percious
Well-known member
A beautiful day out with some good friends. Ben called me out of bed a little after eight. He was headed up with his new Mustang Cobra SVT. I called Erich, and an hour later we were all gathering lunch, and Colden was running around showing Ben and Erich his toys. We put Kanga on Belay.
An hour later, we arrived at the Rt. 116 crossing of the Metacomet Monadnock to find a full parking lot, and a lot of waiting waterbottles. The anual run-to-the-mountain-house-and-back was going on. A twelve mile run, this ambitious race covers the western Holyoke range. The winner finished in an incredible 1:30-something. Amazing.
The four of us headed up the trail. Runners dodged us, some polite, some not. We tried not to let it bothered us, and cheered on those with smiling faces. Colden made his way up Bare Mountain. He tripped on some of the initial rocks and hit his knee. He then agreed to hold my hand, but no pack! Soon we found ourselves at the top of the ridge, directing a lost runner to the finish. We looked down to see the Red Mustang below. Some clouds were seen to the west, but otherwise it was a beautiful day.
Colden carried on along the pipes holding my hand, and we stopped on the way down for a bathroom break. Erich and Ben grabbed some Gatorade. We ascended Hitchcock as waves of runners passed. We were now passing the pack of "happy to be out" runners, as apposed to the super competative ones. It was a pleasant change.
Soon Ben realized that he left my poles on the shoulder of Bare, and headed back to get them. Colden, Erich and I continued on slowly, taking breaks wherever Colden wanted. We stopped for some snacks too. Ben caught us up right before a nice bouldering area, and I goofed around for a couple of seconds before we shoved off to the summit. The cement blocks at the summit of Hitchcock offered little in the way of views, and the bugs convinced us to move off quickly. Colden still refused the pack, plugging away, but he was fading.
About 1/2 way down Hitchcock Colden succumed to the pack. The sisters awaited. We passed a water depot on the way with about 40 gallons of open bottles. The number of racers dwindled to a trickle, and Colden took note of their numbers as we passed. Up and down, up and down, the theme of the day. Hey, we were training for CO weren't we. We lost track of which sister was which, and soon we were at the tree containing a small trail register. We read a few entries, some of which liked the racers, some that didn't. We carried on, certainly this must be the last one.
But no, there were (at least) two more, and we drooped down to the hilltop road which was littered with gallon water jugs. We headed up the stairs, Colden cheering me on as I carried on with my sufferage. The hot sun opened up and I felt a drop of water on my leg. Colden had wet his pants. I should have heeded his earlier warnings about going potty... My fault. I just wanted to get to the top!
We soon were at the top and Colden finished his job as we prepared for lunch. At least he was wearing a bathing suit, which dried quickly as we ate our lunch. Ben had trouble stomaching the PBJ which my wife had graciously made for us, but I had no issues. I was HUNGRY! Colden at his sandwich faster than I have ever seen him eat one, as we looked out over the Connecticut river valley.
Soon it was time to leave, and we explored the summit house a bit, looking out at Mt. Greylock and VT from the railing. Colden fought when I had to put him back in the pack but he finally gave up. We carried on towards the sisters. Stopping at the water jugs to re-supply (the race was long over) we headed up the first sister. Erich was low on water because the summit house did not provide any. It would not open until *next* weekend.
We carried on over what seemed to be an endless supply of sisters, passing some happy hikers on this fine day. Erich really hit his stride through this section, having reduced his load by the weight of lunch. I struggled to keep up with him carrying a 30.5lb almost 3 year old. Colden sang some songs of original creation, as well as some old favourites. The time passed. We reached the mid-range water supply, and Colden took a break from the pack for the flat section leading up to Mt. Hitchcock. We stopped for another bathroom break; warnings heeded this time. We started up Hitchcock, and a determined Colden clawed his way up some of the steeper sections. He was getting totally dirty and loving every bit of it. I was thankfull for the break from pack time.
Ben sped off as his legs adjusted to a pace, and Erich and Colden and I slowly made our way up Hitchcock. Finally Colden's mental strength surpassed his physical ability, and I thought it was best for him to saddle-up for his safety. I did not want him stumbling through a boulderfield. A promise of granola bar made the hiking to pack transition go more smoothly, and Erich and I were speeding past forestry to catch Ben.
Ben was patiently waiting at the Hitchcock GPS sign, beautifully inscribed in white lettering. We took a break to look at our day's progress, and noted that Greylock was much better visible. This was surprising because we were only 60-sem-odd feet higher than Mt. Holyoke. We continued on, discussing our plans for the rest of the day, which included a trip to the local gear store, on of the best in the Northeast (Adventure Outfitters in South Hadley)
Soon we found ourselves at a 350 hp machine, sweaty, but feeling confident. Colden was pretty tired, and happy to get into Ben's car. We packed up and sped off. It was a great day.
-percious
P.S. I usually post picks with my TRs, but I only have a few from this trip. If anyone asks, I will post what few I have up.
An hour later, we arrived at the Rt. 116 crossing of the Metacomet Monadnock to find a full parking lot, and a lot of waiting waterbottles. The anual run-to-the-mountain-house-and-back was going on. A twelve mile run, this ambitious race covers the western Holyoke range. The winner finished in an incredible 1:30-something. Amazing.
The four of us headed up the trail. Runners dodged us, some polite, some not. We tried not to let it bothered us, and cheered on those with smiling faces. Colden made his way up Bare Mountain. He tripped on some of the initial rocks and hit his knee. He then agreed to hold my hand, but no pack! Soon we found ourselves at the top of the ridge, directing a lost runner to the finish. We looked down to see the Red Mustang below. Some clouds were seen to the west, but otherwise it was a beautiful day.
Colden carried on along the pipes holding my hand, and we stopped on the way down for a bathroom break. Erich and Ben grabbed some Gatorade. We ascended Hitchcock as waves of runners passed. We were now passing the pack of "happy to be out" runners, as apposed to the super competative ones. It was a pleasant change.
Soon Ben realized that he left my poles on the shoulder of Bare, and headed back to get them. Colden, Erich and I continued on slowly, taking breaks wherever Colden wanted. We stopped for some snacks too. Ben caught us up right before a nice bouldering area, and I goofed around for a couple of seconds before we shoved off to the summit. The cement blocks at the summit of Hitchcock offered little in the way of views, and the bugs convinced us to move off quickly. Colden still refused the pack, plugging away, but he was fading.
About 1/2 way down Hitchcock Colden succumed to the pack. The sisters awaited. We passed a water depot on the way with about 40 gallons of open bottles. The number of racers dwindled to a trickle, and Colden took note of their numbers as we passed. Up and down, up and down, the theme of the day. Hey, we were training for CO weren't we. We lost track of which sister was which, and soon we were at the tree containing a small trail register. We read a few entries, some of which liked the racers, some that didn't. We carried on, certainly this must be the last one.
But no, there were (at least) two more, and we drooped down to the hilltop road which was littered with gallon water jugs. We headed up the stairs, Colden cheering me on as I carried on with my sufferage. The hot sun opened up and I felt a drop of water on my leg. Colden had wet his pants. I should have heeded his earlier warnings about going potty... My fault. I just wanted to get to the top!
We soon were at the top and Colden finished his job as we prepared for lunch. At least he was wearing a bathing suit, which dried quickly as we ate our lunch. Ben had trouble stomaching the PBJ which my wife had graciously made for us, but I had no issues. I was HUNGRY! Colden at his sandwich faster than I have ever seen him eat one, as we looked out over the Connecticut river valley.
Soon it was time to leave, and we explored the summit house a bit, looking out at Mt. Greylock and VT from the railing. Colden fought when I had to put him back in the pack but he finally gave up. We carried on towards the sisters. Stopping at the water jugs to re-supply (the race was long over) we headed up the first sister. Erich was low on water because the summit house did not provide any. It would not open until *next* weekend.
We carried on over what seemed to be an endless supply of sisters, passing some happy hikers on this fine day. Erich really hit his stride through this section, having reduced his load by the weight of lunch. I struggled to keep up with him carrying a 30.5lb almost 3 year old. Colden sang some songs of original creation, as well as some old favourites. The time passed. We reached the mid-range water supply, and Colden took a break from the pack for the flat section leading up to Mt. Hitchcock. We stopped for another bathroom break; warnings heeded this time. We started up Hitchcock, and a determined Colden clawed his way up some of the steeper sections. He was getting totally dirty and loving every bit of it. I was thankfull for the break from pack time.
Ben sped off as his legs adjusted to a pace, and Erich and Colden and I slowly made our way up Hitchcock. Finally Colden's mental strength surpassed his physical ability, and I thought it was best for him to saddle-up for his safety. I did not want him stumbling through a boulderfield. A promise of granola bar made the hiking to pack transition go more smoothly, and Erich and I were speeding past forestry to catch Ben.
Ben was patiently waiting at the Hitchcock GPS sign, beautifully inscribed in white lettering. We took a break to look at our day's progress, and noted that Greylock was much better visible. This was surprising because we were only 60-sem-odd feet higher than Mt. Holyoke. We continued on, discussing our plans for the rest of the day, which included a trip to the local gear store, on of the best in the Northeast (Adventure Outfitters in South Hadley)
Soon we found ourselves at a 350 hp machine, sweaty, but feeling confident. Colden was pretty tired, and happy to get into Ben's car. We packed up and sped off. It was a great day.
-percious
P.S. I usually post picks with my TRs, but I only have a few from this trip. If anyone asks, I will post what few I have up.
