p2piper
New member
I woke up at 4am, exhausted and excited about the day ahead. Climbing Little Haystack Mountain, and Mounts Lincoln and Lafayette. At 4:30 I dragged myself out of bed, surprised that it was even light out, and frustrated by the lingering clouds. We haven’t had any summer weather since Memorial weekend. Grrr.
Drove to Keene to pick up Nancy, who was also cursing the earliness of the hour under her breath, and headed to Concord. As we started driving north, the clouds began to dissipate and the blue sky to show. We were elated. We pulled into the Lafayette Place parking lot around 8:30 am and hit the Bridle Path Trail at 8:41am. We took the turn off to head up to Little Haystack Mountain via the Falling Waters Trail, a trail that was true to its name. The trail sides were rich with wild flowers and once the trail began paralleling the water of Dry Brook. Because of the recent rains, the brook was lively with clear cold water. We both started at each other in awe as we climbed – every turn bringing a new waterfall into our view. The spray from the falls hanging in the sun beams was especially wondrous.
Temps in the mid-60’s, we quickly stripped to shorts and short sleeves. I felt great, strong and so happy to be on the trail on this sunny day. The best part was that there were no black flies, which meant no bug dope. Whoo hooo. This was to be the third and fourth 4,000 foot peaks we have bagged since deciding to do the 4,000 footers in New England. The beauty of the trail was the perfect appetizer for the rest of the day. Onward and upward.
When the trail broke away from Dry Brook the trail started climbing for real. Almost immediately I noticed a thin film of dust coating everything in sight. I thought I was seeing things but finally realized it was pollen coming from the evergreens surrounding us. It filled the air and made me glad I was not allergic to pollens because there was no way I was breathing through my nose. As we trudged, the tree sizes became more stunted but it seemed like a long time before we finally saw the sky and pulled our way above the tree line toward the summit of Little Haystack at 11:28am.
We pulled off just below the summit because we hadn’t eaten since 5am and were craving food. We ate an apple and gasped at the beauty of the ridge ahead of us and the mountains surrounding us, reveling in being alive and healthy enough to climb to see this, strong enough to push past our 50-year old aches and pains, and so blessed to have a hiking buddy with whom to share this adventure.
There were quite a few hikers on the summit, but we decided to move on. I was so surprised that in the cooler temperatures and breezy conditions of the ridge, the black flies decided that I was something not to be missed and they nailed me. I managed to remain bug dope free, but I could feel their presence. We ate lunch atop Mt Lincoln at 12:07pm. Nice to sit on hot rocks and absorb the beauty surrounding us. I loved the delicate alpine flowers, the sedge grass, and the hardy, strong-willed lichen that insisted they needed to grow at such altitude. Bravo! It felt great to sit down for a while and rest.
I had mistakenly told Nancy that the climbing was basically over and that the ridge had marginal elevation gain. Wrong. And she let me know it as we reached broke another sweat to reach the summit of Lafayette by 1:07pm. There we met a couple of folks from Holland who were nice enough to take our picture – and we returned the favor. We didn’t spend much time on the summit – and I’m not sure why – distracted by too many people, knowing we had miles to go before we rested, and miles to drive before we slept?
I still felt good but knew the downward climb was going to be tough. The Greenleaf Hut looked deceivingly close from the top of Lafayette. I whipped out the poles and we started the descent. Despite the brief sadness I felt when we entered the tree line again. I was elated because of the bird life – White Throated Sparrows and warblers and a young man with a camera and binoculars on a mission. It was a nice break to hit the Greenleaf Hut, used to facilities and availed ourselves of the front porch while I dressed my feet and prepared for the long descent.
As we began the hike down the Old Bridle Trail, I felt a sense of déjà vu – I had been here before. [As it turned out I had climbed this trail more than 15 years ago and I don’t think I even made it to the hut that time – I was not in the shape I am in now when I climbed back then.] The views were amazing and we had to stop and comment about each one – this one would be good for a lunch break and this one would be good for a theatre presentation and this one would be good for just wanting to be alone. Pink wild azaleas lined the path starting at a certain elevation and we were enthralled.
So about 1.5 miles down the 3 mile descent my knees decide that they are old and tired and that they are done for the day. That was hard. I carried a lot of my body weight on the poles resulting in some very tired triceps, abdominals and shoulder muscles. Nancy was concerned but there was nothing to do but keep going. It is frustrating – I know she was tired, but the complete meniscectomy and years of sports have taken a toll on my knees and the descent is really hard for me. I let her lead and ambled down the best I could. Seeing the parking lot was a wonderful thing. A hot fudge brownie Sundae in Lincoln was even better. We made it. A couple of newbie 50 year olds just starting out on an incredible adventure. We hit the parking lot at 4:51pm. Whoo hooo!
Drove to Keene to pick up Nancy, who was also cursing the earliness of the hour under her breath, and headed to Concord. As we started driving north, the clouds began to dissipate and the blue sky to show. We were elated. We pulled into the Lafayette Place parking lot around 8:30 am and hit the Bridle Path Trail at 8:41am. We took the turn off to head up to Little Haystack Mountain via the Falling Waters Trail, a trail that was true to its name. The trail sides were rich with wild flowers and once the trail began paralleling the water of Dry Brook. Because of the recent rains, the brook was lively with clear cold water. We both started at each other in awe as we climbed – every turn bringing a new waterfall into our view. The spray from the falls hanging in the sun beams was especially wondrous.
Temps in the mid-60’s, we quickly stripped to shorts and short sleeves. I felt great, strong and so happy to be on the trail on this sunny day. The best part was that there were no black flies, which meant no bug dope. Whoo hooo. This was to be the third and fourth 4,000 foot peaks we have bagged since deciding to do the 4,000 footers in New England. The beauty of the trail was the perfect appetizer for the rest of the day. Onward and upward.
When the trail broke away from Dry Brook the trail started climbing for real. Almost immediately I noticed a thin film of dust coating everything in sight. I thought I was seeing things but finally realized it was pollen coming from the evergreens surrounding us. It filled the air and made me glad I was not allergic to pollens because there was no way I was breathing through my nose. As we trudged, the tree sizes became more stunted but it seemed like a long time before we finally saw the sky and pulled our way above the tree line toward the summit of Little Haystack at 11:28am.
We pulled off just below the summit because we hadn’t eaten since 5am and were craving food. We ate an apple and gasped at the beauty of the ridge ahead of us and the mountains surrounding us, reveling in being alive and healthy enough to climb to see this, strong enough to push past our 50-year old aches and pains, and so blessed to have a hiking buddy with whom to share this adventure.
There were quite a few hikers on the summit, but we decided to move on. I was so surprised that in the cooler temperatures and breezy conditions of the ridge, the black flies decided that I was something not to be missed and they nailed me. I managed to remain bug dope free, but I could feel their presence. We ate lunch atop Mt Lincoln at 12:07pm. Nice to sit on hot rocks and absorb the beauty surrounding us. I loved the delicate alpine flowers, the sedge grass, and the hardy, strong-willed lichen that insisted they needed to grow at such altitude. Bravo! It felt great to sit down for a while and rest.
I had mistakenly told Nancy that the climbing was basically over and that the ridge had marginal elevation gain. Wrong. And she let me know it as we reached broke another sweat to reach the summit of Lafayette by 1:07pm. There we met a couple of folks from Holland who were nice enough to take our picture – and we returned the favor. We didn’t spend much time on the summit – and I’m not sure why – distracted by too many people, knowing we had miles to go before we rested, and miles to drive before we slept?
I still felt good but knew the downward climb was going to be tough. The Greenleaf Hut looked deceivingly close from the top of Lafayette. I whipped out the poles and we started the descent. Despite the brief sadness I felt when we entered the tree line again. I was elated because of the bird life – White Throated Sparrows and warblers and a young man with a camera and binoculars on a mission. It was a nice break to hit the Greenleaf Hut, used to facilities and availed ourselves of the front porch while I dressed my feet and prepared for the long descent.
As we began the hike down the Old Bridle Trail, I felt a sense of déjà vu – I had been here before. [As it turned out I had climbed this trail more than 15 years ago and I don’t think I even made it to the hut that time – I was not in the shape I am in now when I climbed back then.] The views were amazing and we had to stop and comment about each one – this one would be good for a lunch break and this one would be good for a theatre presentation and this one would be good for just wanting to be alone. Pink wild azaleas lined the path starting at a certain elevation and we were enthralled.
So about 1.5 miles down the 3 mile descent my knees decide that they are old and tired and that they are done for the day. That was hard. I carried a lot of my body weight on the poles resulting in some very tired triceps, abdominals and shoulder muscles. Nancy was concerned but there was nothing to do but keep going. It is frustrating – I know she was tired, but the complete meniscectomy and years of sports have taken a toll on my knees and the descent is really hard for me. I let her lead and ambled down the best I could. Seeing the parking lot was a wonderful thing. A hot fudge brownie Sundae in Lincoln was even better. We made it. A couple of newbie 50 year olds just starting out on an incredible adventure. We hit the parking lot at 4:51pm. Whoo hooo!
