Trail Walker
New member
The alarm rings out into the night darkness to announce its time to begin the journey for the final summit. Leaving Lowell, MA by 4:30 am means a start of 7:30 am at the trailhead. A quick stop in Lincoln for the restroom and a bagel for get the motor running.
Soon we pull into the parking area to find we are first on site for the day. It appears two other groups have spent the night on the mountian as their cars are frosted over....burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr @ 29 degrees!
A few pictures at the trailhead and off we go to complet this quest. Soon up the trail we pass the overnight campers. They were a happy bunch - happy to have enjoyed the experience or happy to get out of the woods?????????????
A few stops along the way for some pictures at the trail signs then at the water crossings. The rain didn't overfill the streams and we could walk across on the dry tops of the stones. It would have been a cold day had we needed to put our feet in the water. The trees were changing into bright colors and the hike was great for this reason.
Soon, we stepped out onto the ridgeline to tremendous views of a snow covered Presidential Range as well as Garfield. A quick journey to the summit and soon we stepping on the peak of our 48th - 4,000 ft summit. Great views at the top of the tower and back down to place our marker at the sign post.
Heading backdown to the Ridgeline out of the wind for a hot lunch to celebrate our day! Unpacking the jetboil we discover that the burner was not backed to cook our freeze dried lunch and not way to heat it up. So, it was granola bars to keep the energy level up back to the trailhead. Our minds now turn to stopping for dinner in Lincoln for a burger.
As we make our way down the trail we begin to pass many others on their way it. At the beginning of this adventure we to had late start and passed many on their way out. This adventure has opened us up to many new and excieting things; AMC Huts, shelters, overnights in the woods, hiking in the dark - WOW have we grown.
Its 3 PM and we're on our way home. 18 months ago we set our minds on completing this journey and feel great now that its done.
Soon we pull into the parking area to find we are first on site for the day. It appears two other groups have spent the night on the mountian as their cars are frosted over....burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr @ 29 degrees!
A few pictures at the trailhead and off we go to complet this quest. Soon up the trail we pass the overnight campers. They were a happy bunch - happy to have enjoyed the experience or happy to get out of the woods?????????????
A few stops along the way for some pictures at the trail signs then at the water crossings. The rain didn't overfill the streams and we could walk across on the dry tops of the stones. It would have been a cold day had we needed to put our feet in the water. The trees were changing into bright colors and the hike was great for this reason.
Soon, we stepped out onto the ridgeline to tremendous views of a snow covered Presidential Range as well as Garfield. A quick journey to the summit and soon we stepping on the peak of our 48th - 4,000 ft summit. Great views at the top of the tower and back down to place our marker at the sign post.
Heading backdown to the Ridgeline out of the wind for a hot lunch to celebrate our day! Unpacking the jetboil we discover that the burner was not backed
to cook our freeze dried lunch and not way to heat it up. So, it was granola bars to keep the energy level up back to the trailhead. Our minds now turn to stopping for dinner in Lincoln for a burger.As we make our way down the trail we begin to pass many others on their way it. At the beginning of this adventure we to had late start and passed many on their way out. This adventure has opened us up to many new and excieting things; AMC Huts, shelters, overnights in the woods, hiking in the dark - WOW have we grown.
Its 3 PM and we're on our way home. 18 months ago we set our minds on completing this journey and feel great now that its done.
