Bobby
Active member
I met Sapblatt at Appalachia about 6:30 am, where we met Skibones, who didn't tell us she was about to complete her 48th. Congratulations to Skibones on a job well done. We spent a few minutes adjusting gear, and then off we went. Three days in the mountains. My pack weighed in at about 48 pounds. Sapblatt, who is a more efficient packer than I, was in at 44 pounds. We followed Sylvan way, a great trail, to Memorial Bridge. The foliage was great, just a color explosion all around. Onto the Amphibrach, another fine trail. This was my first time in this area and I found it so much different from the more "populated" areas of the White Mountains. There seemed to be a more remote feeling to the area, which was nice. After the Amphibrach, it was on to the Spur Trail. The fun was over. Spur Trail was a steep climb for over a mile to Crag Camp. It wasn't hard, just slow going with the heavy load. I just hoped that I didn't slow Sapblatt down. We got to Crag Camp and dumped most of our gear. We followed the Gray Knob Trail over to Gray Knob cabin, then up Lowe's Path. As we climbed up Lowe's, some clouds blew in, and the wind really kicked up. Much of the hike over Lowe's was protected, but as we cleared the ridge, we were exposed. At the summit of Adams 4, we decided that given the time and weather, it was best to head back to Crag Camp. We cooked dinner, and then hit the sack.
We hit the trail about 8:30 on Wednesday, following the Gray Knob Trail to the Israel Ridge path. The views along the way were great. We even saw a mid air refueling of two A-10's and a KC135 tanker. Down to Emerald Bluff, and some wind and spectacular views of the Castles and Castle ravine. Over to the Perch camp, along the Perch Path to Gray Knob cabin, where we chatted with the caretaker, Cam, for a few minutes. Down the Hincks trail, a steep trail, then back up Spur Trail, which was much easier with the lighter loads. Back at Crag, we met up with a just married couple spending the night. We left Crag about 8:15 on Thursday, down the Spur trail, a slow, wet go, again with the heavy packs. We followed the Randolph Path out, which is a fine trail. The trail was covered in leaves, making it difficult to follow at times. We saw a group of about 20 heading to Crag Camp, which made me happy we were leaving. We got to Randolph East, Mike drove me back to Appalachia, for the ride home.
It was a great few days, and I got a nice introduction to the Northern Presidentials. Sapblatt is a great guy to hike with, it seems that I was laughing the whole time, what with calling out lines from Caddyshack, (at 4AM!) and telling stupid jokes. I'm sure Sapblatt will follow up with one of his excellent reports, here are some pictures I took.
We hit the trail about 8:30 on Wednesday, following the Gray Knob Trail to the Israel Ridge path. The views along the way were great. We even saw a mid air refueling of two A-10's and a KC135 tanker. Down to Emerald Bluff, and some wind and spectacular views of the Castles and Castle ravine. Over to the Perch camp, along the Perch Path to Gray Knob cabin, where we chatted with the caretaker, Cam, for a few minutes. Down the Hincks trail, a steep trail, then back up Spur Trail, which was much easier with the lighter loads. Back at Crag, we met up with a just married couple spending the night. We left Crag about 8:15 on Thursday, down the Spur trail, a slow, wet go, again with the heavy packs. We followed the Randolph Path out, which is a fine trail. The trail was covered in leaves, making it difficult to follow at times. We saw a group of about 20 heading to Crag Camp, which made me happy we were leaving. We got to Randolph East, Mike drove me back to Appalachia, for the ride home.
It was a great few days, and I got a nice introduction to the Northern Presidentials. Sapblatt is a great guy to hike with, it seems that I was laughing the whole time, what with calling out lines from Caddyshack, (at 4AM!) and telling stupid jokes. I'm sure Sapblatt will follow up with one of his excellent reports, here are some pictures I took.
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