Search results

Trails had some water which is mostly frozen up high. Streams were all easily crossable. It was cold with just dustings of snow at the summit.

Trail was in good shape and mostly dry from Sterling (SouthWest of the Heywood Reservoir) up to South Monoosnoc Hill. The special item of note is the forest area just North of Wachusett St. is being logged and the trail and it's blazes have been obliterated for a few hundred yards. If you...

Great discussion. I didn't realize the RR's were still active so recently, but even 60 years still seems long to not grow any real trees. Any idea on what they used to keep the vegetation down? I spend quite a bit of time off trail and I see the fire rings there too (again usually next to a...

So I'm in the Pemi, a ways Down the Cedar Brook Trail not all that far from the Wilderness Trail and I find a logging road or rail line in the woods not on the trail. I spotted it in the dark and sure enough in the morning, there it was clearly distinct. It eventually becomes part of the Cedar...

Wandered about the Pemi and started at Hancock Notch Trail. Very little snow down low and and the trail dried up somewhat during the day, but had significant mud spots. Cedar Brook Trail was pretty reasonable with very little snow. Wilderness Trail between Cedar Brook and Desolation Trail was...

Construction on the auto roads on Wachusett are not preventing crossing, but the construction noise eliminates the wilderness feeling. Trails were all clear and dry. Also noticed that the mileage to the summit from the border of the Audobon property reads 2.5 miles, which is way to high...

So if I'm the Forest Service guys at the top of Mt. Whitney....I'm thinking I get paid to hike down Mt. Whitney why the heck would I get in a chopper and miss the beautiful day. Thanks for sharing the video, it really is very cool to see how they operate. I have to say that the hikers seem...

This is the second conditions report for this hike in 2 weeks, but I thought I'd update a couple of things: The foliage is well past prime now...most of the maples are leaf free, oaks are still green in some cases. The Spindle Hill section is completely impassable after the first 1/4 mile into...

Foliage in great color, still not much on the ground yet. Trail was dry, but the stream crossing bridges are starting to decay a bit; leaving the choice of over (and maybe in) or through the water. Blue blazes seem to have been recently refreshed.

Trail is marked over the entire length, but the blazes change from yellow squares to yellow circles and sometimes to little signs that say Tully Trail. Most of the trail was dry and reasonably marked, but the section on the logging road in the Northeast section was poorly marked (and thus I...

Flyovers I don't know about the legality of flyovers, but I have had a couple of experiences that tell me it probably isn't. On Mt. Clay last September a biplane was buzzing not far over the summits (over the Great Gulf Wilderness). Earlier in the month I camped just off the summit of Mt...

10 Mile loop with 2.5 miles of road walk. The trails are reasonably marked and generally well maintained. The biggest problem was following the trail in sections that were sparsely marked where many other old roads and herd paths intersected. The section called Spindle Hill was poorly marked...

End-to-end and back just for the fun of it (and training for other trips). Some online sites claim this is 11 miles end-to-end and I have seen as low as 6 miles cited. I would guess 9 miles based upon my hiking time. The trail is well marked, except oddly, at the end at near the Samoset School...

You make some good points and my analogy is not perfect. I too would shudder at the thought of "teenagers with whistles" (e.g. sorry no 12 year olds above treeline, no bushwhacking so we can see you, no dogs allowed, no beer:mad:) Diving accidents are chronicled in the scuba magazines and DAN...

I'm not sure why this is so difficult. Divers Alert Network (DAN) provides an evacuation policy along with dive insurance for the use of a hyberbaric chamber (used to resolve "the bends" from diving). The cost is less than $100 a year and the number of divers using it has to be pretty small...

I have the same Mil-Spec spikes I got from Sportsmans Guide. They fit my son (size 3 - the kid in the avatar)poorly, but did the job on hard packed snow and ice (in NC this spring) and I have used them (size 12) frequently on exposed icy rock and on icy snowmobile trails. I prefer these to...

I've been watching these recommendations in the last week...thanks for the suggestions everyone!!! North Face was pretty gripping. I watched Southbounders and now I'm thinking of an AT trek....oh oh. A few more AT books and I'm sure I'll be hooked.

The food hanging system I saw down in Great Smoky NP was pretty involved and I thought it should be foolproof....until I met a local who showed me the pitfalls. You could see clawmarks all over the poles and he mentioned that the locals called the system bear pinatas. On another note: I carry...

Hey wait a minute...if you're at the North Pole all directions are South anyway!!!

Cool, but I guess I don't really need a watch...I just have to know what time it is, which I can judge from the sun!