Silverfox
New member
The time had come..
13 weeks and change with the fake knee..many climbs in the Rattlesnakes and Squam ranges with several different friends
time to push the limits a bit..go a bit higher..see how it goes..Mt hale via the hale Brook Trail..under 5 miles RT..good footbed for long stretches..reasonable elevation gain...a good test..
The forecast was great for tuesday..several cars converged on the Ashland BK parking lot around 830 and out mini caravan headed north where we joined up with others in the group..13 of us headed out from the Hale Brook parking lot..temps in the upper 40's ..a little breeze..no bugs..perfect..
Claude set off at a Rocket like pace...he cried uncle and dropped back in the pack and I took over the lead..pretty nice huh..putting the gimpy guy up front....
Gradually we divided into a couple of subgroups and climbed higher at our own paces..there were still some trillium around and a few lady slippers were showing as well.. The first brook crossing had a bit of water in it but was no particular issue..just enough water in the mini gorge there to make it interesting..the side hill climb from there was gorgeous with good trailbed..peak aboo views towards washington..sweet smeeling air..well unless you got too close..the bright green leaves of early spring..
At the second crossing I had my group wait a bit then sent them on ahead as we had not heard from the others for awhile..Sure enough , one of the hikers had tired..had a bar and some water and was better but still not at her usual and had settled back with Mary, the co-leader in the rear..
We chatted for a bit while everyone snacked for a second then i took off for the first group and met them at the top of the last switchback..great view towards Carrigain direction from blowdown patch before the final climb...from there we enjoyed the last few hundred yards to the summit where ,as tradition holds, newbies Karen, Frank and John took the lead..
The trees are getting higher on Hale.. some climbed the rockpile for better views..I missed seeing the snow platform that i read about this winter..pretty neat..
Gradually the rest of the group summited and we enjoyed a quick lunch..during my rehab several of my hiker friends stopped by with coffee,,food..the Globe and some of these great friends were on this hike..Claude, Grumpy Gran, Cymbidium, Sleeveless, Pat, Ginette,..it was pretty special to be back on the trail and having this group to hike with made it even better..
My goal was up and down on hale Brook Trail for this day.. most of the group headed for the hut and Ellen, Karen, and Mary joined me for the quick and enjoyable descent which proceeded with out incident..I was relieved at the parking lot to get the thumbs up from my senior PT advisor Mary who gave me the okay to resume normal activities...
Not the biggest mountain out there, Mount Hale, but this day's climb will be one I remember for awhile..
oh..trail conditions..no snow..no blowdowns..2 very small sections of mud and a little wet rock at the highest spring..trail is in great shape..
Nice to hike with harry..peakn ..welcome to the group
pics to follow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157618887199558/
13 weeks and change with the fake knee..many climbs in the Rattlesnakes and Squam ranges with several different friends
time to push the limits a bit..go a bit higher..see how it goes..Mt hale via the hale Brook Trail..under 5 miles RT..good footbed for long stretches..reasonable elevation gain...a good test..
The forecast was great for tuesday..several cars converged on the Ashland BK parking lot around 830 and out mini caravan headed north where we joined up with others in the group..13 of us headed out from the Hale Brook parking lot..temps in the upper 40's ..a little breeze..no bugs..perfect..
Claude set off at a Rocket like pace...he cried uncle and dropped back in the pack and I took over the lead..pretty nice huh..putting the gimpy guy up front....
Gradually we divided into a couple of subgroups and climbed higher at our own paces..there were still some trillium around and a few lady slippers were showing as well.. The first brook crossing had a bit of water in it but was no particular issue..just enough water in the mini gorge there to make it interesting..the side hill climb from there was gorgeous with good trailbed..peak aboo views towards washington..sweet smeeling air..well unless you got too close..the bright green leaves of early spring..
At the second crossing I had my group wait a bit then sent them on ahead as we had not heard from the others for awhile..Sure enough , one of the hikers had tired..had a bar and some water and was better but still not at her usual and had settled back with Mary, the co-leader in the rear..
We chatted for a bit while everyone snacked for a second then i took off for the first group and met them at the top of the last switchback..great view towards Carrigain direction from blowdown patch before the final climb...from there we enjoyed the last few hundred yards to the summit where ,as tradition holds, newbies Karen, Frank and John took the lead..
The trees are getting higher on Hale.. some climbed the rockpile for better views..I missed seeing the snow platform that i read about this winter..pretty neat..
Gradually the rest of the group summited and we enjoyed a quick lunch..during my rehab several of my hiker friends stopped by with coffee,,food..the Globe and some of these great friends were on this hike..Claude, Grumpy Gran, Cymbidium, Sleeveless, Pat, Ginette,..it was pretty special to be back on the trail and having this group to hike with made it even better..
My goal was up and down on hale Brook Trail for this day.. most of the group headed for the hut and Ellen, Karen, and Mary joined me for the quick and enjoyable descent which proceeded with out incident..I was relieved at the parking lot to get the thumbs up from my senior PT advisor Mary who gave me the okay to resume normal activities...
Not the biggest mountain out there, Mount Hale, but this day's climb will be one I remember for awhile..
oh..trail conditions..no snow..no blowdowns..2 very small sections of mud and a little wet rock at the highest spring..trail is in great shape..
Nice to hike with harry..peakn ..welcome to the group
pics to follow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157618887199558/
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