Ed'n Lauky
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- Feb 15, 2007
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A torn meniscus last fall kept me from finishing my fifth round as any hike over ten miles left me in enormous pain. Better pain management and a variety of other measures made it possible for me to get it done again so this summer (and fall) we did the Owl's Head -- Bonds hikes twice and I was able to first finish a fifth round and then yesterday a sixth round. Lauky, himself, now has done the Bonds and Owl's Head five times. The other time I did them Duffy was with me.
We left the Zealand trailhead at the crack of dawn. The trip up to the hut went quickly and was uneventful although I did note with interest the new foot bridge over the pond below the hut.
As we went by the hut I saw a few heads inside. Since Lauky's not allowed in we didn't even stop except to grab a quick picture. We then continued on.
The sky was overcast and the wind was howling so I knew what was in store for us as we continued up. In the section near the ladder we met a Canadian couple coming down from Guyot. They told me that they had had difficulty with the wind in the open area on Mt. Guyot and told me to make sure I kept Lauky leashed so he wouldn't blow away.
As we neared the 4000' level we entered into the fog the wind still blowing hard above us. The temperature was dropping steadily as we went up it reached a low of 34*. I was a bit concerned by the temperature as I was using a hydration pack, but it never went below 34 so freezing did not become a problem.
The wind was loud but we were still well sheltered on top of Zealand.
As we got up around 4500' the trees were covered with rime ice which the wind was blowing off. At one point when the ice was falling on him, 'Lauky Little' looked up at me as if to say: "Papa the sky is falling down." I reassured him and we continued on.
Just before reaching the tree line at Guyot, we stopped a moment and I put Lauky's jacket on him and I put on my rain-wind Jacket. Once in the open on Guyot the wind was vicious. Enough to blow you sideways.
We struggled through the wind (actually, I did, I quickly saw that Lauky being low to the ground and already on all fours wasn't having any problem although he didn't particularly like the wind) until we got back into the trees and headed down towards the Guyot campsite.
The side trip over to West Bond was uneventful. On top of West Bond it was windy but as I remember not particularly difficult. It was in the clouds, however, so we didn't do much more than step up on top. I snapped a quick picture documenting the our presence then we headed off to Bond.
The trees were very wet heading up to Bond and I wished I had worn my gators. My pants were quite wet. (The trip over the ridge later on would dry them out.) On top of Bond, again no views and it was viciously windy. Again I snapped a quick picture and off we went.
As we went down through the trees we had no problem, but once we stepped out on the open ridge we we had one of the biggest adventures of our hiking career. Just before stepping out into the clearing I pulled out my headlamp and stuck it on over the hood of my jacket just to help hold it in place. It was a good thing I did. Nothing we had encountered up to that point compared to the wind we encountered on the open ridge. The lower we got, the worse it got. It was as if the wind was being funneled over the low point of that ridge. At times it was impossible to walk. I could only stand bent over, my back to the wind with my pole planted in the ground. I'm still not sure how I managed to stay upright. In fact a couple of times I still was knocked over. Lauky, as on Guyot, was not having any problem maintaining balance but he didn't like the wind. I did keep him leashed--he was only going to blow away if I did too.
As we hit the low part of the ridge the fog suddenly lifted and we could see an extended distance, not that I could appreciate it very much.
As we climbed toward the summit of Bondcliff the trail passed to the lee side of the mountain and we got a bit of a reprieve from the wind, which nevertheless came back with full force as we reached the summit.
As we were climbing up I looked back and noticed that the fog had again descended to cover the ridge. I felt a bit like Moses crossing the Red Sea--surely the Egyptian army was being swallowed up in that fog.
One thing though, with all that adrenalin flowing there was no problem with feeling tired on the last climb up Bondcliff.
The summit was so windy that I hardly gave a thought to having just finished a sixth round. I simply snapped a couple of documentation pictures and headed off down into the shelter of the trees and the Pemi wilderness.
Once in the trees I stopped for a moment to call my wife to let her know we had survived the ridge crossing which we both knew the night before would be difficult and give her an ETA for our arrival at Lincoln Woods.
The rest of the trip out was basically uneventful. The trails, from start to finish, were all in good condition and the stream crossings, even the bottom two on the Bond Cliff trail were fairly easily crossed.
It was a long fun day and really quite the adventure. We met my wife in Lincoln Woods and headed into Lincoln for a sandwich at McDonald's. For Lauky it was a McDouble, he really earned it.
Then off to pick up the other car and head home.
Mileage 19.5
Elevation gain: 3700
[email protected]
We left the Zealand trailhead at the crack of dawn. The trip up to the hut went quickly and was uneventful although I did note with interest the new foot bridge over the pond below the hut.
As we went by the hut I saw a few heads inside. Since Lauky's not allowed in we didn't even stop except to grab a quick picture. We then continued on.
The sky was overcast and the wind was howling so I knew what was in store for us as we continued up. In the section near the ladder we met a Canadian couple coming down from Guyot. They told me that they had had difficulty with the wind in the open area on Mt. Guyot and told me to make sure I kept Lauky leashed so he wouldn't blow away.
As we neared the 4000' level we entered into the fog the wind still blowing hard above us. The temperature was dropping steadily as we went up it reached a low of 34*. I was a bit concerned by the temperature as I was using a hydration pack, but it never went below 34 so freezing did not become a problem.
The wind was loud but we were still well sheltered on top of Zealand.
As we got up around 4500' the trees were covered with rime ice which the wind was blowing off. At one point when the ice was falling on him, 'Lauky Little' looked up at me as if to say: "Papa the sky is falling down." I reassured him and we continued on.
Just before reaching the tree line at Guyot, we stopped a moment and I put Lauky's jacket on him and I put on my rain-wind Jacket. Once in the open on Guyot the wind was vicious. Enough to blow you sideways.
We struggled through the wind (actually, I did, I quickly saw that Lauky being low to the ground and already on all fours wasn't having any problem although he didn't particularly like the wind) until we got back into the trees and headed down towards the Guyot campsite.
The side trip over to West Bond was uneventful. On top of West Bond it was windy but as I remember not particularly difficult. It was in the clouds, however, so we didn't do much more than step up on top. I snapped a quick picture documenting the our presence then we headed off to Bond.
The trees were very wet heading up to Bond and I wished I had worn my gators. My pants were quite wet. (The trip over the ridge later on would dry them out.) On top of Bond, again no views and it was viciously windy. Again I snapped a quick picture and off we went.
As we went down through the trees we had no problem, but once we stepped out on the open ridge we we had one of the biggest adventures of our hiking career. Just before stepping out into the clearing I pulled out my headlamp and stuck it on over the hood of my jacket just to help hold it in place. It was a good thing I did. Nothing we had encountered up to that point compared to the wind we encountered on the open ridge. The lower we got, the worse it got. It was as if the wind was being funneled over the low point of that ridge. At times it was impossible to walk. I could only stand bent over, my back to the wind with my pole planted in the ground. I'm still not sure how I managed to stay upright. In fact a couple of times I still was knocked over. Lauky, as on Guyot, was not having any problem maintaining balance but he didn't like the wind. I did keep him leashed--he was only going to blow away if I did too.
As we hit the low part of the ridge the fog suddenly lifted and we could see an extended distance, not that I could appreciate it very much.
As we climbed toward the summit of Bondcliff the trail passed to the lee side of the mountain and we got a bit of a reprieve from the wind, which nevertheless came back with full force as we reached the summit.
As we were climbing up I looked back and noticed that the fog had again descended to cover the ridge. I felt a bit like Moses crossing the Red Sea--surely the Egyptian army was being swallowed up in that fog.
One thing though, with all that adrenalin flowing there was no problem with feeling tired on the last climb up Bondcliff.
The summit was so windy that I hardly gave a thought to having just finished a sixth round. I simply snapped a couple of documentation pictures and headed off down into the shelter of the trees and the Pemi wilderness.
Once in the trees I stopped for a moment to call my wife to let her know we had survived the ridge crossing which we both knew the night before would be difficult and give her an ETA for our arrival at Lincoln Woods.
The rest of the trip out was basically uneventful. The trails, from start to finish, were all in good condition and the stream crossings, even the bottom two on the Bond Cliff trail were fairly easily crossed.
It was a long fun day and really quite the adventure. We met my wife in Lincoln Woods and headed into Lincoln for a sandwich at McDonald's. For Lauky it was a McDouble, he really earned it.
Then off to pick up the other car and head home.Mileage 19.5
Elevation gain: 3700
[email protected]
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