Silverfox
New member
Beginning of September, 09
The last couple of years I have taken a group over to maine to do the 4ks there about this time of year..This year, for a variety of reasons I stayed on home turf for a stretch of hikes this past week...hiked with many different people, under mostly great conditions..
Friday8/29 set up camp at Sugarloaf 2..decent weather but no time for a hike today as stuff going on..don't want to be late for the CMan festivities in Ashland..what a great time we have on these friday nights
Saturday 8/30..get the note that Trish and Alex finish postponed due to weather..a great move i thought though perhaps some were inconvenienced.. Needing a hike..hey it was close..Tecumseh it is..steady rain all the way with gradually increasing winds at the summit that did not have me linger..decided to take the ski trails down and that worked out fine..a couple of torrential wind driven down pours..but wet is wet...a few views opened up down below but no pics as I left the camera warm and dry in the car...
sunday 8/31..the day dawns brisk and sunny..it seemed funny driving through the notch south for a hike,,Arrived at Gorge as Trish Alex Sage Tim Val Dave Mad River Bob Geri Tim and familyand perhaps others getting ready to rumble up the Gorge Brook Trail.. I hook up with a muttly crew including barking Cat, The Feathered Hat and Tuckerman, Rocket 21, Micheal J, una_dogger and Terra, Old Man,Paradox and Zippy, Jason, Bob and Shep,.. as the dogs found their places in line so did we all and the hike went smoothly up the Asquam Ridge Trail..Mt Jim basically right on the trail..some discussion on Mt Blue bushwack might have gotten us into the woods a bit soon but after the initial spuce wall things opened up and we were soon at the cannister enjoy nyuck nyuck jokes and sabrina's cookies..Once back on the trail we ran into Loanshark who had missed the updated time posting and while he had alread summitted graciously came back up with us..The final walk above treeline towards the summit pretty good..you could see the celebration going on..lots of familiar faces..friends you meet on the internet..excellent. After a lingering lunch we set off for South Peak where we ran into Dave and a group descending..nice views there and we lingered awhile before taking the easy route down via Carriage road and Snapper..most were headed over to Mad Rivers for celebration shooters and all but my nephew Ben was due in camp this evening so back to Twin I went..
Monday 9/1 after a late arrival the previous evening nephew Ben and the out of shape brother in law Micheal were a little slow getting going in the morning but our goals were clear as forcasts pointed towards drastically improving weather.. A bit cloudy above as we ascended Edmunds Path..on to the rock field and the wind had picked up and the temp had dropped..A couple of folks passed by having not ascended do to weather..we felt we had the gear and moved on..Gusty NW winds pushed us around a bit but we were soon on the summit enjoying the nice new cairn and tremendous views though above 5000 mostly socked in though at time Jefferson and Munroe poked out..35 degrees with 30 mph wind made for a brisk feel to the summit we lingered a bit then headed down lower to enjoy a fine lunch out of the wind.. The strength of the group dictated that Ike would be our goal today and we dropped back down Edmunds into the quite nice warm air below
Tuesday 9/2 perfect day in very way..and we are doing the hancocks..oh well somebody must have needed them..a large OTHH today, 13, everyone knows Ben and off we go.. It becomes evident once the ascent starts up North that Micheal is not ready for the type of workout that the hancocks demand ..The old coots with boots are relentless and I stay back with Micheal as sweep and we drop further behind..As a last resort he goes to the 20 steps..stop take 5 breaths then move on approach..this worked and we slowly but eventually made our way to the lookout..Mike was pretty pleased that he was able to do this..Ben was talking to claude about the Red Sox..We took it slow over to South avoiding the muddy morrasses along the way..that is some serious mud along that section./.the descent was fine.. I had a great swim at Otter Rocks..Ben, being a little afraid of the water and its chill barely got his feet wet...maybe next time
Wed 9/3 carter Dome..this seemed like an easy enough trail for Micheal who insisted on coming..with any luck Ginette and I might stretch it over South and Middle but the ascent would tell us that..Again..another picture perfect above treeline day but we were certain this was the right hike for our visitors and that soon became evident.I put Ben in the lead for this one and while a slow pace he was steady having watched Ginette and Claude previously and we were soon on the summit where the partial views were good.. The trek over to My hight always seems longer than I think but we were soon rewarded with one of the best vantage points in the Whites..phenomenal day today..maybe a bit hazy in spots but you could bick out Happy Hiker over on Cabot for sure and lots of shapes snaking over the presidentials..We lingered for awhile..I suggested to Ginette that she could pick up Black Angel Trail and that I would pick her up at the campground there and this we did..she made the 8.2 mile hike in well under 3 hours and reported that once off the side of Hight it was pretty smooth sailing..No problem with the water crossing..
Thurs 9/4 time to break up camp..which i did, left some stuff with Mike and Ben who awaited the arrival of 7 year old princess Molly for a 2 day camping event where they hoped to do Sugarloafs and Hale. After unloading camper and swapping out trucks back in Meredith i decided it was toooo nice a day and needed to do something this afternoon so cruised back up to Hale where the trail was in great shape and I was only off my pre knee time of 10 minutes (2.22)rt
Very nice week in the woods with a couple of solo hikes..a fun filled and totally a blast VFTT group taking part in Trish and Alex's celebration, a nice and routine hike with OTHH to hancocks..good to catch up with everyone..., and some good hikes with nephew Ben, Brother in Law Mike, and some Maine AMC leaders, Don and Ginette who came over and hiked with us a bit as well..all good
some pics to follow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157622109091655/
The last couple of years I have taken a group over to maine to do the 4ks there about this time of year..This year, for a variety of reasons I stayed on home turf for a stretch of hikes this past week...hiked with many different people, under mostly great conditions..
Friday8/29 set up camp at Sugarloaf 2..decent weather but no time for a hike today as stuff going on..don't want to be late for the CMan festivities in Ashland..what a great time we have on these friday nights
Saturday 8/30..get the note that Trish and Alex finish postponed due to weather..a great move i thought though perhaps some were inconvenienced.. Needing a hike..hey it was close..Tecumseh it is..steady rain all the way with gradually increasing winds at the summit that did not have me linger..decided to take the ski trails down and that worked out fine..a couple of torrential wind driven down pours..but wet is wet...a few views opened up down below but no pics as I left the camera warm and dry in the car...
sunday 8/31..the day dawns brisk and sunny..it seemed funny driving through the notch south for a hike,,Arrived at Gorge as Trish Alex Sage Tim Val Dave Mad River Bob Geri Tim and familyand perhaps others getting ready to rumble up the Gorge Brook Trail.. I hook up with a muttly crew including barking Cat, The Feathered Hat and Tuckerman, Rocket 21, Micheal J, una_dogger and Terra, Old Man,Paradox and Zippy, Jason, Bob and Shep,.. as the dogs found their places in line so did we all and the hike went smoothly up the Asquam Ridge Trail..Mt Jim basically right on the trail..some discussion on Mt Blue bushwack might have gotten us into the woods a bit soon but after the initial spuce wall things opened up and we were soon at the cannister enjoy nyuck nyuck jokes and sabrina's cookies..Once back on the trail we ran into Loanshark who had missed the updated time posting and while he had alread summitted graciously came back up with us..The final walk above treeline towards the summit pretty good..you could see the celebration going on..lots of familiar faces..friends you meet on the internet..excellent. After a lingering lunch we set off for South Peak where we ran into Dave and a group descending..nice views there and we lingered awhile before taking the easy route down via Carriage road and Snapper..most were headed over to Mad Rivers for celebration shooters and all but my nephew Ben was due in camp this evening so back to Twin I went..
Monday 9/1 after a late arrival the previous evening nephew Ben and the out of shape brother in law Micheal were a little slow getting going in the morning but our goals were clear as forcasts pointed towards drastically improving weather.. A bit cloudy above as we ascended Edmunds Path..on to the rock field and the wind had picked up and the temp had dropped..A couple of folks passed by having not ascended do to weather..we felt we had the gear and moved on..Gusty NW winds pushed us around a bit but we were soon on the summit enjoying the nice new cairn and tremendous views though above 5000 mostly socked in though at time Jefferson and Munroe poked out..35 degrees with 30 mph wind made for a brisk feel to the summit we lingered a bit then headed down lower to enjoy a fine lunch out of the wind.. The strength of the group dictated that Ike would be our goal today and we dropped back down Edmunds into the quite nice warm air below
Tuesday 9/2 perfect day in very way..and we are doing the hancocks..oh well somebody must have needed them..a large OTHH today, 13, everyone knows Ben and off we go.. It becomes evident once the ascent starts up North that Micheal is not ready for the type of workout that the hancocks demand ..The old coots with boots are relentless and I stay back with Micheal as sweep and we drop further behind..As a last resort he goes to the 20 steps..stop take 5 breaths then move on approach..this worked and we slowly but eventually made our way to the lookout..Mike was pretty pleased that he was able to do this..Ben was talking to claude about the Red Sox..We took it slow over to South avoiding the muddy morrasses along the way..that is some serious mud along that section./.the descent was fine.. I had a great swim at Otter Rocks..Ben, being a little afraid of the water and its chill barely got his feet wet...maybe next time
Wed 9/3 carter Dome..this seemed like an easy enough trail for Micheal who insisted on coming..with any luck Ginette and I might stretch it over South and Middle but the ascent would tell us that..Again..another picture perfect above treeline day but we were certain this was the right hike for our visitors and that soon became evident.I put Ben in the lead for this one and while a slow pace he was steady having watched Ginette and Claude previously and we were soon on the summit where the partial views were good.. The trek over to My hight always seems longer than I think but we were soon rewarded with one of the best vantage points in the Whites..phenomenal day today..maybe a bit hazy in spots but you could bick out Happy Hiker over on Cabot for sure and lots of shapes snaking over the presidentials..We lingered for awhile..I suggested to Ginette that she could pick up Black Angel Trail and that I would pick her up at the campground there and this we did..she made the 8.2 mile hike in well under 3 hours and reported that once off the side of Hight it was pretty smooth sailing..No problem with the water crossing..
Thurs 9/4 time to break up camp..which i did, left some stuff with Mike and Ben who awaited the arrival of 7 year old princess Molly for a 2 day camping event where they hoped to do Sugarloafs and Hale. After unloading camper and swapping out trucks back in Meredith i decided it was toooo nice a day and needed to do something this afternoon so cruised back up to Hale where the trail was in great shape and I was only off my pre knee time of 10 minutes (2.22)rt
Very nice week in the woods with a couple of solo hikes..a fun filled and totally a blast VFTT group taking part in Trish and Alex's celebration, a nice and routine hike with OTHH to hancocks..good to catch up with everyone..., and some good hikes with nephew Ben, Brother in Law Mike, and some Maine AMC leaders, Don and Ginette who came over and hiked with us a bit as well..all good
some pics to follow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157622109091655/
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