Kurchian
Member
Well, I’ll tell you why. You see I suffered a severely sprained ankle last summer (on the flank of Mt Adams, but that is another story). I have been limping and rehabbing ever since. I haven’t been so sure whether I’d be able to resume my quest for the 48.
So when I decided I was ready to get out on the trails I decided I needed a gentle test. So I packed up my rigid ankle brace, my new Lowa Vertex with Biomex boots (wicked good ankle support) took a cautious deep breath and chose Mt. Hale as my guinea pig.
Stupidly, I forgot to pack my trekking poles so I even more tentative as I set out on the Hale Brook trail to test my ankle. When I rolled my ankle last summer it was on a relatively flat stretch. I stepped in a hole and my ankle rolled. So on this hike, I was very tentative about every step and this slowed me down quite a bit.
I had intended to climb Hale as #48. You see, no one in my family are hikers and I had hoped to cajole them into joining me on a Hale climb to celebrate the finish of the 48. I figured even a non-hiker could handle Hale. But when analyzing my remaining climbs I determined that I couldn’t risk another hike as they were all at least twice as long with more elevation gain.
The first half of the trip up was a breeze. The trail is unusual for the Whites as there aren’t many rocks or boulders in the trail. The second half of the trail up to the summit has some boulders but it wasn’t that difficult. The trail was in fine shape. A few short sections of mud, but nothing you couldn’t step around. The crossings were easy – no difficulty whatsoever. I expected the bugs to be bad as a result of the wet spring, but I don’t think I heard that familiar buzz in the ear more than once or twice all day. I had even brought my silly looking buzz-off hat just in case.
The summit is unusual. It is flat and grassy with a large cairn atop. I climbed up to the top but still couldn’t see much. In fact, for view-seekers, there are hardly any views along this entire trek.
A special hello to Mitchell who I met on the summit. Mitchell is 18 months old and had just hiked his first mountain. A special question for the 4000-footer judges - since Mitchell sat most of the ascent in his parent’s backpack, does this disqualify him from counting Hale as his #1 4000-footer ?
All in all it was a great day for a hike in the woods. Weather was almost perfect, perhaps a tad hot. The sky were clear. And although the views were nonexistent and the hike was easy, my ankle survived and I can now look forward to my next climb, #37.
So when I decided I was ready to get out on the trails I decided I needed a gentle test. So I packed up my rigid ankle brace, my new Lowa Vertex with Biomex boots (wicked good ankle support) took a cautious deep breath and chose Mt. Hale as my guinea pig.
Stupidly, I forgot to pack my trekking poles so I even more tentative as I set out on the Hale Brook trail to test my ankle. When I rolled my ankle last summer it was on a relatively flat stretch. I stepped in a hole and my ankle rolled. So on this hike, I was very tentative about every step and this slowed me down quite a bit.
I had intended to climb Hale as #48. You see, no one in my family are hikers and I had hoped to cajole them into joining me on a Hale climb to celebrate the finish of the 48. I figured even a non-hiker could handle Hale. But when analyzing my remaining climbs I determined that I couldn’t risk another hike as they were all at least twice as long with more elevation gain.
The first half of the trip up was a breeze. The trail is unusual for the Whites as there aren’t many rocks or boulders in the trail. The second half of the trail up to the summit has some boulders but it wasn’t that difficult. The trail was in fine shape. A few short sections of mud, but nothing you couldn’t step around. The crossings were easy – no difficulty whatsoever. I expected the bugs to be bad as a result of the wet spring, but I don’t think I heard that familiar buzz in the ear more than once or twice all day. I had even brought my silly looking buzz-off hat just in case.
The summit is unusual. It is flat and grassy with a large cairn atop. I climbed up to the top but still couldn’t see much. In fact, for view-seekers, there are hardly any views along this entire trek.
A special hello to Mitchell who I met on the summit. Mitchell is 18 months old and had just hiked his first mountain. A special question for the 4000-footer judges - since Mitchell sat most of the ascent in his parent’s backpack, does this disqualify him from counting Hale as his #1 4000-footer ?
All in all it was a great day for a hike in the woods. Weather was almost perfect, perhaps a tad hot. The sky were clear. And although the views were nonexistent and the hike was easy, my ankle survived and I can now look forward to my next climb, #37.
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