Mats Roing
New member
Day 10. Sunday 9/9
Madison, Adams and Jefferson
Miles?
Vertical feet?
Pretty wet in the woods when waking up. The food supply is a lot smaller now than in the beginning. Forecast is for showers today but so far it's just cloudy. Again trying to shake off as much dew as possible before packing the tent which the last couple of days has fit inside the pack. Breakfast warmed me up good.....filling up the bladder before taking off down the remainder of Rocky Branch to route 16. Maybe 3 miles on the asphalt before hitting Dolly Copp cutoff. No rain so far.....talked to the lady at the gate briefly before continuing through the campground. Got rid of my trash in a dumpster and drank some water from a waterstation. Thought I had enough water in my bladder to Madison Hut. Daniel Webster trail head showed up soon and I wondered how the trail was going to be since I never been on it before. A little over 4,000 vertical feet to the summit of Madison.
After about 20 minutes it started raining and I stopped and put on the raingear. Met two hikers on the way down.....they hadn't been very far up the trail they said. They turned back when the rain came. After today only two more peaks.....up we go.....at around 3,000 feet the slurpetislurp sound from the bladder came which means it's close to empty.....sweating more when having the raingear on......at least it prevents hypothermia.......found some water coming down a ledge........would suffice for now....drank a few cups and continued........enetered the alpine zone and the boulder fields......a couple of times I lost my bearing in the fog but found the string of cairns. Lots of good ripe lingonberries along the trail........it got windier to closer to the ridge I got.......finally up on the ridge at around 4,800 feet.....some more PUD's later I saw the sign on the summit.....nr 44.....now I just had to get down to the hut and get water.....it was 2:02pm by now....I wondered where I would meet hamtero. Met a hiker coming up from the hut.....he seemed to enjoy the rainy weather. Two other hikers at the hut.......took 20 minutes to resock my feet and then headed off towards Thunderstorm Junction. A hiker told me that Hamtero had turned back after Adams when he didn't see me. DOn't blame him.....no fun to hang out out up here in fog and rain......and I told him yesterday that I was aiming for Osgood tentsite for last overnight......and I was at least three hours behind that schedule. It was super nice of Hamtero to make it up on the Northern peaks in this weather to cheer me on.....also considering his upcoming foot surgery.....I owe him a few frosty tall ones next time I see him....
On towards Thunderstorm Junction where I left my pack and did the roundtrip to Adams for the pushups and photos......just one more peak today
On with the diminished bertha (my backpack) (although a bit heavier since soggy with rain). Had to be very careful with stepping on the slick rocks as usual. Met five hikers with ripped to pieces PVC rain gear on.....they weren't too happy when I told them how far it was to Madison Hut.....their first time on the Pressies. Down at Edmands Col I left the pack again after a short break for hydration and snacks.....elated to take care of the last peak of the day I made the roundtrip in about 45 minutes......came back and took a few looks at the map to make sure I took the right trail down Castle Ravine.....had some hopes to catch up with Hamtero.....but my pace slowed down considerably when I got to the steep boulder section where I had to excercise extreme caution.......eyed the next cairn for my short-term goal.....for every cairn I reached it seemed five more showed up. I was hoping to make it down the steep alpine section before it got dark at least....rain stopped and the fog dissapeared for a moment and I could se the beautiful valley below.....some more trees appeared.....mor bushes.....some dirt actually showed up on the trail for traction......boulders became larger and sometimes tricky.......I was in the woods! It got a lot darker in the woods and I had to resort to the headlamp although just 7pm. Plenty of water down here.....trail got less steep and became pleasant actually.....the trail seemed to enjoy crossing the creek numerous times.....
I could speed up the pace a bit......one drawback was that the headlamp had accidentally been turned on in the backpack during the day and the light wasn't so bright anymore.......put my second headlamp on as well......seemed to work well......last river crossing and I came to the trailhead in Bowman........no car there....went up on route 2 and started to hike westward.....9:20pm.......I'm soaked and don't know where to camp next....feet are hurting......semis keep passing closeby stiring up a foggy mist. Suddenly I see a house on my right.....with a sign which says something about bed and breakfast.......sounds like a good idea at his point.....can't eat there though since it is an unsupported hike......but a dry place.......honestly a dry garage would be more suitableso I don't have to be careful with rugs etc........I knocked on the door and after a while a surprised very gentle man welcomes me and takes me in......I apologize for stinking and being dirty.....he just smiles......he shows me my room and then goes back to his boyfriend in the sofa to continue watch TV. I spread out the available towels on the carpet in the room to prevent soiling it. no cell phone reception......goes back to the living room where he sits in a sofa and cuddles with his partner. He gives me a phone with unlimited long distance and I can call a few people.....I get hold of giggy actually.....
Never seen my feet so wrinkled up before.....fired up the jetboil in the bathroom to prevent the firealarm in the bedroom to go off.....the bed had 16 pillows.....seems overkill......but I'm in a dry place at least......i can hear the rain hammering the metal roof outside.....glad to be here.....trying to dry things as best as I can.........feels weird to be in a bed......falling asleep anyway......
Madison, Adams and Jefferson
Miles?
Vertical feet?
Pretty wet in the woods when waking up. The food supply is a lot smaller now than in the beginning. Forecast is for showers today but so far it's just cloudy. Again trying to shake off as much dew as possible before packing the tent which the last couple of days has fit inside the pack. Breakfast warmed me up good.....filling up the bladder before taking off down the remainder of Rocky Branch to route 16. Maybe 3 miles on the asphalt before hitting Dolly Copp cutoff. No rain so far.....talked to the lady at the gate briefly before continuing through the campground. Got rid of my trash in a dumpster and drank some water from a waterstation. Thought I had enough water in my bladder to Madison Hut. Daniel Webster trail head showed up soon and I wondered how the trail was going to be since I never been on it before. A little over 4,000 vertical feet to the summit of Madison.
After about 20 minutes it started raining and I stopped and put on the raingear. Met two hikers on the way down.....they hadn't been very far up the trail they said. They turned back when the rain came. After today only two more peaks.....up we go.....at around 3,000 feet the slurpetislurp sound from the bladder came which means it's close to empty.....sweating more when having the raingear on......at least it prevents hypothermia.......found some water coming down a ledge........would suffice for now....drank a few cups and continued........enetered the alpine zone and the boulder fields......a couple of times I lost my bearing in the fog but found the string of cairns. Lots of good ripe lingonberries along the trail........it got windier to closer to the ridge I got.......finally up on the ridge at around 4,800 feet.....some more PUD's later I saw the sign on the summit.....nr 44.....now I just had to get down to the hut and get water.....it was 2:02pm by now....I wondered where I would meet hamtero. Met a hiker coming up from the hut.....he seemed to enjoy the rainy weather. Two other hikers at the hut.......took 20 minutes to resock my feet and then headed off towards Thunderstorm Junction. A hiker told me that Hamtero had turned back after Adams when he didn't see me. DOn't blame him.....no fun to hang out out up here in fog and rain......and I told him yesterday that I was aiming for Osgood tentsite for last overnight......and I was at least three hours behind that schedule. It was super nice of Hamtero to make it up on the Northern peaks in this weather to cheer me on.....also considering his upcoming foot surgery.....I owe him a few frosty tall ones next time I see him....
On towards Thunderstorm Junction where I left my pack and did the roundtrip to Adams for the pushups and photos......just one more peak today
On with the diminished bertha (my backpack) (although a bit heavier since soggy with rain). Had to be very careful with stepping on the slick rocks as usual. Met five hikers with ripped to pieces PVC rain gear on.....they weren't too happy when I told them how far it was to Madison Hut.....their first time on the Pressies. Down at Edmands Col I left the pack again after a short break for hydration and snacks.....elated to take care of the last peak of the day I made the roundtrip in about 45 minutes......came back and took a few looks at the map to make sure I took the right trail down Castle Ravine.....had some hopes to catch up with Hamtero.....but my pace slowed down considerably when I got to the steep boulder section where I had to excercise extreme caution.......eyed the next cairn for my short-term goal.....for every cairn I reached it seemed five more showed up. I was hoping to make it down the steep alpine section before it got dark at least....rain stopped and the fog dissapeared for a moment and I could se the beautiful valley below.....some more trees appeared.....mor bushes.....some dirt actually showed up on the trail for traction......boulders became larger and sometimes tricky.......I was in the woods! It got a lot darker in the woods and I had to resort to the headlamp although just 7pm. Plenty of water down here.....trail got less steep and became pleasant actually.....the trail seemed to enjoy crossing the creek numerous times.....I could speed up the pace a bit......one drawback was that the headlamp had accidentally been turned on in the backpack during the day and the light wasn't so bright anymore.......put my second headlamp on as well......seemed to work well......last river crossing and I came to the trailhead in Bowman........no car there....went up on route 2 and started to hike westward.....9:20pm.......I'm soaked and don't know where to camp next....feet are hurting......semis keep passing closeby stiring up a foggy mist. Suddenly I see a house on my right.....with a sign which says something about bed and breakfast.......sounds like a good idea at his point.....can't eat there though since it is an unsupported hike......but a dry place.......honestly a dry garage would be more suitableso I don't have to be careful with rugs etc........I knocked on the door and after a while a surprised very gentle man welcomes me and takes me in......I apologize for stinking and being dirty.....he just smiles......he shows me my room and then goes back to his boyfriend in the sofa to continue watch TV. I spread out the available towels on the carpet in the room to prevent soiling it. no cell phone reception......goes back to the living room where he sits in a sofa and cuddles with his partner. He gives me a phone with unlimited long distance and I can call a few people.....I get hold of giggy actually.....
Never seen my feet so wrinkled up before.....fired up the jetboil in the bathroom to prevent the firealarm in the bedroom to go off.....the bed had 16 pillows.....seems overkill......but I'm in a dry place at least......i can hear the rain hammering the metal roof outside.....glad to be here.....trying to dry things as best as I can.........feels weird to be in a bed......falling asleep anyway......
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