Double Bow
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- Apr 29, 2005
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With winter fast approaching, Shamie (aka Mrs. Double Bow) and I decided to scrap our plans of going back up to Baxter and instead, "git 'er done"! She started the year only needing five more peaks toward her 48, but with other hiking plans thrown in the mix, finishing backpacking the Long Trail, and having the idea of finishing in the 48 in fall in mind, we put them off. We couldn't wait any longer though since she doesn't hike in winter and we wouldn't want to have to wait for next year since she could have finished months ago! Fortunately, the weather was with us.
Shamie had decided to finish on Adams since that was the peak I had started on. We got a late start since we needed to drop of the dog and so, we didn't hit the trail until around 10:30am. There were a ton of cars at Appalachia, which was to be expected, and the vast majority of them had Quebec plates. In spite of the slew of cars, we saw very few people, except at the summit of Adams. Maybe it was a good thing we started so late!
We turned off Valley Way onto the Randolph Path which was very pleasant. The folliage looked great and Shamie found the climb very comfortable. I warned her that it was going to get steeper later in our route, but she wasn't too worried. After a stretch of amazingly beautiful woods hiking, we turned onto the Spur Trail and passed a family. Shortly after that, we stopped for a moment at Chandler Falls, which is a cool slab waterfall that really shouldn't be missed. On the Spur Trail we climbed more steeply, but not too steeply and Shamie found it very enjoyable, especially as things started to open up. We stopped again for photos at Lower Crag (great views into the ravine) and then had lunch at Crag Camp.
After lunch, we continued up, stopping briefly at Knight's Castle (more great ravine shots), and were soon above treeline. We caught our first views of Jefferson which Shamie said "looked like a mean jumble of rocks". Needless to say, it wasn't one of her favorite peaks.
What happened next was really cool. Prior to this trip, she had been dreading Adams. She had built it up in her mind as being this tough, terrible, steep rock scramble of a hike. Despite the fact that I told her that I think that Jefferson is tougher, she was still nervous about it. Then, seeing the summit area first hand, she ralized that it wasn't bad at all. In fact, she said that she found it easier than Madison. We made out way up, taking in the amazing views all the way and feeling really good about her completion.
We had a quiet celebration, since there were a lot of other people up there but, we had a nice time snacking up there and taking pics. After we were done with that, Shamie told me to go on ahead as I was planning on revisiting JQ Adams and Madison and she was not. She would meet me by the hut.
With that, I took off and made a beeline to JQ, making sure that I didn't waste any elevation that I didn't have to and being careful of the ice in the shadowy spots. After hitting that and taking a pic, I headed back to the trail and sped up Madison. As I was going up, I noticed some people coming down who were not on the trail, but I didn't really look at them. On the summit of Madison, I enjoyed having it all to myself. How different from the mob on Adams! I took it all in for a couple minutes and dug the view of the Mahoosucs before headed back to the hut.
When I met up with Shamie there, she told me that one of the guys who was in the group who was coming down as I was going up was bleeding quite a bit and they had been hoping that the hut was open. No one in their group had a first aid kit. Shmie's had gotten soaked last weekend so, she didn't have one either but, she offered them Advil. They thanked her and headed down Valley Way. I was sorry that I hadn't seen their injured member as I could have offered some help.
We headed down the Airline Cutoff to take the Airline down, since that was the route I had taken 13 years earlier. However, I hadn't taken it since so I found it quite different from what I had remembered! The descent was good, in spite of the fact that part of it was in the dark. It was appropriate though as I had come down in the dark when I did it in high school. Thankfully, this time we had headlamps, plenty of water, and good deal of experience. It was the perfect way for us to complete this adventure.
That night, we went all fancy and stuff and stayed at a motel in Gorham (The Northern Peak Motel, very clean) and had a great dinner at J's Corner. It was a good way to celebrate and then get some rest for the next day's adventure. After all, when one journey is finished, another begins...
Here are pics.
Shamie had decided to finish on Adams since that was the peak I had started on. We got a late start since we needed to drop of the dog and so, we didn't hit the trail until around 10:30am. There were a ton of cars at Appalachia, which was to be expected, and the vast majority of them had Quebec plates. In spite of the slew of cars, we saw very few people, except at the summit of Adams. Maybe it was a good thing we started so late!
We turned off Valley Way onto the Randolph Path which was very pleasant. The folliage looked great and Shamie found the climb very comfortable. I warned her that it was going to get steeper later in our route, but she wasn't too worried. After a stretch of amazingly beautiful woods hiking, we turned onto the Spur Trail and passed a family. Shortly after that, we stopped for a moment at Chandler Falls, which is a cool slab waterfall that really shouldn't be missed. On the Spur Trail we climbed more steeply, but not too steeply and Shamie found it very enjoyable, especially as things started to open up. We stopped again for photos at Lower Crag (great views into the ravine) and then had lunch at Crag Camp.
After lunch, we continued up, stopping briefly at Knight's Castle (more great ravine shots), and were soon above treeline. We caught our first views of Jefferson which Shamie said "looked like a mean jumble of rocks". Needless to say, it wasn't one of her favorite peaks.
What happened next was really cool. Prior to this trip, she had been dreading Adams. She had built it up in her mind as being this tough, terrible, steep rock scramble of a hike. Despite the fact that I told her that I think that Jefferson is tougher, she was still nervous about it. Then, seeing the summit area first hand, she ralized that it wasn't bad at all. In fact, she said that she found it easier than Madison. We made out way up, taking in the amazing views all the way and feeling really good about her completion.
We had a quiet celebration, since there were a lot of other people up there but, we had a nice time snacking up there and taking pics. After we were done with that, Shamie told me to go on ahead as I was planning on revisiting JQ Adams and Madison and she was not. She would meet me by the hut.
With that, I took off and made a beeline to JQ, making sure that I didn't waste any elevation that I didn't have to and being careful of the ice in the shadowy spots. After hitting that and taking a pic, I headed back to the trail and sped up Madison. As I was going up, I noticed some people coming down who were not on the trail, but I didn't really look at them. On the summit of Madison, I enjoyed having it all to myself. How different from the mob on Adams! I took it all in for a couple minutes and dug the view of the Mahoosucs before headed back to the hut.
When I met up with Shamie there, she told me that one of the guys who was in the group who was coming down as I was going up was bleeding quite a bit and they had been hoping that the hut was open. No one in their group had a first aid kit. Shmie's had gotten soaked last weekend so, she didn't have one either but, she offered them Advil. They thanked her and headed down Valley Way. I was sorry that I hadn't seen their injured member as I could have offered some help.
We headed down the Airline Cutoff to take the Airline down, since that was the route I had taken 13 years earlier. However, I hadn't taken it since so I found it quite different from what I had remembered! The descent was good, in spite of the fact that part of it was in the dark. It was appropriate though as I had come down in the dark when I did it in high school. Thankfully, this time we had headlamps, plenty of water, and good deal of experience. It was the perfect way for us to complete this adventure.
That night, we went all fancy and stuff and stayed at a motel in Gorham (The Northern Peak Motel, very clean) and had a great dinner at J's Corner. It was a good way to celebrate and then get some rest for the next day's adventure. After all, when one journey is finished, another begins...
Here are pics.
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