Double Bow
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I headed up north on Friday parking at the Willey House site on 302 to start my first solo backpacking trip. I started by climbing the Kendron Flume trail to the Willey Range trail. I'm telling you, climbing Willey from the south was one of the toughest, steepest, hottest climbs I've done in a looong time!.
I got a late start hitting the trail at noon (too long of a story). I thought I was never going to make it up Willey! Once I did, I continued over Field then dropped my pack to do the spur up Tom. From there, I went down the A-Z trail toward Zealand Falls Hut. That was a long, boggy section. I got so tired of it that by the time I hit the Zealand Trail, I almost kissed the trail sign. I did the side trip up to the hut to refill my bladder. I had drank about 90 of the 100ozs. I made it there by 5:45pm so at least I didn't interupt dinner (which starts at 6pm at the huts).
Then, I headed back and continued on the Ethan Pond Trail. I had been as far as the Zeacliff Trail before but beyond that was a section of the AT that I hadn't done. The footing was good and I was making good time, but my 40lb pack and the length of the day was starting to get to me. Plus, my heels got chewed up on the steep climb earlier in the day. I made the short side trip to visit Thoreau Falls and it was well worth it. Finally, around 8pm, I arrived at the shelter. There was plenty of room, so I rolled out my bag and pad and didn't bother with my tent. Firing up the JetBoil, I had Chili Mac and a can of beer. It made for a good dinner and a good end to the day.
The next morning, I continued on the Ethan Pond Trail out to 302 and crossed it, connecting to the Webster Cliff trail (which I'd done before)and turning onto the Sam Willey Trail to complete my loop.
I thought of finally climbing Willard after that, but the crowd at Nawford Crotch was ridiculous. Instead, I drove to Twin Mountain for lunch and decided that, depite my ankles, I still wanted to get in something else that wasn't going to be too tough. So, I opted for another piece of trail connecting pieces of the AT that I had done.
After lunch, I drove over to The Basin and climbed the Basin-Cascade Trail to the junction with the Kinsman Pond Trail then doubled back and took the Cascade Brook Trail to the Whitehouse Trail and closed the loop on the Pemi Trail (not well marked). Actually, as I'm writing this, I just realized the appropriateness of this choice as it's my last hike before heading out to the Cascades! The Cascade Brook trail is almost exclusively used by ATers so it getts little traffic but it's really great, even the part that passes under the 93 overpasses (tons of butterflies). The Ethan Pond Trail is really nice too. Doing a bunch of trails that were new to me really helped keep things feeling fresh.
That done, I capped the day by dropping in to see Steve at The Mountain Wanderer and saw Jazzbo there as well. Support your local bookstore!
Unfortunately, I lost my camera and it's case on a hike earlier in the week so the beautiful images I saw those two days were only captured in my mind...
I got a late start hitting the trail at noon (too long of a story). I thought I was never going to make it up Willey! Once I did, I continued over Field then dropped my pack to do the spur up Tom. From there, I went down the A-Z trail toward Zealand Falls Hut. That was a long, boggy section. I got so tired of it that by the time I hit the Zealand Trail, I almost kissed the trail sign. I did the side trip up to the hut to refill my bladder. I had drank about 90 of the 100ozs. I made it there by 5:45pm so at least I didn't interupt dinner (which starts at 6pm at the huts).
Then, I headed back and continued on the Ethan Pond Trail. I had been as far as the Zeacliff Trail before but beyond that was a section of the AT that I hadn't done. The footing was good and I was making good time, but my 40lb pack and the length of the day was starting to get to me. Plus, my heels got chewed up on the steep climb earlier in the day. I made the short side trip to visit Thoreau Falls and it was well worth it. Finally, around 8pm, I arrived at the shelter. There was plenty of room, so I rolled out my bag and pad and didn't bother with my tent. Firing up the JetBoil, I had Chili Mac and a can of beer. It made for a good dinner and a good end to the day.
The next morning, I continued on the Ethan Pond Trail out to 302 and crossed it, connecting to the Webster Cliff trail (which I'd done before)and turning onto the Sam Willey Trail to complete my loop.
I thought of finally climbing Willard after that, but the crowd at Nawford Crotch was ridiculous. Instead, I drove to Twin Mountain for lunch and decided that, depite my ankles, I still wanted to get in something else that wasn't going to be too tough. So, I opted for another piece of trail connecting pieces of the AT that I had done.
After lunch, I drove over to The Basin and climbed the Basin-Cascade Trail to the junction with the Kinsman Pond Trail then doubled back and took the Cascade Brook Trail to the Whitehouse Trail and closed the loop on the Pemi Trail (not well marked). Actually, as I'm writing this, I just realized the appropriateness of this choice as it's my last hike before heading out to the Cascades! The Cascade Brook trail is almost exclusively used by ATers so it getts little traffic but it's really great, even the part that passes under the 93 overpasses (tons of butterflies). The Ethan Pond Trail is really nice too. Doing a bunch of trails that were new to me really helped keep things feeling fresh.
That done, I capped the day by dropping in to see Steve at The Mountain Wanderer and saw Jazzbo there as well. Support your local bookstore!
Unfortunately, I lost my camera and it's case on a hike earlier in the week so the beautiful images I saw those two days were only captured in my mind...
