Eisenhower / Mizpah hike 6/21,6/22

[arghman]

had a great day & a half hiking in the southern Presis on Weds & this morning.

Weds was nice & clear & comfortable. Somewhat windy in the morning but I'd much rather deal w/ moderate winds than being stifling hot.

I stayed at Lyons Motel in Twin Mtn (fyi -- I spoke to the owner, the place is somewhat under construction / deconstruction but is still running & they don't intend to shut down -- they are planning on subdividing & selling their current house, then making some changes on the rest of the property & adding new cabins or something further back from the road), and went up Edmands Path around 7:45 am, & meandered around various places between Franklin and Jackson during the day (I'm just using those two points as bounds, didn't make it all the way to either one).

Alpine bloom seems slightly early this year, in this part of the whites, the lapland rosebay is done & the alpine azalea & diapensia are also except in very sheltered crevices where snowmelt was just a tad later. I got some good pictures though of other plants; except for a brief trip to Pierce a few years ago, this has been the first time I've been in the area in June.

I kept seeing these preppy-looking guys in white shirts & slacks & school backpacks; it turned out they were Catholic seminary students from CT who were all on vacation & were doing a hike from Crawford Notch (starting w/ Webster, I think) to Mt Washington where a bus was waiting for them. One of them mentioned there were 15 groups of 3. There was a huge span between the first & last groups; I ran into the first group at around noon a little bit north of Eisenhower & then saw the last group around 2:30pm just south of Pierce. I bet there was at least a 4-hour differential between finishing times & I hope they all got out of there ok.

Ran into Ed Hawkins late afternoon (who was doing a 2/3-traverse from Jefferson Notch) and then MEB and Little Sister at Mizpah Hut (a full Presi traverse starting at Valley Way!), and then found out I knew one of the hut croo members.

Hiked back over to Edmands Path early this morning & got down to my car before noon. My right foot hurts a bit but not too bad (less than I expected) thanks to anti-inflammatories; I won't be hiking too strenuously this year due to tendonitis but it was nice to get out & enjoy a good summer day.

pics TBD.

 

[arghman]

ok, pictures here.

 

[DougPaul]

ok, pictures here.

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Doug

 

[Amicus]

Unaccustomed wholesomeness in the Pemi

I kept seeing these preppy-looking guys in white shirts & slacks & school backpacks; it turned out they were Catholic seminary students from CT who were all on vacation & were doing a hike from Crawford Notch (starting w/ Webster, I think) to Mt Washington where a bus was waiting for them. One of them mentioned there were 15 groups of 3. There was a huge span between the first & last groups; I ran into the first group at around noon a little bit north of Eisenhower & then saw the last group around 2:30pm just south of Pierce. I bet there was at least a 4-hour differential between finishing times & I hope they all got out of there ok.

In June 2004, we ran into this same group, straggling the same way, heading up just after we turned down the Liberty Spring from the Franconia Ridge Trail after a traverse of Flume and Liberty from Lincoln Woods via the Osseo Trail. They looked cherubic and wildly out of place. Fitness levels clearly varied widely but none seemed to be suffering. Seems like it must be an annual thing and they're probably tougher than they look. At the least, this would develop patience and some other virtues you'd like to see in seminarians (e.g., not cussing under extreme provocation).

I'm happy to hear your tendonitis is getting better, even if less rapidly than you'd like. I have a selfish reason in that I'd like to share a hike, in hopes that a little of your botany might rub off on me.