p2piper
New member
Stats:
Date: January 21, 2007
Time: 5.5 hours
Weather: Sunny, teens
Miles: 8
Steps: 16,964
Trails: Sandwich Mountain Trail out and back
We decided on Sandwich Dome because the trail was protected most of the way, it was only 8 miles round trip and it was relatively close (2 1/5 instead of the usual 3+ hours of driving time). We also chose it because it "counts". In celebration of the shorter drive we agreed to meet in Keene at 6am. We stopped at MacDonald's in Concord because I needed coffee and they had Newman's Own - Call me weird, but I don't like Dunkin Doughnuts coffee - but I was handed the worst cup of coffee I've ever had. One sip and I knew it was trashcan bound. Blech... Thank goodness for the Irving in Meredith where the dark roast is always good.
We found the trailhead without a problem and although it had not been plowed it had been used. We gauged the snow level - no new snow - and decided just to bring STABILicers. Nancy was trying out her new winter boots. She has a small, low volume foot and her heel was slipping in her other boots, no matter how tightly or inventively she tied them. As we were putting on our boots, I heard a pop from the front seat where she was sitting and a curse - at first I thought she had broken her shoelace, but no, she had ripped the hook grommet right out of the boot. After a moment of thinking we might have to head back she found a way of tying them so she could at least try and continue with the hike. Turned out she had no trouble, either with the tie method or her heel slipping.
At 8:30 am we hit the trail. Temperatures hovered around 6 degrees and the sun was out, the sky clear, and no wind at the trailhead. Almost immediately we came to a brook - my favorite hiking pleasure. But the ice was thick enough that we were able to cross without incident. And then we started climbing. It was a steady, fairly steep slog up the mountain. I started breathing heavily almost immediately - usually I like to warm up to the heavy breathing part, but that was not to be. It was hard to tell if we were out of shape or if the climb was just darn steep, but we were sweating and breathing hard. Nancy worked herself into quite a lather. I stayed cooler by not wearing a hat or gloves.
The trail was packed snow on top of ice. Great footing. No need for STABILicers. I loved that. We stopped often and briefly to catch our breath or eat a power bar. We hit our first ledge at Noon Peak around 10:30 am. I was so excited by the view that I grabbed Nancy and gave her a big hug. It was stunning, beyond words, the mountains out there in their frosty perfection. The sun was out and it almost felt warm - we took some pictures before reluctantly moving on. As we came up to the Jennings Peak spur we hit another stretch of ledge with a view and it gave us a chance to see where we were going. It looked, as ever, so incredibly far away. How could we possibly get there in our lifetime? That's how it feels when I look at where I'm going during these hikes. In my mind I know the distance can be covered in an hour or so, but my eyes see impossibility.
Onward and definitely upward - the climbing became steeper and harder and my climbing muscles had started to get a little tired. Maybe a couple of tenths of a mile from the top, I put my head down and entered the "zone". I just walked and walked and didn't stop and didn't talk and didn't look around. A couple of hundred yards before the top the wind picked up and I got cold…fast. Wow, despite working hard in the climb, the wind and the temperature ripped the heat right out of me. I put on a jacket and a hat and kept going. Normally this would be where Nancy would stop and take off all her wet upper body clothing and replace them with dry clothes. She chose to put on a jacket instead. We reached the Sandwich Dome summit (elevation 3,993 feet) at noon. Neither of our cameras functioned because of the cold so we didn't get a summit shot - and the fact that we had to take off our gloves to manipulate the little camera buttons didn't help much either. We both were chilled so we high fived and got out of there fast.
On the way up, I started noticing pain in the front of my foot caused by a seam in the tongue of my boot. I tried tying the boot tighter and that made it worse. Both ankles started to feel the pain as I walked down. When we stopped and then started again it was excruciating. I limped and staggered until I got used to the pain and could walk more normally. What a drag. And there was nothing I could do - the damage was done - so it was matter of getting down the mountain as fast as possible. I wanted to maintain a positive attitude so I kept breathing and repeating to myself, "This doesn't hurt. There is no pain. I feel nothing. Only joy and peace and happiness." Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
What did work was sliding down the steep pitches on our butts. What fun! I remember sliding down the steep rocky parts of the upper Monadnock trails during winters where there was so much snow that only the tops of the rocks showed. This was kind of the same, except much less snow and more rocks showing. But we slalomed between them and saved huge amounts of time, to say nothing of saving major ankle pain from my bruises. Nancy had a blast - she had on slipperier pants than I and managed to eke out more speed and distance than I did. It was great to see the smile on her face.
We reached the parking lot at 2pm - three and a half hours up and two hours down with a lunch break. Not too bad. I was going to be in time to get home to watch the Patriots game. Whoo Hooo!
A great hike. Now I just hope the bruises on the front of my ankles heal in time for this coming Saturday's hike!
43 out of 67 4,000 footers in New England
45 out of the 100 Highest in New England
37 out of the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire
Date: January 21, 2007
Time: 5.5 hours
Weather: Sunny, teens
Miles: 8
Steps: 16,964
Trails: Sandwich Mountain Trail out and back
We decided on Sandwich Dome because the trail was protected most of the way, it was only 8 miles round trip and it was relatively close (2 1/5 instead of the usual 3+ hours of driving time). We also chose it because it "counts". In celebration of the shorter drive we agreed to meet in Keene at 6am. We stopped at MacDonald's in Concord because I needed coffee and they had Newman's Own - Call me weird, but I don't like Dunkin Doughnuts coffee - but I was handed the worst cup of coffee I've ever had. One sip and I knew it was trashcan bound. Blech... Thank goodness for the Irving in Meredith where the dark roast is always good.
We found the trailhead without a problem and although it had not been plowed it had been used. We gauged the snow level - no new snow - and decided just to bring STABILicers. Nancy was trying out her new winter boots. She has a small, low volume foot and her heel was slipping in her other boots, no matter how tightly or inventively she tied them. As we were putting on our boots, I heard a pop from the front seat where she was sitting and a curse - at first I thought she had broken her shoelace, but no, she had ripped the hook grommet right out of the boot. After a moment of thinking we might have to head back she found a way of tying them so she could at least try and continue with the hike. Turned out she had no trouble, either with the tie method or her heel slipping.
At 8:30 am we hit the trail. Temperatures hovered around 6 degrees and the sun was out, the sky clear, and no wind at the trailhead. Almost immediately we came to a brook - my favorite hiking pleasure. But the ice was thick enough that we were able to cross without incident. And then we started climbing. It was a steady, fairly steep slog up the mountain. I started breathing heavily almost immediately - usually I like to warm up to the heavy breathing part, but that was not to be. It was hard to tell if we were out of shape or if the climb was just darn steep, but we were sweating and breathing hard. Nancy worked herself into quite a lather. I stayed cooler by not wearing a hat or gloves.
The trail was packed snow on top of ice. Great footing. No need for STABILicers. I loved that. We stopped often and briefly to catch our breath or eat a power bar. We hit our first ledge at Noon Peak around 10:30 am. I was so excited by the view that I grabbed Nancy and gave her a big hug. It was stunning, beyond words, the mountains out there in their frosty perfection. The sun was out and it almost felt warm - we took some pictures before reluctantly moving on. As we came up to the Jennings Peak spur we hit another stretch of ledge with a view and it gave us a chance to see where we were going. It looked, as ever, so incredibly far away. How could we possibly get there in our lifetime? That's how it feels when I look at where I'm going during these hikes. In my mind I know the distance can be covered in an hour or so, but my eyes see impossibility.
Onward and definitely upward - the climbing became steeper and harder and my climbing muscles had started to get a little tired. Maybe a couple of tenths of a mile from the top, I put my head down and entered the "zone". I just walked and walked and didn't stop and didn't talk and didn't look around. A couple of hundred yards before the top the wind picked up and I got cold…fast. Wow, despite working hard in the climb, the wind and the temperature ripped the heat right out of me. I put on a jacket and a hat and kept going. Normally this would be where Nancy would stop and take off all her wet upper body clothing and replace them with dry clothes. She chose to put on a jacket instead. We reached the Sandwich Dome summit (elevation 3,993 feet) at noon. Neither of our cameras functioned because of the cold so we didn't get a summit shot - and the fact that we had to take off our gloves to manipulate the little camera buttons didn't help much either. We both were chilled so we high fived and got out of there fast.
On the way up, I started noticing pain in the front of my foot caused by a seam in the tongue of my boot. I tried tying the boot tighter and that made it worse. Both ankles started to feel the pain as I walked down. When we stopped and then started again it was excruciating. I limped and staggered until I got used to the pain and could walk more normally. What a drag. And there was nothing I could do - the damage was done - so it was matter of getting down the mountain as fast as possible. I wanted to maintain a positive attitude so I kept breathing and repeating to myself, "This doesn't hurt. There is no pain. I feel nothing. Only joy and peace and happiness." Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
What did work was sliding down the steep pitches on our butts. What fun! I remember sliding down the steep rocky parts of the upper Monadnock trails during winters where there was so much snow that only the tops of the rocks showed. This was kind of the same, except much less snow and more rocks showing. But we slalomed between them and saved huge amounts of time, to say nothing of saving major ankle pain from my bruises. Nancy had a blast - she had on slipperier pants than I and managed to eke out more speed and distance than I did. It was great to see the smile on her face.
We reached the parking lot at 2pm - three and a half hours up and two hours down with a lunch break. Not too bad. I was going to be in time to get home to watch the Patriots game. Whoo Hooo!
A great hike. Now I just hope the bruises on the front of my ankles heal in time for this coming Saturday's hike!
43 out of 67 4,000 footers in New England
45 out of the 100 Highest in New England
37 out of the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire
