over it, but it was pitchblack except for our headlamps, we were tired and there was no clear way over it. At this point I was thinking that they would send a rescue party for us out on Thankgiving day, and that my family and friends would never let me here the end of it, and that my wife would never let me go hiking again. We had overnight gear, but did not want to spend the night.
We both kept our heads, We knew we were at the base of the falls, and according to the map, if we crossed and headed in a north east direction we would get to the Ethan Pond Trail. We looked and found a way to cross, and then did a bushwhack and made it to the trail. Luckily 7summits has the eyes of an eagle and spotted the blaze. What a relief, we then had an uneventfull 4 mile walk back to the car, with the stars and the light from Zealand Hut leading the way.
Two weeks later 7 summits wanted to return to find out just how close we were and where we did all our crossings. We came back, started at Zealand Trail at 7:00 made it to Thoureau Falls by 10:30. The Falls were beautiful, lots of ice and great view of Mt. Bond. It is amazing how much view we missed because of the dark. We tried to cross the falls, however the water was too high with too much ice, even little further up was the same. We ended up going back on the Ethan Pond trail 0.3 miles further up crossing a footbridge and bushwhacking to the other side of the falls, were we retraced our steps, found out were we went wrong. We were not that far off, but it was much clearer in the daylight. We figured out where we crossed over and took two videos of the problem areas. Which 7 summits will post soon. All and all it was a great hike. I am glad I hiked with such a great partner who would still hike with me again after such an ordeal.
WSC
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