dr_wu002
Well-known member
We did the loop that at this point, everyone in the known universe knows about at this point: North Twin Trail --> FW Trail to Hale --> Zea Cliff --> Zea-Land --> South Twin except we went down to Gale Head and went out that way. Jason and I did all the car spotting because Ryan and Kristiner were late. Eventually, they met us around the Fire Warden trail junction (we were actually standing in the wrong spot). Jason and I were wearing the same clothes and shoes (Inov-8 X-Talon 212's). Kristiner had won some sandals on steeroids that she won the day before for winning a race and she was wearing those. Ryan was completely naked.
We went up Hale. I forgot how amazing the Fire Warden's Trail up Hale is. Considering it was abandoned like 1000 years ago, it's better than most trails in the Whites. With the leaves down it was amazing. Too bad it leads to the summit of Hale.
Next we ran parts of the way down the Lend-A-Hand Trail to the Zea-Land falls area. Not much to talk about except that at this point conversation was getting a little weird and starting to make me feel uncomfortable and dirty. I told some stories about my youth that probably made everyone feel better. Then the hike up Zea Cliff is not bad but it's amazing how easy it is in winter vs. other months. This was also Kristiner's first time up Zea Cliff so despite the fact that she had virtually no idea where she was, I think she enjoyed the view quite a bit. She looked over at Whitewall Mountain and asked if it was "Mt. Washington" and Ryan reminded me not to leave my gloves on the ground before we left.
The hike over to Zea-Land if fairly annoying but the part going over to Guyot is actually easy, in my opinion. I don't really know what to add over the 10000000x trip reports about Zea-Land. Oh the sign was so amazing! And it was wet in the area! There are NO VIEWS! Ryan -- tried to kiss me! Actually, Jason and I kind of stirred Ryan and Kristiner up and it was really amusing to watch them argue and make fun of one another. Then we got to Guyot and everyone just stood there like there wasn't an awesome view like 50' from where they were standing. I guess they're too cool for school at this point. Guyot had some good views that day, for sure. It was pretty cold and raw out and wet from the day before but otherwise conditions were good. Kind of normal for October, I guess.
We went to South Twin and it was cloudy and there was snow in the trees and we decided that the plan would be to go to Gale Head and then check out the new and amazing 1 miles section of the Gale River Trail. Gale Head was awesome. Why is Gale Head Hut closed? It seems like it could still be open now. The view from the Hut is pretty good.
The new section of the Gale River Trail is thick muddy stuff but I actually enjoyed running on it. Ryan started complaining that his little leggies hurt so Jason went ahead and ran a pretty consistent 7:30 pace on the rest of the Gale River Trail which I found quite refreshing because it felt good to stretch the legs a little. We also saw a lot of those red berries just about everywhere. What are they called?
Despite my disaffected delivery here I enjoyed and had a blast on every single minute of this hike. We laughed a lot and it was just fun to get out and do a nice hike. I had expected the weather to be a little sunnier but it was fine even if it was cold. I had my new compression sleeves things and those helped a lot. Most of us wore gloves basically all day. It's a fun hike and the trail was nice and wet and muddy and that added to the enjoyment in sort of a perverse way, I guess. And Ryan promised to read Gravity's Rainbow once I can get him a copy of the book. Jason too. Kristiner can't read at all, apparently. I guess that makes her illiterate. I am actually what is called a "polyglot" meaning I can speak about 30-40 languages fairly fluently and I can read about 100 more. Jason had a nice six pack of Woodstock Station IPA's for us waiting in the car which made up for the fact that it took him about 30 minutes to change his clothes while we (or at least I) stood there freezing in the cold after the hike. Also, Jason did Scar Ridge on Saturday.
-Dr. Wu
We went up Hale. I forgot how amazing the Fire Warden's Trail up Hale is. Considering it was abandoned like 1000 years ago, it's better than most trails in the Whites. With the leaves down it was amazing. Too bad it leads to the summit of Hale.
Next we ran parts of the way down the Lend-A-Hand Trail to the Zea-Land falls area. Not much to talk about except that at this point conversation was getting a little weird and starting to make me feel uncomfortable and dirty. I told some stories about my youth that probably made everyone feel better. Then the hike up Zea Cliff is not bad but it's amazing how easy it is in winter vs. other months. This was also Kristiner's first time up Zea Cliff so despite the fact that she had virtually no idea where she was, I think she enjoyed the view quite a bit. She looked over at Whitewall Mountain and asked if it was "Mt. Washington" and Ryan reminded me not to leave my gloves on the ground before we left.
The hike over to Zea-Land if fairly annoying but the part going over to Guyot is actually easy, in my opinion. I don't really know what to add over the 10000000x trip reports about Zea-Land. Oh the sign was so amazing! And it was wet in the area! There are NO VIEWS! Ryan -- tried to kiss me! Actually, Jason and I kind of stirred Ryan and Kristiner up and it was really amusing to watch them argue and make fun of one another. Then we got to Guyot and everyone just stood there like there wasn't an awesome view like 50' from where they were standing. I guess they're too cool for school at this point. Guyot had some good views that day, for sure. It was pretty cold and raw out and wet from the day before but otherwise conditions were good. Kind of normal for October, I guess.
We went to South Twin and it was cloudy and there was snow in the trees and we decided that the plan would be to go to Gale Head and then check out the new and amazing 1 miles section of the Gale River Trail. Gale Head was awesome. Why is Gale Head Hut closed? It seems like it could still be open now. The view from the Hut is pretty good.
The new section of the Gale River Trail is thick muddy stuff but I actually enjoyed running on it. Ryan started complaining that his little leggies hurt so Jason went ahead and ran a pretty consistent 7:30 pace on the rest of the Gale River Trail which I found quite refreshing because it felt good to stretch the legs a little. We also saw a lot of those red berries just about everywhere. What are they called?
Despite my disaffected delivery here I enjoyed and had a blast on every single minute of this hike. We laughed a lot and it was just fun to get out and do a nice hike. I had expected the weather to be a little sunnier but it was fine even if it was cold. I had my new compression sleeves things and those helped a lot. Most of us wore gloves basically all day. It's a fun hike and the trail was nice and wet and muddy and that added to the enjoyment in sort of a perverse way, I guess. And Ryan promised to read Gravity's Rainbow once I can get him a copy of the book. Jason too. Kristiner can't read at all, apparently. I guess that makes her illiterate. I am actually what is called a "polyglot" meaning I can speak about 30-40 languages fairly fluently and I can read about 100 more. Jason had a nice six pack of Woodstock Station IPA's for us waiting in the car which made up for the fact that it took him about 30 minutes to change his clothes while we (or at least I) stood there freezing in the cold after the hike. Also, Jason did Scar Ridge on Saturday.
-Dr. Wu
I was hoping to score a nice velour rug to put around my bidet......
