Bobby
Active member
It was another early wake up, 4:00 AM. I rolled out of bed and made some hot chocolate for my thermos, and was on the road a little while later. It was 2 degrees in Boston. It's a long ride when you're alone, which gives you a lot of time to think. True to form, as I headed north on Rte. 93, I thought of my dad. The five year anniversary of his death is approaching. I was fortunate in that I saw him almost every day, unfortunate in that he left us at the young age of 63. He is the one that introduced me to the great outdoors, and told me to take my own kids out as much as I could. As the sun rose, I could only think of how much he would have loved the scenery, and how much he would have enjoyed todays planned hike, Waumbek.
When I got to Jefferson, the temperature was -4, with no winds. I took my time getting squared away, and was on the trail about 8 AM. I was solo today for the first time on a winter 4K. I set out hoping to match book time, but as I hiked, I decided to enjoy the day. The first mile or so of the Starr King was bare-bootable, but soon after I began to posthole a little (I filled them in!) and put on my snowshoes, and wore them for the rest of the day.
The trail was visible until the traverse through the spruce forest started, then portions were windblown and the track was filled in. Sometimes, the track was just visible, other times, I was on my own. I had my first experience with a spruce trap, sinking up to my chest in snow when I lost the trail. It took a few minutes to extricate myself, and I eventually found some trail markers and was on my way. Deeper into the evergreen forest, the trees were snow-covered and as the temperatures rose, the pretty snow cover became little snow bombs, dropping on me occasionally.
I reached the summit of Starr King, and had some lunch and hot chocolate (no cocoa incidents
) The views were spectacular, I could see the Tripyramids to the south and I think into the Adirondacks to the west. I headed off to Waumbek, passing the chimney on the way. Again losing the trail and taking a few minutes to relocate it, I reached Waumbek. The trail sign was about 6 inches over the snow. After one or two summit shots, back to Starr King where I met two other hikers, who were nice enough to take a few pictures for me. The walk from Starr King to the trailhead took a little over an hour, for a round trip just short of six hours. Thanks, Dad, for getting me started, and for being there with me today.
It was a perfect day, clear blue skies, temps for -4 to a high of 22. I was able to trade my wool hat for my signature Red Sox cap on the summit of Waumbek for the walk out (it's cotton, don't tell anyone ) On a silly note, I think I'm one of the few people in the world who can say they've been on Mt. Starr King, Starr King Rd., and Starr King Court, here in Charlestown.
Pictures from Waumbek
When I got to Jefferson, the temperature was -4, with no winds. I took my time getting squared away, and was on the trail about 8 AM. I was solo today for the first time on a winter 4K. I set out hoping to match book time, but as I hiked, I decided to enjoy the day. The first mile or so of the Starr King was bare-bootable, but soon after I began to posthole a little (I filled them in!) and put on my snowshoes, and wore them for the rest of the day.
The trail was visible until the traverse through the spruce forest started, then portions were windblown and the track was filled in. Sometimes, the track was just visible, other times, I was on my own. I had my first experience with a spruce trap, sinking up to my chest in snow when I lost the trail. It took a few minutes to extricate myself, and I eventually found some trail markers and was on my way. Deeper into the evergreen forest, the trees were snow-covered and as the temperatures rose, the pretty snow cover became little snow bombs, dropping on me occasionally.
I reached the summit of Starr King, and had some lunch and hot chocolate (no cocoa incidents
) The views were spectacular, I could see the Tripyramids to the south and I think into the Adirondacks to the west. I headed off to Waumbek, passing the chimney on the way. Again losing the trail and taking a few minutes to relocate it, I reached Waumbek. The trail sign was about 6 inches over the snow. After one or two summit shots, back to Starr King where I met two other hikers, who were nice enough to take a few pictures for me. The walk from Starr King to the trailhead took a little over an hour, for a round trip just short of six hours. Thanks, Dad, for getting me started, and for being there with me today.It was a perfect day, clear blue skies, temps for -4 to a high of 22. I was able to trade my wool hat for my signature Red Sox cap on the summit of Waumbek for the walk out (it's cotton, don't tell anyone
) On a silly note, I think I'm one of the few people in the world who can say they've been on Mt. Starr King, Starr King Rd., and Starr King Court, here in Charlestown.Pictures from Waumbek
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