The Soggy Bottom Boys climb the Tripyramids 6-10-06

[McRat]

Amicus and I arrived at the Livermore lot with hopes that the morning rains were left somewhere behind on Rt. 93. I know I shouldn't put hope ahead of forecasts - but the weathermen have let me down more than hope. Today that hope would be washed away by the rains, but nothing took away our enjoyment of this pleasant hike and the great company shared.

We found the intrepid NH_Mtn_Hiker and his son Chit_Chat waiting in the parking lot. Rain at this point was rather light and NH_Mtn_Hiker summed up the environment at the time as "scattered skeeters and black fly clouds".

We waited for DoubleBow and his entourage to arrive, not knowing that the automotive gods were being crueler than the rain gods for him today. One of their friends had better luck, so we got to meet TallHikerWayne, whose trail name I am likely butchering.

All but Chit-Chat and myself had previously claimed the Tripyramids, and TallHikerWayne chose to wait in the parking lot a bit while the rest of us marched on.

The walk up Livermore road was like meeting the Wilderness Trail's more attractive cousin. A long broad path that allowed the four of us to walk shoulder to shoulder. We got to know each other better as we walked this gentle trail appointed with lady slippers and other small flowers.

NH_Mtn_Hiker was generous enough to share his Picaridin bug dope, and while the insect air force did land on us, they didn't stay long enough to eat. I'm looking forward to the results of his bug dope research, but I'm impressed enough to buy some Picaridin based spray before his final report come out.

By the time we reached the Scaur Ridge trail the rain had picked up and the bugs had the good sense to go somewhere dry - effectively ending our experiment and beginning our shower.

The Scaur Ridge trail has pretty consistant grades, and whenever they started to feel taxing a short flat walk arrived to my relief. The moisture and occasional changes in lighting gave the trail a verdant glowing effect, a pleasant view in exchange for our gradually soaking clothes.

Just before we reached the trail junction to the Pine Bend Brook trail, a soggy and solo TallHikerWayne caught up with us. We supposed that DoubleBow, being a smart fellow, was somewhere warm and cozy - while slightly jealous at the time, we would all have wished that was the case as opposed to the car troubles that actually happened.

The first half of the Pine Bend Brook trail was similar to the Scaur Ridge, but soon it became somewhat steeper before becoming a scramble up wet rocks and slab. No major problems, but we could see why we skipped the north slide.

Before long, we arrived at the summit of N. Trypyramid, took a couple of pictures of my 32nd peak (2/3rds! Woohoo!) and Chit-Chat's 3rd. For a relative beginner, he was quite the trooper and was ahead of me for most of the ascent. I blame steroids.

We posed with the SherpaKroto tribute towel, and if he wasn't feeling the love then, something was wrong. Not only had it made another peak, but all five soggy hikers resisted the temptation to use the towel for its original intended purpose. Now that, dear reader, is respect.

The time passed quickly as made our way to Middle Tripyramid, where we stopped for lunch. By the time we reached the south peak, I was sure I wasn't going to continue to East Sleeper today. Since the rain was increasing, I think the rest of the group reached the same conclusion.

This is convenient, as it would have been really easy to miss the trail. As we carefully descended the south slide, a small yellow 3-way arrow was the only obvious sign of another trail. The slide was still rather fun, and had enough small stones and dirt to keep us in fairly good footing. The rain gods, while not smiling - smirked on us this day. The skies didn't really open up until we were at the bottom of the slide.

The remainder of the walk was very wet, and the few minor brook crossings were high. The final crossing before returning to Livermore road left us no option but to stomp through.

The downhill walk on Livermore road was filled with the sounds of rainfall, squishy boots, and good conversation to pass the time.

We returned to the lot successful - My count had reached 33. Chit-chat had reached 4 on his list - and what a 3rd and 4th it was. Clearly he has inherited some of his Dad's hiking spirit - a good pace and nary a complaint. The rest of the group seemed to have had a good and memorable trip - the greatest success you can have hiking in the rain.

Thanks to Amicus for the ride and another great hike. It was great to finally meet NH_Mtn_Hiker in person, and I think we'll be hearing more from Chit-Chat. 'TallHikerWayne' - please accept my apologies and email if I've screwed up your trailname - I'm glad we met. Hope to see you all again somewhere down the trail.

 

[Paradox]

I live in Holderness less than 25 minutes south west. No precipitation here today, at all. Lots of dramatic looking clouds to the west. Glad you made it safely down that South slide which must be scary when wet.

 

[Amicus]

South Slide in the rain

Glad you made it safely down that South slide which must be scary when wet.

I wondered about that too, as the rain picked up. Unlike some other slides, however, on the South Slide there are regular little gravelly flat spots you can almost hop down, like rocks in a stream, so it wasn't bad.

Excellent hike for those of us (most or all) who had other things we had to do today and must work for a living (or go to school) during the week.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

It was a great day especially considering the weather. Thanks to all who participated. I think Chit-Chat has finally accepted his trail name.

 

[McRat]

Been out of commission sick for the last week... which has been blamed by the family on my foolish 12 mile walk in the rain.

FWIW the few pics I took are up

Belated pics can be found here - here

The SherpaKroto tribute towel trods along claiming it's 9th peak. PM if you'd like to be part ot it's journey. PICS

 

[Amicus]

Blue flower?

Thanks for the pix, to keep memories fresh of a cold, wet, good hike. My Audubon North Am. Wildflower Guide (from which I derive just about all of the little I know of such things), yields no match for the blue-flowering plant. Bluets come closest, but those aren't Bluets (I think).

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Thanks for the pix, to keep memories fresh of a cold, wet, good hike. My Audubon North Am. Wildflower Guide (from which I derive just about all of the little I know of such things), yields no match for the blue-flowering plant. Bluets come closest, but those aren't Bluets (I think).

Roses are red....

 

[audrey]

The mystery blue flower is a violet, which is probably all you care to know, but the species is for someone else to guess - Arghman, where are you?

 

[Amicus]

Dog violet?

The mystery blue flower is a violet, which is probably all you care to know, but the species is for someone else to guess .

"Violet" was my second guess (skepticism as to that excused). These didn't look quite like my Audobon pix of either the Dog or the Common Blue, but more like the former.

 

[audrey]

"Violet" was my second guess (skepticism as to that excused). These didn't look quite like my Audobon pix of either the Dog or the Common Blue, but more like the former.

Hard to tell without looking at how the leaves grow - if they're only basal, then it's not a dog violet.

 

[arghman]

The mystery blue flower is a violet, which is probably all you care to know, but the species is for someone else to guess - Arghman, where are you?

I would call it a blurry violet (Viola indistincta).

sorry, Viola is one of my "bins" where I stop at the genus level, along with Solidago, Aster, Rubus, Crataegus and Amelanchier (and probably many others).