una_dogger
Well-known member
Saturday: Its four am and my alarm is ringing.....its time to go hiking! Yay! And today is special for two reasons,
1. Its a twofer
2. I'm hiking with the Bear.
I left a sleeping MichaelJ and Terra and I hopped in the Suby for the long, dark ride up North. Somewhere near Concord, my Crackberry dinged, and a friendly Dave Bear asked me where I was? "On my way to meet you, Silly..." or something like that was my reply.
Somewhere near Tilton, I was passed by a silver car driven by a smiling bearded man, Dave Bear! We caravaned to the Starr King Trailhead, then booted up for our first climb of the day.
We found the trail in great shape, not a bit of snow until we reached the evergreens at ~2800 feet. From there, we were able to bare boot up the rail in microspikes. As for Terra, she just walks on top of the snow making a dog's life look so easy. We were following a fresh set of moose tracks all the way up. We stopped at the fireplace on Starr King and with the help of Dave Bear, I climbed to the top and we shared awesome views of the Presis in the foreground and a white and shiny Franconia Ridge oriented North to South. Seeing the mountains from the north was an interesting experience.
Back into the woods, the snow in the col was deeper and we accidentally tromped off after the moose tracks and lost our trail. We quickly corrected and were back on track. Within minutes we were on Wambuek -- and stacked in the cairn was a rare but strangely familiar fungus bearing the 48 x 12 brand of the elusive Mountain Drew. This particular fungus, circa 12/1/07, is the second I have come upon in these mountains....very interesting! Maybe someone can fill me in on the "GRID" concept...
Wambuek, NH No 42; NE115 No 103 ----YIPPEE!
We took a second break on Starr King and ate lunch. The sun was shining and it was a beee-ooo-ti-ful day. I was very happy to be joined by Dave Bear, especially since he doesn't even need these peaks (well, not for his first round, anyhow!). We heard a bit of stamping and snapping in the woods on Starr King, but saw no critters.
Dave and I chatted so much on the way down, its all a blurr. Soon enough, we were back at the cars and wringing out our socks. Initially we had planned to camp up at the Cabot Cabin, but after slacking with such light packs all day, we just couldn't bear the thought of switching to our overnight packs.
We hit the road and made our way to our second trailhead of the day. The lower stretches of the mountains were bare of snow, trout lillies and spring beauties covered the forest floor. Tiny green buds adorned the understory. It won't be long before the forest will be awash in green!
At the junction of the Kilkenny Trail, the snow pack began. The rail was firm and well packed, pretty suprising for an off the beaten path peak like Cabot. I was expecting really deep mushy snow being this far north, but was pleasantly surprised at the great spring conditions.
We spent some time on an amazing outlook, overlooking the Pliny Range and East to Maine. The sun was starting to level, and the time of day was about 5pm. We began a series of switchbacks through the spruce. Pretty soon, we heard the hooting call of MEB, and arriving at the cabin, found the Mean Girls in a rare pose -- standing *still*. We spent about 30 minutes or so chatting it up with MEB, Little Sister, and Drewski, who were camping out at the cabin. They offered us some fine Vermont Cabot Cheese, the perfect snack to enjoy on Cabot. My feet were getting cold, and I said to Dave, "lets go get this mother!" and we headed for the summit.
Happy happy joy joy -- it was easy to smile a big smile when I saw the summit sign... a few photos, congratulations, and NH No 43/NE115 No 104 was in the bag. We trekked back down to the Cabin, stopping at a view point to take in the sweeping views and the golden light of the end of the day. Back at the cabin, I wished we had brought up our overnight gear, as it truly is a special place to stay.
Drew teased me that I hadn't reached the true summit. "Oh no" he said, "you better get back up there and go all the way"...heh heh...but I wasn't falling for it. We had some more laughs, then at 7:45, Bear and I headed back down the mountain; hiking in the twilight until we couldn't see anymore, then finally putting on our headlamps. We arrived at the cars at 9:45. A leisurely day in the woods, with two new peaks bagged for me .
Back in the cars for the long, dark drive South. A huge moose just before the Irving Station in Jefferson gave me a fright! Immense animals, beautiful in the woods, a bit unnerving when they are beginning to cross the road! Next stop was Thornton, where we were fed some awesome chili at Mad River's, met up with MichaelJ, and after a beer, we all bedded down for the night (in our own separate beds, of course!).
Thanks again for your company, Dave Bear!!! It was great sharing 15 miles and 5050 feet gain's worth of trail with you.
1. Its a twofer
2. I'm hiking with the Bear.
I left a sleeping MichaelJ and Terra and I hopped in the Suby for the long, dark ride up North. Somewhere near Concord, my Crackberry dinged, and a friendly Dave Bear asked me where I was? "On my way to meet you, Silly..." or something like that was my reply.
Somewhere near Tilton, I was passed by a silver car driven by a smiling bearded man, Dave Bear! We caravaned to the Starr King Trailhead, then booted up for our first climb of the day.
We found the trail in great shape, not a bit of snow until we reached the evergreens at ~2800 feet. From there, we were able to bare boot up the rail in microspikes. As for Terra, she just walks on top of the snow making a dog's life look so easy.
We were following a fresh set of moose tracks all the way up. We stopped at the fireplace on Starr King and with the help of Dave Bear, I climbed to the top and we shared awesome views of the Presis in the foreground and a white and shiny Franconia Ridge oriented North to South. Seeing the mountains from the north was an interesting experience. Back into the woods, the snow in the col was deeper and we accidentally tromped off after the moose tracks and lost our trail. We quickly corrected and were back on track. Within minutes we were on Wambuek -- and stacked in the cairn was a rare but strangely familiar fungus bearing the 48 x 12 brand of the elusive Mountain Drew. This particular fungus, circa 12/1/07, is the second I have come upon in these mountains....very interesting!
Maybe someone can fill me in on the "GRID" concept...Wambuek, NH No 42; NE115 No 103 ----YIPPEE!
We took a second break on Starr King and ate lunch. The sun was shining and it was a beee-ooo-ti-ful day. I was very happy to be joined by Dave Bear, especially since he doesn't even need these peaks (well, not for his first round, anyhow!). We heard a bit of stamping and snapping in the woods on Starr King, but saw no critters.
Dave and I chatted so much on the way down, its all a blurr. Soon enough, we were back at the cars and wringing out our socks. Initially we had planned to camp up at the Cabot Cabin, but after slacking with such light packs all day, we just couldn't bear the thought of switching to our overnight packs.
We hit the road and made our way to our second trailhead of the day. The lower stretches of the mountains were bare of snow, trout lillies and spring beauties covered the forest floor. Tiny green buds adorned the understory. It won't be long before the forest will be awash in green!
At the junction of the Kilkenny Trail, the snow pack began. The rail was firm and well packed, pretty suprising for an off the beaten path peak like Cabot. I was expecting really deep mushy snow being this far north, but was pleasantly surprised at the great spring conditions.
We spent some time on an amazing outlook, overlooking the Pliny Range and East to Maine. The sun was starting to level, and the time of day was about 5pm. We began a series of switchbacks through the spruce. Pretty soon, we heard the hooting call of MEB, and arriving at the cabin, found the Mean Girls in a rare pose -- standing *still*.
We spent about 30 minutes or so chatting it up with MEB, Little Sister, and Drewski, who were camping out at the cabin. They offered us some fine Vermont Cabot Cheese, the perfect snack to enjoy on Cabot. My feet were getting cold, and I said to Dave, "lets go get this mother!" and we headed for the summit. Happy happy joy joy -- it was easy to smile a big smile when I saw the summit sign... a few photos, congratulations, and NH No 43/NE115 No 104 was in the bag. We trekked back down to the Cabin, stopping at a view point to take in the sweeping views and the golden light of the end of the day. Back at the cabin, I wished we had brought up our overnight gear, as it truly is a special place to stay.
Drew teased me that I hadn't reached the true summit. "Oh no" he said, "you better get back up there and go all the way"...heh heh...but I wasn't falling for it. We had some more laughs, then at 7:45, Bear and I headed back down the mountain; hiking in the twilight until we couldn't see anymore, then finally putting on our headlamps. We arrived at the cars at 9:45. A leisurely day in the woods, with two new peaks bagged for me .
Back in the cars for the long, dark drive South. A huge moose just before the Irving Station in Jefferson gave me a fright! Immense animals, beautiful in the woods, a bit unnerving when they are beginning to cross the road! Next stop was Thornton, where we were fed some awesome chili at Mad River's, met up with MichaelJ, and after a beer, we all bedded down for the night (in our own separate beds, of course!).
Thanks again for your company, Dave Bear!!! It was great sharing 15 miles and 5050 feet gain's worth of trail with you.
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