grouseking
Well-known member
Columbus Day...one of the busiest hiking days of the year. I was one of the many who went out to enjoy nature's splendor. I talked my friend Bri from Vermont to come down and do an afternoon hike with me to Cardigan. He had never hiked it before and was itching to get outside on what was probably the nicest day of the entire year, if not one of the nicest days I have ever seen!
Mt Cardigan is rapidly becoming one of my favorite mountains. Its close to my new residence, and has some interesting weather for such a low peak. Winds were calm that day, but easily gusting over 30 mph on the summit. And the views are to die for. We spent a good 40-45 minutes just sitting there and soaking up everything. The hike up thru the lower forests had an enchanted feeling thanks to the sun hitting the oranges and yellows perfectly. I took my all time favorite fall foliage picture that day. We took the easy state park way up, which was perfect for the day because we could enjoy all of the colors, plus we started quite late (2:45pm). And I've really grown to enjoy seeing people on the trails. I used to be close minded and hate seeing people, but you don't go to Cardigan on Columbus Day for solitude. Now I try embrace the experience and say hello to everyone I see, possibly making friends along the way.
The hike up took about 50 minutes, real fast, quite easy. I know the other side of the mtn has a much tougher scramble, as that was my first ascent of the mountain, and I can't wait to tackle that again. I gazed up to the White Mtns for like 15 min and watched a few cap clouds form towards Washington in response to the cold front moving towards us. Everyone was still in the clear, though, making for some of the best views I have seen. The lakes region looked exquiste with the foliage contrasting perfectly with the deep blue lakes. I have a limited vocabulary...I can't describe the beauty that was in front of us that afternoon. Its prob why I take so many pictures, But as we know, pics almost never do the area justice.
To give the trip a little more variety, we took the South Ridge trail down (took West Ridge Tr up) for a nice loop. Saw about 300 on the way up, only saw 3 on the way down. It was getting later in the day, so we basically had the mountain to ourselves which actually felt sort of weird after having so much company. We arrived back at the bottom around 5:30. The hike has already gone down as one of my favorite hikes. I took my time, soaked up the beautiful scenery from top to bottom, and I wasn't tired. It was truly a fantastical experience.
The perfect end to a perfect weekend of perfect hikes.
Mt Cardigan Pics
grouseking
Mt Cardigan is rapidly becoming one of my favorite mountains. Its close to my new residence, and has some interesting weather for such a low peak. Winds were calm that day, but easily gusting over 30 mph on the summit. And the views are to die for. We spent a good 40-45 minutes just sitting there and soaking up everything. The hike up thru the lower forests had an enchanted feeling thanks to the sun hitting the oranges and yellows perfectly. I took my all time favorite fall foliage picture that day. We took the easy state park way up, which was perfect for the day because we could enjoy all of the colors, plus we started quite late (2:45pm). And I've really grown to enjoy seeing people on the trails. I used to be close minded and hate seeing people, but you don't go to Cardigan on Columbus Day for solitude. Now I try embrace the experience and say hello to everyone I see, possibly making friends along the way.
The hike up took about 50 minutes, real fast, quite easy. I know the other side of the mtn has a much tougher scramble, as that was my first ascent of the mountain, and I can't wait to tackle that again. I gazed up to the White Mtns for like 15 min and watched a few cap clouds form towards Washington in response to the cold front moving towards us. Everyone was still in the clear, though, making for some of the best views I have seen. The lakes region looked exquiste with the foliage contrasting perfectly with the deep blue lakes. I have a limited vocabulary...I can't describe the beauty that was in front of us that afternoon. Its prob why I take so many pictures, But as we know, pics almost never do the area justice.
To give the trip a little more variety, we took the South Ridge trail down (took West Ridge Tr up) for a nice loop. Saw about 300 on the way up, only saw 3 on the way down. It was getting later in the day, so we basically had the mountain to ourselves which actually felt sort of weird after having so much company. We arrived back at the bottom around 5:30. The hike has already gone down as one of my favorite hikes. I took my time, soaked up the beautiful scenery from top to bottom, and I wasn't tired. It was truly a fantastical experience.
The perfect end to a perfect weekend of perfect hikes.
Mt Cardigan Pics
grouseking
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