David Metsky
Well-known member
After the fun on the Southern Presidentials and watching people climb while I drank cold beer I headed to Sugarloaf Campground to set up my tent, then to Lincoln Woods to car spot. I ran into Jeanne, Jessica, and Sean at the supermarket and then again at the trailhead. In a few minutes we had Pete and Eddie, and then the other Jean and we were ready for dinner at the Station. They dropped us off at Sugarloaf and the final car with Robyn, Yvonne, and Mardi arrived around 10:00 PM. To bed, for tomorrow is another day!
We woke up at 4:00, broke camp and collected the cars and were on the trail at 5:25. The group set a fast pace, I quickly found myself leading from the rear but I told myself I was taking pictures so that explained things. We were at the hut by 6:30 and took our first break. Upward and onward, the climbing started as we ascended Zeacliff and we had our first real views (and real chocolate) on the ledges. It looked like it was going to be an adequate day.
On to Zealand amid talk of Hobbit Steps and My Precious. We gathered around the sign and took pictures, Robyn got a nice panoramic from the summit itself. We left just after 8:30, our first 4K of the day. The next stretch is my favorite part of the trip, the summits of Guyot. Our little band of hikers had the place to ourselves as we marched across the veld.
On to the Bonds! We had plenty of water so no one needed to drop down to the shelter. Most of us dropped pack at the West Bond junction and we celebrated our first Bond at around 10:30. We decided Bond would be the lunch spot so back into the woods and up again, hitting the top around 11:30 and settling in for a well deserved rest. It felt great to pull out the Crazy Creek chair, the chicken hat, and chocolate, in that order. This was the highpoint of the day, and it still wasn't noon. We felt like we were on schedule.
Then it was the final down and up to Bondcliff, where we spent a good long time taking pictures of people on the cliff. Yoga poses were assumed, feet were dangled, bowels were clenched. We ate our summit cookies and drank a good amount of water as we knew a water source was fairly close by on the Bondcliff trail. We took off around 1:00 PM, well aware of what was waiting us. 8 miles of mind and feet numbing descent. Oh well, it's the price you pay.
Out to Lincoln Woods before 5:00 PM, so our time was around 11:30. My feet were toast but otherwise I felt fine. We had to drive back to Zealand to pick up cars, and there we said goodbye to Ed and Pete, and then to Jean. The rest of us headed to Woodstock station where we cranked down Cokes and ate some yummy sweet potato fries and calamari. Then the long drive home, ending a wonderful Fourth.
The rest of the photos are HERE
We woke up at 4:00, broke camp and collected the cars and were on the trail at 5:25. The group set a fast pace, I quickly found myself leading from the rear but I told myself I was taking pictures so that explained things. We were at the hut by 6:30 and took our first break. Upward and onward, the climbing started as we ascended Zeacliff and we had our first real views (and real chocolate) on the ledges. It looked like it was going to be an adequate day.
On to Zealand amid talk of Hobbit Steps and My Precious. We gathered around the sign and took pictures, Robyn got a nice panoramic from the summit itself. We left just after 8:30, our first 4K of the day. The next stretch is my favorite part of the trip, the summits of Guyot. Our little band of hikers had the place to ourselves as we marched across the veld.
On to the Bonds! We had plenty of water so no one needed to drop down to the shelter. Most of us dropped pack at the West Bond junction and we celebrated our first Bond at around 10:30. We decided Bond would be the lunch spot so back into the woods and up again, hitting the top around 11:30 and settling in for a well deserved rest. It felt great to pull out the Crazy Creek chair, the chicken hat, and chocolate, in that order. This was the highpoint of the day, and it still wasn't noon. We felt like we were on schedule.
Then it was the final down and up to Bondcliff, where we spent a good long time taking pictures of people on the cliff. Yoga poses were assumed, feet were dangled, bowels were clenched. We ate our summit cookies and drank a good amount of water as we knew a water source was fairly close by on the Bondcliff trail. We took off around 1:00 PM, well aware of what was waiting us. 8 miles of mind and feet numbing descent. Oh well, it's the price you pay.
Out to Lincoln Woods before 5:00 PM, so our time was around 11:30. My feet were toast but otherwise I felt fine. We had to drive back to Zealand to pick up cars, and there we said goodbye to Ed and Pete, and then to Jean. The rest of us headed to Woodstock station where we cranked down Cokes and ate some yummy sweet potato fries and calamari. Then the long drive home, ending a wonderful Fourth.
The rest of the photos are HERE
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