Northern Presidentials/fall gathering

[Juniper]

On Saturday a group of us hiked Jefferson, Adams and Madison with Mats as he continued his diretissima. Present were Gillian, Jason, Dave Metsky, Darlene, Dr. Wu and his wife Jess, Leaf and me.

We took the Castle Trail up to Jefferson, then followed the Gulf Side trail over to Adams and Madison. We came down Howker Ridge and Pine Link to Dolly Copp Rd and walked to Barnes Field.

A few of us had not been on the Castle Trail which was a really nice way to approach Jefferson. The castles were fun to climb around (although I think we were all glad WE weren't carrying a 65lb pack! ). It was a gorgeous day to be above treeline. Mats wasn't feeling his best, but we made steady progress and reached Madison around 6pm. We got to enjoy a nice sunset as we headed down the mountain. We finished the hike in the dark, and tried to keep Mats and each other entertained. I think he would have preferred silence to some of the inane conversation we had (let alone the singing )!

We arrived at the campsite to find a mellow crowd around the fire and plenty of food circulating. It was nice to relax and chat with everyone. On Sunday we awoke to cloudy skies and a shortage of ambition. Those who were hiking were long gone. The rest of us headed into Gorham for a tasty breakfast at the Moonbeam Cafe. Then a few of us came back to Barnes Field and played Kub, which is a Swedish lawn game. Once again, a great weekend with a great group of people.

Photos here: pics

The fall colors are really starting to come out up north (in fact, I think the colors north of Franconia Notch got 100% more beautiful just between Saturday and Sunday).

 

[gooly]

Superb photos! The breakfast shots are my favorites...i love breakfast. Great day to be above treeline!

 

[mookie]

sounds like a good group of people to share a few good peaks with during some good weather!

 

[dr_wu002]

What an incredible weekend!! I can't say enough how much I enjoy hanging out with this crowd -- you're all, and I'm not being facetious at all, such a friendly, warm, generous and above all fun group of people to spend the weekend with. It's fun from start to finish whether it be hanging around the fire (and all the weird conversation), making all the food (thanks DaveBear) and then the great hikes and all the camaraderie.

I very much enjoyed and felt honored to be a small part of Mats' hike on Saturday -- Wicked fun going to Jefferson; And then a nice hike down the beautiful Israel Ridge Trail with Dave Metsky (first time hiking with Dave ever) filled with cool stories and good conversation.

Even Sunday... although we didn't hike, it felt great to once again be able to chill out with the group and also help the local economy as 21 VFFT'ers ate breakfast at a small place in Gorham (capacity 23) before going back to the campsite to play "Swedish Chess." Even the ride home was beautiful -- I agree with Rebecca, the foliage seemed much more beautiful just a day or so later.

If anyone ever seems scared off by the "notoriety" of these Gatherings, consider giving them a shot. Despite being a part of VFFT for about 4 years now I kinda avoided the gatherings as "not being for me" but I realized this summer what I had been missing: There is a strong and almost life affirming sense of fun, friends, food and camaraderie that I really enjoy. I was glad that I finally got Jess to come along and everyone there was so nice and welcoming... also great to meet people (again) like Stan and his son, Eric and other new faces like Gooly and Mookie, Bruised and Adventurous... nice to see Rob and Ashlee again... and also possible future VFFT'ers AM & PM (Afred and Pat (Pam? -- not good with names!))

Wicked fun weekend! Great to see everyone... great to be a part of Mats' little adventure(s) and so on. Also, as the money collector -- didn't quite reach $387 that Mats paid. I'm going to send a 10 spot or two Mats' way, maybe some of us would want to consider as well...

-Dr. Wu

 

[Gillian]

Beautiful pics Rebecca!..... especially of the sunset. We couldn't have asked for a better day in the Whites to hike along with Mats.

Wu is the professional Kub player - we all need to learn his specialized techniques and skills....

 

[dr_wu002]

Beautiful pics Rebecca!..... especially of the sunset. We couldn't have asked for a better day in the Whites to hike along with Mats.

Wu is the professional Kub player - we all need to learn his specialized techniques and skills....

What is Kub? All I remember playing is Swedish Chess...

-Dr. Wu

 

[Trainwreck]

It was so nice to finally meet some of you at Barnes. I have been a long time lurker, and I am so glad I came to the gathering. I admit I was a bit nervous to do this, especially since you all knew each other, but I was warmly received and felt part of the group right away. You guys are a lot of fun, and I hope to see you all at future gatherings. I'll bring the marshmallows.
S.

 

[Darl58]

Fall Gathering

Ditto all of the above fun comments!

Friday night was rather quiet at Barnes, last five standing or rather drinking had many laughs and tried to keep the fire burning...lack of wood was a problem. My shoes managed to escape me on the way to my tent, but I recovered them.......

Saturday arrived way too early....we were waiting for Mats to arrive along the road at Castle Trailhead. After arriving and hugs all around, we realize that we're still not ready to hike...so off Mats goes without us. We managed to pull ourselves together and catch up by the water crossing.

The Castle Ridge trail was lots of fun with all the rock to climb up and over and around. The views were amazing and weather perfect. We were all thankfull that we had light packs and felt for Mats as he climbed up with his 65 lb pack.

The day was very quiet after leaving Jefferson, we met very few hikers and had Adams and Madison to ourselves. The afternoon glow and stillness were magical along the ridge. I loved the quietness and warm colors.

As we left Madison, we dropped down in the shadows and then darkness of the Howker Ridge...which if you haven't hiked down it in the dark....not highly recommended! Did I say hike "down" it, I meant hiked "up" it to hike down...

It was a very long and dark hike but we tried to keep ourselves occupied and managed to drive Mats nuts I'm sure. I bet it made him not think about how badly he was feeling.....maybe it was our singing,or our stupid discussions, or maybe our wealth of knowledge on different subjects but at the end we were all ready to end this hike!

As we hiked along the Dark Pine Mountain road to Barnes we see up ahead a few headlamps...who does appear but 3 tiny reindeer...oh sorry a different story! Dave, Huiyeng, and Donna appear and behold cold beer! They were glad to see us, and we were glad to see beer & them of course. Not sure we expressed it properly to them though at the time!

Arriving at Barnes, we were welcomed to a nice fire and lots of fellow VFTT dudes & dudettes who fed us with steaks, chicken, beer, candy, etc...it was like coming home!
It was fun to hang around the fire and enjoying each others stories and sharing many laughs together!

Sunday morning we didmanage to take over the whole of Moonbeam and then back to Barnes for more fun. Kubb, or Swedish Chess, or whatever it is. Lots of fun!

Looking forward to the next time....

http://picasaweb.google.com/hikerdd13/FallGathering#

 

[David Metsky]

Great time had by all. Well, at least all of us who weren't carrying a 65 lb (that's 23 hectares for you Europeans) pack. Juniper and I arrived at the trailhead after passing an oddly dressed man walking down Rt 2 at 9:00 AM?! We all set up the official greeting post so Mats wouldn't get lost.

Here he is: Laurence of Scandinavia!

Off we went, up the Castle trail looking for Castles. We climbed at a steady pace, as you would expect for a person carrying his weight in sardines and baby wipes. Above treeline it was just perfect weather, warm but not too warm, just enough wind to keep the bugs away, perfect views.

Courtney cavorting on the Castles

Mats trying to lose us on the flats

Onward and upward we went, topping out on Jefferson and settling in for a quick lunch. Mats was feeling the gravitational pull of Adams so he quickly sped off, the rest of us following and catching up at Edmands Col where folks filled up on water.

Darlene soaking in the cultural and ecological splendor of Edmands Col

Dr Wu and I, as the only two people on the trip who knew more then one line to any song, left the group to take Israel Ridge down the the cars and drive them around to Barnes Field. As an added benefit we got to stop hiking before 10:00 PM. The hike down was fun, Wu and I have never really hiked together before so we had lots to talk about.

A boy and his privy

We made it back to the cars and drove around to Barnes via a store that sold ethanol and octane. Around 9:30 we decided to send out a search party for the gang, so Huiyeng, Donna, and I headed up Pinkham B armed with headlamps and a 6-pack of beer. In about a mile we saw headlamps ahead, and they seemed much happier to see the beer in Huiyeng (who had the beer) then Donna or me. Oh well.

Great times everyone. Stan upheld his record of attending every Fall Gathering since the first. Wood was burned. Beer was drunk. Lies were told. Smiles were flashed.

V - F - T - fricken - T!

More pictures here: http://www.hikethewhites.com/gallery/v/jefferson01/

-dave-

 

[leaf]

i repeat much thanks to donna, metsky and huiyeng for those roadwalk frosties! and thanks to dr. wu for the tasty potatoes. not sure if you meant for me to polish them off, but they were so good and i was starving.

good times and good tackling by the fire.

i had a great weekend and i was super glad to join mats in his 48 attempt.

cheers!

oh, and i owe ya mats. checks in the mail!

 

[Juniper]

I *think* it was a typo, but now that you mention it Dave, it was very fun to see the beer in Hui Yeng! How could I have forgotten to mention our welcome party on the walk back?! That was such a nice surprise

 

[David Metsky]

Ah, yes. That was supposed to be "the beer in Huiyeng's hand" but either way works.

 

[Dave Bear]

Nice TR Juniper and excellent pics by all! What a fantastic weekend and I enjoyed finishing it off with all of you! Sorry our paths didn't cross up on the ridge but I guess I would have been well off schedule if I were taking in the sunset you folks did!

Mats you are hardcore and a true gentleman. Glad I got to see you at Barnes and make it off the ridge for chillin' n grilling! Can't wait to share a ridge walk with you some day soon.

 

[HuiYeng]

... so Huiyeng, Donna, and I headed up Pinkham B armed with headlamps and a 6-pack of beer. In about a mile we saw headlamps ahead, and they seemed much happier to see the beer in Huiyeng (who had the beer) then Donna or me.

They're in me alright, 6 pack of beer only 4 reached them
Nice pictures, awesome sunset.

 

[David Metsky]

Oops, a few more participants need to be represented.

Tuck - What are you looking at?

Carter - Hiking studs know they're cool

 

[leaf]

Ok, my pics are up on my site. Also uploaded (finally) is the Trap Dike and FOT48 pics.

Darl, I stole some of your pics of me (and gave you due credit of course!). My parents complain there's never pictures of me.

http://hikingleaf.smugmug.com

 

[donna]

Okay, enough of the hiking pictures...this is a VFTT gathering...here's the party pictures...just kidding Darren, we were very well behaved...you know how good I can be.

http://community.webshots.com/user/donnaryan102

 

[mookie]

Okay, enough of the hiking pictures...this is a VFTT gathering...here's the party pictures...just kidding Darren, we were very well behaved...you know how good I can be.

http://community.webshots.com/user/donnaryan102

HEY!
im one of the "scary looking guys?", cool!!!

 

[Sasquatch]

Summary:
Thursday night;Arrive to a beautifully quiet BF around midnight and set up camp,go to sleep.
Friday; Bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches then off to Pinkham. Hike up Boot Spur, up and over Washington, and down Nelson Crag for loop.The day was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and endless views.We spent much time stopping and enjoying the spectacular scenery.Showers @ pinkham and return to BF.Hang out with folks there until cold and tired.
Saturday:6:30AM Carter and me went with Nartreb to hike up the Dry river Trail and down Davis Path.Another beautiful day in the mountains. Always wanted to hike the DRT and it was worth it.Great river with pools and a nice little valley emerging into Oakes.Above treeline section yielded superb views and warm weather. I have always wanted to go DOWN the davis path and really enjoyed the trip.Isolation,Stairs and MT Crawford provided magnificent viewpoints in increasingly beautiful light.Made it down, no ride,had to walk 1.5 miles back towards Nartreb's car until being picked up by our ride.Thanks for a great hike.Ate much and partied all night.
Sunday:After breakfast and beers and games and the departure of folks Ashley and the dogs and I went up to Tuckerman's to enjoy the views and a few Octoberfests!Quick shower and back to quiety camp and dinner,go to sleep.
Monday; Lounge out , more bacon eggs and cheese, pack up, and the dogs and I hit the Imp trail, quick 2.2 up to the ledge,enjoy some time up there and then run down to find once again no ride.WTF.15 minutes later Ashley returns from Pinkham with cold sodas. Sadly time to leave after that.
We had a great time and thanks to everyone.

 

[gooly]

HEY!
im one of the "scary looking guys?", cool!!!

Hey, I'm the OTHER one of the "scary looking guys"...that IS cool...i AM scary!