TMax
New member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
- Messages
- 589
- Reaction score
- 85
Topofgothics and I started at the Ferncroft trailhead a little after 8:00 (an hour past my planned start time!) in absolutely perfect weather. The Blueberry Ledge Trail was as dry as a bone and much easier than I anticipated given the white mountain guide description. The hike up to the ledges is fairly gradual for most of the way and then just below the ledges it goes UP. I managed the ledges with my pack full of flagpoles with only one difficulty. On one move where I had to bend over while stepping up, my poles kept hitting the rock in front of me. I tried several times - step, bend, whack, fall back - step, bend, whack, fall back... it started to look a little like and Abbott and Costello act
. So Topofgothics came over and pushed the poles to the left as I stepped up! Whew, made it. The views were amazing and just got better and better. When we arrived at the south summit there was a large group waiting for us to fly the flags. We had to give them the bad news that this spot with it's awesome view wasn't the top!
On the actual summit we put up the first flag but the pole length wouldn't get it above the trees. So we borrowed a couple of pole lengths from the second flag (a commemorative flag that belongs to a firehouse that lost one of it's members on 9-11. The flag has the names of the emergency services workers who died on that day.) so we could get it high enough to catch some wind. We had a good group of folks that helped get it up and flying! It was a beautiful day. More people came to the summit knowing it was FOT48 than I have experienced in my 6 years on 6 different peaks participating in this event.
Once we brought the flags down, we decided to head over to Passaconaway. By this time I was getting mighty thirsty as I was rationing the quickly disappearing water. Shortly after starting up Passaconaway from the col we came across water. We sat and filtered and chugged. It's amazing how much that revived me and I moved on from there pretty well. We had a nice break on the summit, then hiked out via the Dicey's Mill Trail. What a gentle trail with incredibly nice footing over most of it. My tootsies appreciated that.
As always, participating in this event reminded me of what's important in life. Thanks to those who started it and continue to work towards pulling it off every year!
Pictures http://forums.flagsonthe48.org/modules.php?set_albumName=album82&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php&page=1
. So Topofgothics came over and pushed the poles to the left as I stepped up! Whew, made it. The views were amazing and just got better and better. When we arrived at the south summit there was a large group waiting for us to fly the flags. We had to give them the bad news that this spot with it's awesome view wasn't the top! On the actual summit we put up the first flag but the pole length wouldn't get it above the trees. So we borrowed a couple of pole lengths from the second flag (a commemorative flag that belongs to a firehouse that lost one of it's members on 9-11. The flag has the names of the emergency services workers who died on that day.) so we could get it high enough to catch some wind. We had a good group of folks that helped get it up and flying! It was a beautiful day. More people came to the summit knowing it was FOT48 than I have experienced in my 6 years on 6 different peaks participating in this event.
Once we brought the flags down, we decided to head over to Passaconaway. By this time I was getting mighty thirsty as I was rationing the quickly disappearing water. Shortly after starting up Passaconaway from the col we came across water
. We sat and filtered and chugged. It's amazing how much that revived me and I moved on from there pretty well. We had a nice break on the summit, then hiked out via the Dicey's Mill Trail. What a gentle trail with incredibly nice footing over most of it. My tootsies appreciated that.As always, participating in this event reminded me of what's important in life. Thanks to those who started it and continue to work towards pulling it off every year!
Pictures http://forums.flagsonthe48.org/modules.php?set_albumName=album82&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php&page=1
