Pierce & Eisenhower via Crawford 4-30-06 (an ode to...)

[HikerAmiga]

Warm sun, lil breeze, rocky path
Upward, gentle grade, snowy-icy patches
Roaring brook, thunderous falls, muddy spots
Birds-a-chirping, flies resounding
The scent of spring with allergens abounding
I cough and cough with a tickly throat
A new camelback hydration bladder helps me!

I follow Hikerfast at a comfortable pace
We stop at times, we look around and marvel
The sights, the sounds, the scents, the beauty,
The warmth of the sun caresses our skin
We smile, we are thankful!

The path wide and beautiful
Reeking of nature in all its splendor
We press on with excitement well knowing
What awaits ahead on this journey over two peaks

Further up, path narrows, cooler in places
Icier patches, snow melting, water runoff, bigger rocks
Rock hopping, avoiding mud
More slippery patches
More smiles, glances, puzzled looks—don the crampons!

At junction, Canada Jay, coming close, keeping us company
lil song & dance for us
Lil bits of bread for it
Soothing snacks we enjoy
While sunning during our break

The path winds on, upward gentle grade
Then slight views, adrenalin rush, close to Pierce summit!
Views open up…. Ahhhhh and Ooooooh! The beauty of it all!
Cairns and cairns, slabs of rock, over and over we tread
Warmth here is remarkable, colors of beautiful hues abound!

One peak down and one to go…we press on
5 ft snow drifts, postholing, side stepping,
Good traction is a must
Alpine plants abound amidst the rocky slabs and dirt ground
Beyond we take in the spectacular views
Ike, Monroe, Washington and others too

What a lovely trek and views to behold
Winding narrow paths, open ridge, light breeze
Climbing and climbing, up we go
Ike beckons, we move closer
Scramble, 20 foot rocky spot
Moving upward, 3 or 4 switchbacks
Steepness, excitement, alluring views
Then before you know it, there, there, 10 foot cairn, rusty, weathered sign!
Beyond, mounts and mounts, and the BIG one in full view
Washington, so close, so incredible, standing so proud!
I smile, I breathe, take pictures galore!
I look beyond the cairn and admire and dream,
Ike today, George may be next, so close and yet so far.
Warmth and a cool breeze simultaneously envelope me
Thoughts of wonder and accomplishment on this day fill me.
Again, I think…” Ike today, George may be next, so close and yet so far.”
I stare out into the wilderness slowly turning, all directions, satisfaction, feeling so small and yet so big, so proud, smiles inside, smiles out.

(Pics: http://community.webshots.com/album/550000427QGzWtu)

 

[alpinista]

Nice shots! You can really see the snow going away and the mountains transforming...

 

[grouseking]

Fantastic pictures, and nice touch with the poetry. Wish I were as talented.

grouseking

 

[McRat]

Congrats HikerAmiga!

Great TR. The mountains are displaying the cusp of spring, which is certainly worthy of poetic musing.

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I got 'hooked' on Mt. Pierce at the 7.5 gathering. The NH Presis have that wonderful knack of being accessible while feeling completely remote.

 

[mtnmama]

HikerAmiga....Mtnpa & I were up at Ike on Sunday.
To bad we missed you and Hikerfast.
Nice poem & pics.

 

[HikerAmiga]

HikerAmiga....Mtnpa & I were up at Ike on Sunday.
To bad we missed you and Hikerfast.
Nice poem & pics.

Ginny, sorry to have missed you too!!

Bob and I had a late start on Sunday as we did some shopping at EMS to take advantage of their 20% gear sale. I bought a Camelback hydration bladder and Bob got a new pack!

Funny thing too, Bob mentioned you guys saying that he meant to contact you to see if you were available for this hike! Other funny thing was that we were astounded at seeing so few people hiking on this popular trail on such a lovely, unseasonable day!! Maybe they were all shopping at EMS!!