Peak Above the Nubble 4/6

[Darl58]

Bob & Geri (minus Geri) suggested Washington for a Sunday hike, I wanted something different.....bushwack??
With lots of emails back & forth we settled for PAtN, as I'm working on the NEHH now. It's not all about me.....Bob did throw it out as a suggestion for the day!

I picked up Jeff in Concord, Bob & Mike were already up there and Melissa and Ray were driving up also. We met at The Seven Dwarfs Motel in Twin about 9:00.

After introductions and gearing up we barebooted until we hit the 3 Boulders and immediately had to put the snowshoes on. It was overcast but warm as we hiked along enjoying the day. As we hit the woods we all took our own line through the trees and re-grouped before entering the thicker sections. Stopping at a couple spots to catch the views and dragging Bob through a couple thicker sections...why go around when you can barge through those trees. (we were bushwacking) A few times I heard "why are we hiking this peak"??? You know who you are!

Once we got over the smaller peak and headed for PAtN we followed tracks where others had hiked until getting close to the peak. This is where we split off again in search of the canister.

Ray took to the left, I headed right into some very low lying tree branches. As I crawled out from under some branches I looked up and there was the canister dead ahead. Ray on the other hand was off in spruce trap land trying to dig himself out. I think the others were just hanging back waiting for us to find it???

The sun came out and we took pictures and snacked as we enjoyed the views. The sunshine was quite enjoyable and we started down, this time Bob took the lead to take us around the thicker sections...:^(

We stopped a few times to enjoy the sun and a few talks about naps and cold beer....

On the way out Bob & I were in the lead talking and joking around, when I asked what he thought "that if we took the wrong turn would they follow???" (sign dead ahead showing 7 Dwarf Motel go right, we turned left) So of course we had to try it.....you guess the result?

After returning to our cars and change of clothes we decided on the Woodstock Inn for munchies and cold beer. How were we to know they had appetizers 1/2 price in the bar... Our pictures show, we took full advantage of that deal!

It was a fun day bushwacking with a fun group of hikers. Looking forward to hiking together again!

Pics:
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=momdar&P=groton&AID=5192014&Pres=Y

 

[Paradox]

Nice TR and pictures, Darlene! Question: about how long did it take you?

 

[Darl58]

We were short of 6 hours, but could of done it in alot less time. We weren't in any hurry especially when the sun came out!
Coming out was a pain, the snow had warmed up and we were postholing with the snowshoes, so we didn't hurry out either....

 

[bobandgeri]

Great hike Darlene! Well at least the parts where we weren't being dragged through the Spruce :> Xmas must be your favorite time of year!

Seriously - it was a fun day. We only hit a couple of thick sections and one was when we decided to check out the 1st view point on the way up. Fun group to hike and chow down with! And for anyone who is wondering, yes, we managed to finish all that food :>

To top it off we were blessed with warm sunshine once we reached the summit - almost too warm.

 

[bigmoose]

Just wondering...
Did anyone have the tools necessary to rehang that can on an upright tree?

 

[Jazzbo]

Good idea of course to remount the cannister on a new tree, but speaking for myself, it never occurred to me to re-mount on another tree. I suppose we could have pried the nails out using leatherman tools and used a rock to pound the nails and mounting bracket into a new tree. Rocks will be hard to find until snow melts up there. Snow looked to still be 3' deep at summit. Could do the whole job using a claw hammer.

Darlene - Thanks for posting the TR. I had a good time too. It was great meeting everybody. Appetizers at Woodstock Inn were really nice treat! If Darlene's pics aren't enoough, Link to my 46 pictures are below.

As for time, Bob and Jeri's TR from 2005 indicates they did it 2.5 hours up and 1.5 hours down. So one could hike this faster than we did.

PATN Pics

 

[bobandgeri]

Nice photos Ray!

It certainly can be hiked faster in the non-Winter months. Perhaps a return trip sometime to move the cannister.

 

[Darl58]

Of course it could be hiked faster....but I personally like not to think about how fast I can hike a peak. To me it's all about the scenery, weather, and the company that I'm with. (okay some days I just want to get off that Mtn, but...)

As for relocating the canister...look at the pictures and there are not many large or alive trees at the peak. A lot of thick spruce and dead trees, so maybe it's where it belongs for now?? Someone could check out the strength of the branches holding it up off the ground??? Would hate to have the tree fall and crush the canister.