David Metsky
Well-known member
This was one of those perfect weather days that come around a few times each summer; perfect clear skies, cool temps in the morning, warm with a slight breeze above treeline, long enough days to allow for long mileage, and almost no one on the trails. OK, scratch that last one but otherwise it was firing on all cylinders.
6 of us (Bob & Geri, 7summits, NH_Mnt_Hiker, Abster, and me) met at Skookumchuck trailhead just before 7:00. We had two cars stashed at Lincoln Woods for the return trip and we were on the trail at 7:05. On the drive from the campground to the trailhead the car thermometer read as low as 32 but rose to 41 at the trailhead. We started with a mix of long pants and long-sleeved shirts as we started climbing in the cool air. 7summits and NH_Mnt_Hiker set a killer pace, which nearly killed me, so we slowed down just a bit.
We laughed and jokes all the way up, time went by quickly, and is seemed like just a short while before we poked out of the trees and then reached the ridge.
It was, in fact, gorgeous up there. There was a bit of a chill in the air but not much wind so I stayed in t-shirt and shorts. The first of many other hikers of the day came by as we rested. We made a brief stop on North Lafayette, and then plunged onward to Lafayette, or first of four peaks of the day. It wasn't very crowded yet but you could see people on the ridge and coming up from the hut. There was also a huge man-eating ravine hanging around up there, scary. Abster had been up there twice before but had never gotten a view until today. She reports that the view is nice.
Onward towards the Lincoln Slide where we were to lose NH_Mnt_Hiker and 7summits. They were going down into the Pemi via the slide and then heading to the Bonds. We concluded that they were insane, but that didn't seem to be that out of the ordinary for this group. Someday we hope to hear from them again. (Actually, they made it out, but late.)
The crowds were beginning to really accumulate on the ridge, as groups of 20-30 came by. We had lunch just short of Lincoln and three folks recognized Bob&Geri from their web site which they'd used to help them finish their 100 highest. Internet Fame! Abster fed Poncho the dog with the doggie treats that she was carrying for an emergency. On past Lincoln (2 of 4) and off to Little Haystack which we could see was a zoo from this far away. A ridgerunner came by and told us to stay on the trail. We went past Little Haystack without stopping due to the crowds of probably 100 people.
The trip to Liberty involved a lot of singing, stories, and riddles as we were beginning to feel the effects of the day. We ate the dark chocolate we'd been saving on the Liberty summit and that provided enough oomph to get us over to Flume, where we had our last leapfrog moment with the 100 Highest folks who recognized B&G. Leaving the summit of Flume with 5 miles to go was a bit of a mental struggle, but we started up some more interesting conversations and time passed. We hit the Wilderness trail at 5:10 and hiked/ran the last 1.4 miles by 5:30. Just under 10.5 hours for 15.5 miles which was good for us. We stopped many times along the way for photos, food, and chats so we weren't rushing things.
A great day with great hiking companions. I tried out a new small light pack and I'm completely sold. Less weight is good, you don't need too much stuff on a dayhike like that. I drank 3 liters of water, the cool temps in the morning really helped out. If it were hotter in the morning I would have easily drank four liters.
Pictures are here.
-dave-
6 of us (Bob & Geri, 7summits, NH_Mnt_Hiker, Abster, and me) met at Skookumchuck trailhead just before 7:00. We had two cars stashed at Lincoln Woods for the return trip and we were on the trail at 7:05. On the drive from the campground to the trailhead the car thermometer read as low as 32 but rose to 41 at the trailhead. We started with a mix of long pants and long-sleeved shirts as we started climbing in the cool air. 7summits and NH_Mnt_Hiker set a killer pace, which nearly killed me, so we slowed down just a bit.
We laughed and jokes all the way up, time went by quickly, and is seemed like just a short while before we poked out of the trees and then reached the ridge.It was, in fact, gorgeous up there. There was a bit of a chill in the air but not much wind so I stayed in t-shirt and shorts. The first of many other hikers of the day came by as we rested. We made a brief stop on North Lafayette, and then plunged onward to Lafayette, or first of four peaks of the day. It wasn't very crowded yet but you could see people on the ridge and coming up from the hut. There was also a huge man-eating ravine hanging around up there, scary. Abster had been up there twice before but had never gotten a view until today. She reports that the view is nice.
Onward towards the Lincoln Slide where we were to lose NH_Mnt_Hiker and 7summits. They were going down into the Pemi via the slide and then heading to the Bonds. We concluded that they were insane, but that didn't seem to be that out of the ordinary for this group. Someday we hope to hear from them again. (Actually, they made it out, but late.)
The crowds were beginning to really accumulate on the ridge, as groups of 20-30 came by. We had lunch just short of Lincoln and three folks recognized Bob&Geri from their web site which they'd used to help them finish their 100 highest. Internet Fame! Abster fed Poncho the dog with the doggie treats that she was carrying for an emergency. On past Lincoln (2 of 4) and off to Little Haystack which we could see was a zoo from this far away. A ridgerunner came by and told us to stay on the trail. We went past Little Haystack without stopping due to the crowds of probably 100 people.
The trip to Liberty involved a lot of singing, stories, and riddles as we were beginning to feel the effects of the day. We ate the dark chocolate we'd been saving on the Liberty summit and that provided enough oomph to get us over to Flume, where we had our last leapfrog moment with the 100 Highest folks who recognized B&G. Leaving the summit of Flume with 5 miles to go was a bit of a mental struggle, but we started up some more interesting conversations and time passed. We hit the Wilderness trail at 5:10 and hiked/ran the last 1.4 miles by 5:30. Just under 10.5 hours for 15.5 miles which was good for us. We stopped many times along the way for photos, food, and chats so we weren't rushing things.
A great day with great hiking companions. I tried out a new small light pack and I'm completely sold. Less weight is good, you don't need too much stuff on a dayhike like that. I drank 3 liters of water, the cool temps in the morning really helped out. If it were hotter in the morning I would have easily drank four liters.
Pictures are here.
-dave-
