captain
New member
This will likely be a long one...it started Friday morning at 4:00am...I had to deliver a proposal from my office to Nantucket Airport by 2:00pm that day...so I left Providence with my pack ready to go at 4:30am...got to Hyannis at 6:00am, and boarded my ferry...dropped off the proposal, had breakfast, and got to walk around the island a little bit in the rain and fog until my return ferry left at 10:30. Left Hyannis at 11:50...which was later than I had hoped but I can't control the ferry schedule, so I took it in stride and started heading up to the Whites...traffic was not all that bad, but it was pouring and visibility up Rt.3 to the SE Expressway was horrendous...finally got to the Rt 16/Kanc junction at 3:50 and hit a wall of traffic...evidently there was some type of craft fair in town....extremely anxious for my first solo backpack trip, I decided that I would head down the kanc and use bear notch road (my destination was Jericho Rd) to 302 to avoid the traffic. Left the car at 5:00pm (was hoping I would be leaving the car by 3:00pm) and started up the Rocky Branch Trail from Jericho Rd. Feeling great for the first 2 miles...the trail is an old logging road, flat and wide...the summits of the surrounding ridges were starting to poke through the clouds, and it was a real uplifting feeling...eventually I came to what I thought was my first crossing with the Rocky Branch...now my intent was to make it to the tent site at the Davis/Isolation Trail junction on Friday night...seeing as though I didn't leave my car until 5:00 I knew that likely wouldn't happen. At any rate, the water level was too high to make a safe crossing, and there was nowhere up or down stream that would work either...so I decided to bushwack up the western edge of the stream...only the rocks were covered with moss and were incredibly slick...after a number of close calls I decided I would be better off in the woods...but my experience bushwacking with a full pack is very limited...and soon I realized that I was making no progress and did not feel as though I was heading for the trail...to make a long story a little shorter...I did eventually find the trail...only to realize that my initial bushwack was headed in the wrong direction...and then I came to another crossing that I could not manuveur, so bushwack again I did...and again, I realized that I was not faring too well...after yet again finding the trail when I thought all was lost, I vowed to not leave the trail again...so I had to ford the stream 5 more times that evening...a very sketchy situation that looking back, perhaps was not the wisest of ideas...but I got across every time...man that current was strong in some spots...so after I made my final river crossing, I realized there was no way in hell I was making it to my intended destination...I now decided that RB shelter #2 would be my destination for the night. However as I headed along the trail, I came across a beautiful little brown sign indicating a tent site to my immediate left...I was thrilled. I set up camp, made myself some dinner and retired for the night. Sat. morning I awoke to the sound of wind high up in the trees...packed up and headed back out...passed shelter #2, rested abit and enjoyed the sunshine...and continued on my way...oh I should mention at this point that the Rocky Branch Trail south of Shelter #2 is in ROUGH shape...overgrown, next to no blazes (and at some points when the trail comes close to the river, you don't know if it crosses or continues on the same side of the stream, in some cases it both!!) and at two points there are very fresh rock slides that have washed out the trail...one spot the boulder (about the size of a 4 door Civic) was just below the trail and the scar it had left on the embankment was so fresh that I sunk 3/4 up to my knees in mud...now that was a little scary. At any rate, the trail north of shelter #2 is in fine shape, and all the river crossings at this point were easily negotiated (I actually muttered, "take that rocky branch!" after each successful crossing). Finally reached the tent site at the Davis/Isolation junction...was quite excited as it was a nice site. Set up camp and packed my summit pack as I had planned on heading up Davis path to Boot Spur and then over the ridge toward Monroe...well...I got about 3/4 of the way from treeline to the top of Boot Spur and had to turn back...the wind was scaring the shit out of me, and the clouds turned quite dark...the snow wasn't bothering me, and truth be told I could handle the wind, but the dark clouds had me continually battling internally:
"there's no way there's going to be lightning coming out of those clouds"...
"dude, you better head back...it's a long way above treeline, and if you hear the thunder, you've got aways to go to get down"...
"don't be a wuss man, you're just getting paranoid."...
"seriously guy, you're solo, and if you fall and crack your knee or your skull in this wind, you're going to be in rough shape"...
"If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will..."
How did you get here Jerry??
Anyway, I did decide to head back...and as it was only 2:00 when I got back in the trees...I decided I would head to Isolation and spend some time on the summit rather than just bagging it in the morning as I had planned originally...well it was just as cold and windy on Isolation, but I was comforted by the fact that I could simply pop back down onto the trail if the weather turned...sat along on the summit for about 30min, and decided to head back to camp...bundled in my tent I read my book for a few hours, made some dinner and called it a night early...headed out of camp early on Sunday and made my way along the Davis path south toward Stairs Mt. Met some very friendly people along the way...still incredibly windy, but the day warmed up as it went on...just a great day to be in the mnts...a number (like 8 or 9) blowdowns along the way...a couple proving quite difficult...fantastic views from the lookout at Stairs Mt. and the trek down Stair Col was superb...the forest was SO GREEN. Made it back to the car about 12:30 with some very sore feet and a sore back...but the ride home was smooth and enjoyable. Can't wait to head out solo again.
"there's no way there's going to be lightning coming out of those clouds"...
"dude, you better head back...it's a long way above treeline, and if you hear the thunder, you've got aways to go to get down"...
"don't be a wuss man, you're just getting paranoid."...
"seriously guy, you're solo, and if you fall and crack your knee or your skull in this wind, you're going to be in rough shape"...
"If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will..."
How did you get here Jerry??
Anyway, I did decide to head back...and as it was only 2:00 when I got back in the trees...I decided I would head to Isolation and spend some time on the summit rather than just bagging it in the morning as I had planned originally...well it was just as cold and windy on Isolation, but I was comforted by the fact that I could simply pop back down onto the trail if the weather turned...sat along on the summit for about 30min, and decided to head back to camp...bundled in my tent I read my book for a few hours, made some dinner and called it a night early...headed out of camp early on Sunday and made my way along the Davis path south toward Stairs Mt. Met some very friendly people along the way...still incredibly windy, but the day warmed up as it went on...just a great day to be in the mnts...a number (like 8 or 9) blowdowns along the way...a couple proving quite difficult...fantastic views from the lookout at Stairs Mt. and the trek down Stair Col was superb...the forest was SO GREEN. Made it back to the car about 12:30 with some very sore feet and a sore back...but the ride home was smooth and enjoyable. Can't wait to head out solo again.
