Babysteps
New member
Hello,
This was my first hike with VFTT and my first trip report!
What an incredible day, I'm looking forward to more hikes!
First, the trip was perfectly planned by Mark151. It was amazing that 13 people were at the trailhead of North Pack, ready for a photo op, with cars spotted at the midpoint and finish, at the appointed time of 6:00 am! Way to go!
Weather was brisk, in the 40's I think, so we all hiked pretty quickly up North Pack and made it to the summit in a half hour. We were lucky to have clear skies and great views of Monadnock from the top. The group stayed close so far, I think we were all fresh and energetic! We came off off of North Pack via the Cliff Trail.
The plan from here was clear...Hike over the Pack Monadnock (stop for a snack) and wait at the bottom for the group to catch up. The plan from here is a little less clear. Since crossing Route 101 can be dangerous in a car, Mark wanted to assure that everyone made it accross safely. Was the plan to wait and cross the road together as a group, or was it for Mark to run into the road, get hit by a car, therefore stopping traffic for the rest of us to cross safely? Who knows? Once we approached the road Mark treated the road crossing as if he was in his truck (I hope the State Farm Insurance rep doesn't read this) he put it in overdrive and gunned it! He made it accross, losing his hat in the sprint. Donna saved the day, and the hat! She stopped the oncoming traffic, grabbed the hat and the rest of us crossed the road safely. Yeah Donna!
Next we headed up Temple Mountain. Our luck with the weather continued. It was clear and cool, never making it out of the upper 50's, we believe. The group started to separate here. Some of us had to include some peak bagging and check out the summit of Holt Mountain....never know when they will add a list of 2000 footers to accomplish. We also enjoyed the many outlooks and view spots. My favorite part of the hike was in this section, Skyline Ridge (I think that is what it is called). We started seeing Mt Watatic and had some great views of Monadnock. We also commented on how we were seeing the different stages of spring, where some trees were not quite blooming and others were just popping open. Unfortunately, everyones "favorite" part of spring hiking became evident...we were swarmed with black flies as soon as we stopped moving. Quietdog started having trouble with his knee during this time and some "fancy bandage work" became neccessary. We all met up again as a group at Temple Road. The faster in the group entertained the black flies until the slower of us caught up!
Lunch was calling us quite loudly by this point. We all moved pretty quickly to make it to Windblown where we had coolers and enough food to feed an additional 13 hikers. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I think I totally "pigged out" at lunch and felt like I desperately needed a siesta halfway up the next hill, (once we found the next hill
)
Many of us started feeling the miles after lunch I think. Quietdog decided to push on despite his swollen knee (hopefully he is not regretting that decision today). There was plenty of Ibuprofen for all! I enjoyed Melissa and Geri's company and conversation as we admired the trylliums.
I'm not sure if it was the Ibuprofen that Geri gave me or the exhileration that comes with the end of a long hike, but I felt like I was flying up Mt Watatic. The rest of the group was already waiting for us. It was a spectacular finish to the day. We had views of the whole trail and it appeared that there were some rain clouds over Pack Monadnock. A nice (and patient) couple took several group pictures of our proud group. We lingered and basked in the accomplishment for a while and headed down to the finish. It was a quick and steep trip off of Mt Watatic.
Overall, from start to finish I believe it took 12 hours, of course that was not all hiking. We took many breaks, and there was much socializing throughout the day. We had a little tour of Windblown ski area just after lunch as we tried to find where the ski trail intersected the Wapak trail.
After figuring the car spotting returns, we all ended our day with $2 Long Trails and dinner at the Brick Oven in Greenville. We were lucky to finish dinner just as the loud band was starting. We seemed pretty tired, so I hope everyone made it home safely!
I just want to say that I totally enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone. I love to meet other hikers and hear about all your other adventures! Thanks for a wonderful day!!!
Our group made a donation to the Brain Tumor Society for Darren, I believe we collected $65.
This was my first hike with VFTT and my first trip report!
What an incredible day, I'm looking forward to more hikes!
First, the trip was perfectly planned by Mark151. It was amazing that 13 people were at the trailhead of North Pack, ready for a photo op, with cars spotted at the midpoint and finish, at the appointed time of 6:00 am! Way to go!
Weather was brisk, in the 40's I think, so we all hiked pretty quickly up North Pack and made it to the summit in a half hour. We were lucky to have clear skies and great views of Monadnock from the top. The group stayed close so far, I think we were all fresh and energetic! We came off off of North Pack via the Cliff Trail.
The plan from here was clear...Hike over the Pack Monadnock (stop for a snack) and wait at the bottom for the group to catch up. The plan from here is a little less clear. Since crossing Route 101 can be dangerous in a car, Mark wanted to assure that everyone made it accross safely. Was the plan to wait and cross the road together as a group, or was it for Mark to run into the road, get hit by a car, therefore stopping traffic for the rest of us to cross safely? Who knows? Once we approached the road Mark treated the road crossing as if he was in his truck (I hope the State Farm Insurance rep doesn't read this) he put it in overdrive and gunned it! He made it accross, losing his hat in the sprint. Donna saved the day, and the hat! She stopped the oncoming traffic, grabbed the hat and the rest of us crossed the road safely. Yeah Donna!
Next we headed up Temple Mountain. Our luck with the weather continued. It was clear and cool, never making it out of the upper 50's, we believe. The group started to separate here. Some of us had to include some peak bagging and check out the summit of Holt Mountain....never know when they will add a list of 2000 footers to accomplish. We also enjoyed the many outlooks and view spots. My favorite part of the hike was in this section, Skyline Ridge (I think that is what it is called). We started seeing Mt Watatic and had some great views of Monadnock. We also commented on how we were seeing the different stages of spring, where some trees were not quite blooming and others were just popping open. Unfortunately, everyones "favorite" part of spring hiking became evident...we were swarmed with black flies as soon as we stopped moving. Quietdog started having trouble with his knee during this time and some "fancy bandage work" became neccessary. We all met up again as a group at Temple Road. The faster in the group entertained the black flies until the slower of us caught up!
Lunch was calling us quite loudly by this point. We all moved pretty quickly to make it to Windblown where we had coolers and enough food to feed an additional 13 hikers. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I think I totally "pigged out" at lunch and felt like I desperately needed a siesta halfway up the next hill, (once we found the next hill
) Many of us started feeling the miles after lunch I think. Quietdog decided to push on despite his swollen knee (hopefully he is not regretting that decision today). There was plenty of Ibuprofen for all! I enjoyed Melissa and Geri's company and conversation as we admired the trylliums.
I'm not sure if it was the Ibuprofen that Geri gave me or the exhileration that comes with the end of a long hike, but I felt like I was flying up Mt Watatic. The rest of the group was already waiting for us. It was a spectacular finish to the day. We had views of the whole trail and it appeared that there were some rain clouds over Pack Monadnock. A nice (and patient) couple took several group pictures of our proud group. We lingered and basked in the accomplishment for a while and headed down to the finish. It was a quick and steep trip off of Mt Watatic.
Overall, from start to finish I believe it took 12 hours, of course that was not all hiking. We took many breaks, and there was much socializing throughout the day. We had a little tour of Windblown ski area just after lunch as we tried to find where the ski trail intersected the Wapak trail.
After figuring the car spotting returns, we all ended our day with $2 Long Trails and dinner at the Brick Oven in Greenville. We were lucky to finish dinner just as the loud band was starting. We seemed pretty tired, so I hope everyone made it home safely!
I just want to say that I totally enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone. I love to meet other hikers and hear about all your other adventures! Thanks for a wonderful day!!!
Our group made a donation to the Brain Tumor Society for Darren, I believe we collected $65.
