Sunday, July 25, 2010

7/23,24/2010 Parker Mountain backpack


7/24.
I left my house at 2pm and drove to the trailhead for Parker Mountain in Strafford, NH. I came to Parker for 2 reasons. First, to check on and replace an Ascender stamp for my "If Parker Mountain was Mt. Everest" Letterboxing series. Due to the past ice storm, I had to change a few clues, since some of the Spencer Smith Tr. was damaged. Second, to do a backpacking warmup trip to get ready for bagging 4 peaks in 2 days in Vermont in August.
When I returned to my truck after fixing the Parker Mtn. series, I gave
Jenifer a call. Then I grabbed my 41 lb pack and headed back up Parker Mtn.
It took a little while to get use to the backpack again.
Soon the trail got steep and I took my time heading up. I took a side trail to a lookout. I could see Blue Job mountain off in the distance.
Heading back up the steep, eroded trail, I got use to the weight of the pack. Soon I came to the downed tree that points to my campsite I found last year.
I dropped my pack, then set up my tent. The tent went up easy but I couldn't pound down a few stakes since I was camping on Parker Mountains Ridge.
I unloaded my backpack. Somethings went inside the tent, and the food and stove stayed out. I found a deer run that went through a wild blueberry patch but there were no berries. Soon I found a nice flat rock to set up my stove and cook dinner, Hamburger Helper 4 Cheese Lasagna, minus the hamburger. Believe it or not, it tastes good. The sky became overcast.
After it was done, I sat on a boulder along the ridge and ate. It was very peaceful, but I could hear a dog barking off in the distance. When I finished eating, I cleaned up and threw my food stuff sack over a tall branch to keep the amimals from my food. I also brought an extra piece of rope so I could hang my backpack near my tent so I could have much more room in my small 2 man tent.
I changed into my sleep shorts and headed into the tent. I organized inside and set up my latern. It's almost 9pm and it's dark outside.
I'll work on my LEKI Khumbu Speedlock trekking poles report, read a little Chi Running, then try to sleep.
7/25.
A few times during the night, I heard a few animals. Once I heard one sniff next to the tent fly. It was a little scarry, but neat at the same time.
Around 2am it started to rain. I also had a very hard time sleeping. I may have gotten 2 hours of sleep.
My watched beeped and it was 5am. Time to get up. It was still raining so I put on my rain gear and headed out. I set up my kitchen in the same spot and made oatmeal and coffee. Once I ate, I grabbed my coffee and went back into the tent. I also grabbed my backpack.
I drank my coffee and loaded the backpack. Then I packed up the tent and put it on top of my pack.
The descent was slippery and slow. I took my time and made it down without any problems.
It was an excellent backpack and I learned a few new tricks.
Now it's time to bag some peaks.
Here are some pictures: