Mad Townie
New member
Last time I planned to climb Garfield I did Cannon instead. So I had to try again, and I sure am glad I did! What a spectacular mountain!
Kmac was joining me, and we'd agreed on a meeting place and time. Then I learned MEB would be coming along, too, so I knew it would be a fine day. We hit the trailhead arounnd 8:45 (would have been sooner if the driver hadn't missed it twice
) and set off on foot, having decided not to ski in. It was another beautiful, blue-sky day in the Whites, and the road passed quickly under our feet. After a flat 1.2 miles of road walk, we started up the Garfield Trail. The first few feet are steep, but it's really only a few feet. Then the trail flattens out and rises very easily through open woods. A real pleasure of a walk.
After a while the mountain gets steeper, but the trail makes several long switchbacks and keeps its gradual character. We walked along admiring the snow on the tree branches, the hardwoods having given way to conifers as the trail gained altitude. At the Garfield Ridge Trail junction, the temperatures were cool but quite pleasant, and we donned our "poufy jackets" for lunch. As we were finishing up a group of three guys, who had started out a little while before us, returned from the summit raving about the views.
We dropped packs at the junction, grabbed our cameras and a little extra clothing (just in case) and scrambled up the last 2 tenths mile to the summit. The sky was still pretty clear, though we noticed it was beginning to haze in. Still, the views were grand. Of the three of us, I was the only one who had never climbed Garfield, so I marveled at the tremendous views from the top, probably the best in the Pemi and some of the best in the Whites. You can see the entire horseshoe of the Pemi mountains with Owl's Head right in front, and beyond to the Osceolas, the Tripyramids, the Hancocks, etc. etc.
One of the nicest things about the Garfield Trail is the descent. Because the trail is so even and gradual, when it's snowed in you can almost flow down the trail, and that's just what we did. While it took us slightly over 4 hours to get to the summit (including breaks), it took less than 3 for us to get back to the parking lot. The haze had increased, but it was high enough that we were treated to a great view of the Prezzies as we drove back to 302.
I don't know if all list addicts experience this, but with more mountains under my boots I'm starting to feel like the horse that smells the barn! Only a few left!
A few pictures can be found here .
Kmac was joining me, and we'd agreed on a meeting place and time. Then I learned MEB would be coming along, too, so I knew it would be a fine day. We hit the trailhead arounnd 8:45 (would have been sooner if the driver hadn't missed it twice
) and set off on foot, having decided not to ski in. It was another beautiful, blue-sky day in the Whites, and the road passed quickly under our feet. After a flat 1.2 miles of road walk, we started up the Garfield Trail. The first few feet are steep, but it's really only a few feet. Then the trail flattens out and rises very easily through open woods. A real pleasure of a walk.After a while the mountain gets steeper, but the trail makes several long switchbacks and keeps its gradual character. We walked along admiring the snow on the tree branches, the hardwoods having given way to conifers as the trail gained altitude. At the Garfield Ridge Trail junction, the temperatures were cool but quite pleasant, and we donned our "poufy jackets" for lunch. As we were finishing up a group of three guys, who had started out a little while before us, returned from the summit raving about the views.
We dropped packs at the junction, grabbed our cameras and a little extra clothing (just in case) and scrambled up the last 2 tenths mile to the summit. The sky was still pretty clear, though we noticed it was beginning to haze in. Still, the views were grand. Of the three of us, I was the only one who had never climbed Garfield, so I marveled at the tremendous views from the top, probably the best in the Pemi and some of the best in the Whites. You can see the entire horseshoe of the Pemi mountains with Owl's Head right in front, and beyond to the Osceolas, the Tripyramids, the Hancocks, etc. etc.
One of the nicest things about the Garfield Trail is the descent. Because the trail is so even and gradual, when it's snowed in you can almost flow down the trail, and that's just what we did. While it took us slightly over 4 hours to get to the summit (including breaks), it took less than 3 for us to get back to the parking lot. The haze had increased, but it was high enough that we were treated to a great view of the Prezzies as we drove back to 302.
I don't know if all list addicts experience this, but with more mountains under my boots I'm starting to feel like the horse that smells the barn! Only a few left!
A few pictures can be found here .
