Monday, July 28, 2008

Killington Peak on 7/27/08


Name of mountain(s): Killington Name of trail(s): Bucklin, LT/AT, Killington Spur
Hikers name: Farmer Bob & Jenifer
Hike date(s): 7/27/08 Weather and trail conditions: Partly cloudy, 60’s. Several huge mud puddles on Bucklin Tr.
Total miles hiked: 7 Trip report: Jenifer and myself woke up early for the 3 hour ride to Killington Vermont. We geared up and were on the trail by 7:23am.
The first half of the Bucklin trail was pretty flat. As we were walking towards the sun, I kept walking through spider webs across the narrow trail. It got so bad I had to raise my LEKI poles in front of me as I walked so I could knock down the spider webs before walking through them. Once there was a spider in the middle of the trail and I had to try and skirt around him, but it didn’t work.
Soon we got to a right hand turn and the trail started to get steep.
As we were heading up, it became foggy. We stopped and took a break and we were in an area where all the pine trees had old mans beard on them and it was blowing in the breeze. Seeing it in the fog was cool.
Soon we were at Cooper’s Lodge. We took a short break and checked it out.
From the lodge, there were several trails to choose from. I checked the map I copied out of Hiking Vermont (outdated) and I figured that Killington was SE from the lodge. As yes, there was a trail heading southeast. We past the “Cooper Pooper” and ended up on Killington, but not the summit.
We hung out here for a little while, and then headed back to the lodge.
We took the other trail then found the blue blazed trail to the summit.
The last 2/10ths to the summit was the hardest two tenths we have done in a while.
As we headed up, a radio tower broke out of the fog.
When we got to the top, there was no view.
As we were eating lunch, the clouds broke for a minute and we could see a cloud over Little Killington and a cloud over Pico.
We learned of the café on Killington so we had to check it out. I was going to get a hot dog but not for $4.
While we were there, the clouds cleared and we had a great view of Pico. Also when we went back up to the summit, most the clouds were gone and we had views, but there were still clouds on the horizon.
The hike down the steep section went slow but we had no problems.
The rest of the hike down went pretty fast.
Soon we were back on the road heading home.

To check out our pictures, go to:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/564662385IxLucD


Sunday, July 20, 2008

A Ride to KTC.


I left my house in Berwick Maine this morning and rode to the Kittery Traffic Circle. It’s a 33-mile ride that goes through South Berwick and Eliot to Kittery.
In the beginning of the ride, on Berwick road, I go down a long hill. I went 36mph down the hill, my fastest yet. Then I take a left onto Blackberry Hill Rd. This road has several long ups & downs until I take a right onto Rt. 4. There’s one last hill before I get to Rt. 236.
Rt. 236 ends at the Kittery Traffic Circle. It’s very long and flat, with several small hills.
Just before the circle, I start to sprint.
I go around the KTC hitting 20mph. Once out of the Circle, I head back.
Once I get past the on ramps to Rt. 95 and Rt. 1, I take a break.
While still riding, I ate a Trail Mix bar and drank Gatorade.
The trip back is harder. Most of 236 has a subtle incline. Once off of Rt. 236, I have to go up the several big hills I went down earlier.
The hardest hill is on Berwick road, just before I get home. It’s a long incline and gets steeper at the end.
When I’m at the top, I coast down to my driveway, which is another hill.
This ride took me just under 2 hours and I did it 15 minutes faster than a few weeks ago.
The ride to KTC is a new part of my training. On Saturday mornings, I ride a 16-mile ride on my road bike, and then in the afternoon I do a 10-mile mountain bike ride, half on the road and half on a trail.
I’m hoping to join some of my friends and does a Century ride in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The 100-mile ride starts and ends at Lincoln Woods off of the Kancamagus Highway.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

7/14/08 Dorset/Pico hike


Name of mountain(s): 3770’Dorset/3957’Pico

Name of trail(s): Unsigned, unblazed. Sherburne Pass.
Hike date(s): 7/14/08 Weather and trail conditions: Overcast, sunny, overcast.
Total miles hiked: 12.6 Trip report: It rained all night. I didn’t get much sleep, if any.
Around 1:30am, I started packing up Base Camp. I took my time and I was back to the truck by 3am. I tried to sleep but that didn’t happen.
At 3:45am, I ate a Trail Mix bar and Ibuprofen and was on my way to Dorset, Vermont.
I found it with no problems.
I was able to go up the road further with my truck.
I parked in a clearing on the right around 4:30am.
I dropped the tailgate of my truck and cooked breakfast. I cleaned up, geared up, and was on the trail by 5:30am.
The trail starts out as a gravel road, then turns into a grass road. Soon I was in the woods.
I crossed a small stream then the trail was eroded. The trail looked more like a dried up stream.
Soon I passed a cabin on the left and the trail got steep.
After a long, slippery ascent, the trail leveled off with ferns on both sides.
I reached a T in the trail and took a right.
This is where my memory slips.
Heading up the trail, I took a right at either the first cairn or the second cairn.
Anyway, the right hand turn I took was an overgrown, steep, slippery trail up to South Dorset.
After reaching the summit, I headed back down to the (snowmobile) trail.
Here at the junction, there was a sign to N. Dorset, and also a new pile of moose dropping. There was also a doorknob on the tree where the sign was (?).
The 3/10ths hike over to North Dorset was easy. The only problem was avoiding the moose dropping piles and big mud puddles.
I saw the summit canister and I knew I made it.
I took a short break and headed down.
The hike back was a bit slippery but went fast.
Once back to the truck, I headed over to Killington.
I parked at the Sherburne Pass trailhead.
I geared up and was off.
Once on the trail (this trail is the old Appalachian/Long Trail) my legs started to hurt.
The trail was easy going all the way to the Pico Junction where the Pico camp is.
From here it is 4/10ths to the summit, and it was a tough one for my sore legs.
I eventually got to the building covered summit.
I was cloudy and I could only see parts of Killington, and maybe Mendon off in the distance.
I took a couple handfuls of GORP and headed down.
The descent went fast.
I got back to my truck and the sun was out.
I took a short break and headed back home, which took me over 3 hours.
The original plan was to bag 6 Hundred Highest peaks in 5 days but after hiking Stratton, Equinox, and Dorset, I decided to finish my journey on Pico.
Originally, I was going to head over to hike Breadloaf Mtn. and Mt. Wilson after hiking Dorset but I wasn’t up to the 15.6 mile round trip. Maybe next time.

67 of 100

To check out the photos from this hike, go to:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/564119226ZWmUKv



7/13/08 Stratton/Equinox hike


Name of mountain(s): 3940’Stratton/3850’Equinox Name of trail(s): AT/LT. Red Gate/Blue Summit
Hike date(s): 7/13/08 Weather and trail conditions: Sunny to start. Became cloudy near summit of Stratton. It was cloudy the rest of the day.
Total miles hiked: 14.4 Trip report: I woke up at 3am and was on my way to Vermont by 3:50am. Leaving Berwick Maine, I was on the AT/LT by 7:50am.
With all the gear I needed, my pack weighed 47lb. It took a little while getting use to the pack, but my new LEKI Carbonlite trekking poles helped tremendously.
After I crossed the International Paper Rd., I looked for a campsite. I found a site and it was way off the trail.
I made Base Camp and I put a few things inside the tent from my backpack so I could lighten my load.
While I was heading up the trail, the clouds rolled in. When I got to the summit, it was overcast.
Going towards the summit tower, there was a guy and girl heading up.
I dropped my pack and looked around the summit.
When they came down the tower, I went up. The higher I went up the tower, the windier it got. I had to take off my hat and clip it to a carabineer so I wouldn’t lose it.
The top of the tower is enclosed with glass. There were good views but I couldn’t see too far towards the horizon.
After a couple of minutes, I headed down, grabbed my pack, and went down to Base Camp.
When I got back to BC, it was 11:30am.
I thought to myself, I would go nuts if I spend the rest of the day inside the tent. So I decided to pack up BC and headed back to the truck.
I decided to head over to Mt. Equinox.
The ride over was awesome. There were great silhouettes of the Green Mountains and they were great.
I drove to the last parking lot on W. Union and parked next to the green gate.
I threw back on my pack and hiked the Red Gate Tr. to the Blue Summit Tr.
Just past the junction where the Red Gate Tr. turns right, I saw a sign stating that it was private property. So from here I found a campsite.
After setting up Base Camp again, I headed up the Blue Summit Tr.
The trail starts out as a wide road, very eroded. I was starting to get tired and sore.
Soon the road turned into a narrow trail, still eroded. Then after a right turn at a junction, it got really steep, with several steep drop-offs.
The trail became ruthless/relentless. It would turn right, then left, then around, then through, getting steeper as I progressed.
Towards the top, there was a blue arrow pointing to the right, so I took a right.
There were no blue blazes and it was going down hill.
I turned around and went back to the junction.
I went straight and after this point, the trail is a free for all to the summit.
When I finally got to the summit, I saw the old hotel. I went to the porch and checked out the view north. Then I went to the parking lot and looked south. Good views.
The trip back down was rough and very slippery.
I couldn’t find any water on the trail so I had to head back down to my truck to get some.
By the time I got back to BC, I was beat.
I made dinner, did the dishes, and hung my food bag.
It started to rain but the leaves on the trees were keeping me dry.
By the time I got everything into the tent, it started to downpour.
The leaves became saturated and didn’t provide cover anymore. Soon I discovered that the rain fly leaks. Great.

To check out the photo’s, go to:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/564120099tdggkQ



On a bike ride.


Friday, July 4, 2008

7/3/08 Parker Mtn. backpack


After coming home from work, I grabbed my backpack and headed to Parker Mountain, Strafford, NH. Shortly after starting up the Carter Smith Tr., I started to look for a camp site. Halfway up the steep, eroded trail, I looked to the left and saw a small clearing. I checked it out and it was too small. I continued to look around the area and I saw a perfect spot. It was about 10' from a rocky ledge with a good view.
When setting up the tent and fly, I couldn't get a few stakes in. Oh well.
After the tent was up, I made dinner. I found a spot about 20' from the tent.
Just before I finished eating, it started to rain. I put on my rain gear and finished dinner. I cleaned up my mess, then hung my food bag.
I needed to get water so I grabbed my water filter and 2 1-liter water bottles, then I put it all in a Marker Basket bag.
I knew where there was a stream so I headed up the Carter Smith Tr., then down the Link Tr. I went all the way down the Link Tr. and didn't find the stream.
I remembered that the stream crossed the Mooers Loop Tr. so I took a left at the end of the Link Tr. When I found the stream, there was no stream, just a few puddles. The water was flowing slowly so I knew it was safe to filter.
After I filled the liter bottles, I headed back to camp. It was a pain carrying 2 1-liter bottles in a Market Basket bag. Next time I'll bring my pack.
Halfway up the Link Tr., the sun came out.
When I made it back to camp, I wanted some Pistachio's out of the food bag. When I pulled the bag over the branch, it came down and hit a boulder and cracked my coffee cup. Oh No! I will not do that again.
I got into my tent and changed. I hung my wet clothes on a few clothes lines I put inside the tent. Hopefully they will be dry by morning.
I woke up at 10:30pm and I had to use the bathroom. Shortly after getting back in the tent, I heard voices. Some guys and girls were heading down the trail, talking up a storm. After that, I could not get back to sleep.
By 12am, I decided to head down. I couldn't fall back asleep and I was all tensed up.
I broke down camp and headed down the foggy CS Tr.
I got back to my truck with no problem and headed back home.
I felt defeated.
After waking up on the couch, I tried to figure out what went wrong.
Is it too peaceful out in the mountains? Do I need daily stress to sleep?
After reviewing the evening, I realized that when I can't sleep, I should do something (multi task). I should eat if I'm hungry and read if I can't sleep.
Hopefully it will be different when I attempt 6 Hundred Highest peaks in Vermont in 5 days.
to see the pictures.