chinooktrail
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2004
- Messages
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So, LenDawg and I had not hiked in some time and we decided Sunday's weather was looking good... a plan was devised.
LenDawg had never done Huntington, and Mt. W was on my 're-do' list, so off we went. We had a late start, no surprise, and not enough coffee for me to pack properly, we left Pinkham at 10:15 with light packs.
The Tuckerman Ravine trail is well, not especially my favorite one, and we debated this trail vs. Lincoln Woods for a bit, but being on a trail, ANY trail beats a lot of other things in life, like say, packing up your home, which is what I was avoinding...
Soon we were on the Huntington Ravine Trail and immediately it felt more like hiking to me, narrow, trees, balsam smells, river crossings, ahhh, home.
I really enjoy the approach to the ravine itself, lots of sweet views and I like hiking by water. We applied another layer of sunscreen and we were soon climbing UP. Way up, way quick, well, Lenny was quick, I was slow but steady. You have to like trails that give the upper body more of a workout than the legs for a change.
There was only one spot I remember where the trail was just a smidge too tall for my 5'4' self, and I had to devise a new route. I managed to find a rock that was split horizontally that was big enough to slither through, sort of. I went feet first on my back at first, needed to roll, couldn't so had to slither back, flip, and go through on my belly. Then I had to do a slide of faith back down the rock and onto the trail, hitting the trail and not the big drop a few inches away. All good stuff. I felt like the filling in a whoopie pie.
I kept looking up at the ridge and watching to clouds whizz past, and occasional breaks with sun, but the clouds did look a little threatening, which kept me going at close to book time. For some reason I didn't seem to look DOWN a whole lot on this trail... I am not especially scared of heights, but why temp it.
I must say, the trail did a number on my legs, which felt sort of twizzler like (we arrived at this analogy after much discussion of various sweets and condiments) and it seemed to take quite some time to get from the Alpine Garden to the actual summit.
Ah yes, the 'actual' summit, where they need to instal one of those number systems like at the deli so you can have your photo taken with the sign and touch the marker. For those of us who are lacking in the 'pushy' department this poses a small problem. One woman actually looked at me (probably she was offended by the way I smelled) and said 'Did you actually WALK up here?' Um, yes I replied. Had I been a little more with it I would have asked if she actually DROVE up there?! But alas, I was too pooped for a witty comeback.
After some good HOT soup and chili, and of course the mandatory whoopie pie, and whoopie cookie (YUMMY) It was out and down the Lion's Head trail. This was a great route to take down for our tied bodies and Twizzler legs, and the views just kept on coming.
I was a little surprised at the number of people still headed up, the clothing they chose to wear & the questions we kept getting asked. I decied I was there to hike my own hike and was a bit mad at myself for leaving my headlamp in my other pack anyway, so it wasn't like I was as prepared for this hike as I should have been, so who am I to judge.
We got back to Pinkham at a few minutes after 7, making for a 9 hour day. It felt great to get back out there.
Thanks to LenDawg for getting me out of packing the basement, and for great company and a lot of laughs on the trail, as well as all the encouragement!
I hope to be settled in my new place soon, and out on the trail a LOT more in the very near future, if only I knew which boxes my stuff was packed in...
Happy trails!
LenDawg had never done Huntington, and Mt. W was on my 're-do' list, so off we went. We had a late start, no surprise, and not enough coffee for me to pack properly, we left Pinkham at 10:15 with light packs.
The Tuckerman Ravine trail is well, not especially my favorite one, and we debated this trail vs. Lincoln Woods for a bit, but being on a trail, ANY trail beats a lot of other things in life, like say, packing up your home, which is what I was avoinding...
Soon we were on the Huntington Ravine Trail and immediately it felt more like hiking to me, narrow, trees, balsam smells, river crossings, ahhh, home.
I really enjoy the approach to the ravine itself, lots of sweet views and I like hiking by water. We applied another layer of sunscreen and we were soon climbing UP. Way up, way quick, well, Lenny was quick, I was slow but steady. You have to like trails that give the upper body more of a workout than the legs for a change.
There was only one spot I remember where the trail was just a smidge too tall for my 5'4' self, and I had to devise a new route. I managed to find a rock that was split horizontally that was big enough to slither through, sort of. I went feet first on my back at first, needed to roll, couldn't so had to slither back, flip, and go through on my belly. Then I had to do a slide of faith back down the rock and onto the trail, hitting the trail and not the big drop a few inches away.
All good stuff. I felt like the filling in a whoopie pie. I kept looking up at the ridge and watching to clouds whizz past, and occasional breaks with sun, but the clouds did look a little threatening, which kept me going at close to book time. For some reason I didn't seem to look DOWN a whole lot on this trail... I am not especially scared of heights, but why temp it.
I must say, the trail did a number on my legs, which felt sort of twizzler like (we arrived at this analogy after much discussion of various sweets and condiments) and it seemed to take quite some time to get from the Alpine Garden to the actual summit.
Ah yes, the 'actual' summit, where they need to instal one of those number systems like at the deli so you can have your photo taken with the sign and touch the marker.
For those of us who are lacking in the 'pushy' department this poses a small problem. One woman actually looked at me (probably she was offended by the way I smelled) and said 'Did you actually WALK up here?' Um, yes I replied. Had I been a little more with it I would have asked if she actually DROVE up there?! But alas, I was too pooped for a witty comeback.After some good HOT soup and chili, and of course the mandatory whoopie pie, and whoopie cookie (YUMMY) It was out and down the Lion's Head trail. This was a great route to take down for our tied bodies and Twizzler legs, and the views just kept on coming.
I was a little surprised at the number of people still headed up, the clothing they chose to wear & the questions we kept getting asked. I decied I was there to hike my own hike and was a bit mad at myself for leaving my headlamp in my other pack anyway, so it wasn't like I was as prepared for this hike as I should have been, so who am I to judge.
We got back to Pinkham at a few minutes after 7, making for a 9 hour day. It felt great to get back out there.
Thanks to LenDawg for getting me out of packing the basement, and for great company and a lot of laughs on the trail, as well as all the encouragement!
I hope to be settled in my new place soon, and out on the trail a LOT more in the very near future, if only I knew which boxes my stuff was packed in...
Happy trails!
