Mongoose
New member
We managed to squeeze a nice trip between the rain storms this week. The group was me and two new people who I hiked with for the first time. We started our drive from the Boston area, squeezing 3 people and all their camping gear into a Mini Cooper. Yes it is possible, but I forgot to take a photo of it!! We drove up to the Whitehouse trailhead in the rain. I threw a tarp over the back of the car so we could gear up and get ready. The hike to the Liberty Springs tentsite was a slog through rain and mud. We heard a thunderstorm slowly pass us in the distance, luckily not coming near us.
At camp I setup a tarp over one of the tent platforms. Mary and Christian each had their own tent while I bivied out under the tarp. It was a nice night with only a few sprinkles. I managed to dry my gear out from the day before inside my sleeping bag.
The next day we left our camping gear and hiked up to Mt. Lafayette. As we hiked up the ridge line to Little Haystack, the clouds slowly opened up. When we got to the top, there was blue sky and puffs of low clouds on the ridge. The closer we got to Lafayette the more the sky opened up until it was mostly blue with a few clouds far above us. It ended up being a great day. I dried out most of my gear on the summit and took lots of photos along the way. We then hiked back down to Liberty Springs to camp for the night.
Back at the tentsite a squirrel had eaten through one of our tents. Someone left peanuts and teabags inside the tent. Luckily only the teabags were lost. There were lots of kids at the tentsite too. Camping groups and parents bringing their kids out hiking. I actually liked seeing the kids out there because it's important to get them hooked when they are young.
During the night a storm came through. My bivy sack doesn't zip up to cover my head, so I ended up sticking my head in the vestibule and zipping the fly over my chest. It worked out well, except I got a bit hot since I couldn't open the bivy or sleeping bag. I'll have to learn how to use a tarp better next time, this was my first time using one.
Day 3 was a hike straight out to the car. It was rainy and wet until we made it back to the car. We then crammed all our wet gear back into the Mini for the drive home. It was a good trip overall.
I bought a new DSLR so here are some photos from the trip: http://garrettrb.shutterfly.com
At camp I setup a tarp over one of the tent platforms. Mary and Christian each had their own tent while I bivied out under the tarp. It was a nice night with only a few sprinkles. I managed to dry my gear out from the day before inside my sleeping bag.
The next day we left our camping gear and hiked up to Mt. Lafayette. As we hiked up the ridge line to Little Haystack, the clouds slowly opened up. When we got to the top, there was blue sky and puffs of low clouds on the ridge. The closer we got to Lafayette the more the sky opened up until it was mostly blue with a few clouds far above us. It ended up being a great day. I dried out most of my gear on the summit and took lots of photos along the way. We then hiked back down to Liberty Springs to camp for the night.
Back at the tentsite a squirrel had eaten through one of our tents. Someone left peanuts and teabags inside the tent. Luckily only the teabags were lost. There were lots of kids at the tentsite too. Camping groups and parents bringing their kids out hiking. I actually liked seeing the kids out there because it's important to get them hooked when they are young.
During the night a storm came through. My bivy sack doesn't zip up to cover my head, so I ended up sticking my head in the vestibule and zipping the fly over my chest. It worked out well, except I got a bit hot since I couldn't open the bivy or sleeping bag. I'll have to learn how to use a tarp better next time, this was my first time using one.
Day 3 was a hike straight out to the car. It was rainy and wet until we made it back to the car. We then crammed all our wet gear back into the Mini for the drive home. It was a good trip overall.
I bought a new DSLR so here are some photos from the trip: http://garrettrb.shutterfly.com
