Day 6: Hale
Trails: Up and back Hale Brook Trail from Zealand Rd.
Distance: 4.40 mi, Elev Gain 2341 ft, Book Time 3:22, Actual Time 2:30
On top of Mt Hale - wooded with no views
For the 2nd day in a row, I did a short hike, resting up for the Presi Traverse planned for the next day.
It rained for most of the 2.5 hr drive to the trailhead on Zealand Rd. Then it stopped just before I began hiking. It didn't rain on me at all, but the trails were wet.
I wanted to watch Germany vs France in the World Cup (and avoid forecasted thundershowers) so I put my head down and hiked up the mountain as fast as I could. Book to the top was 2:15, and I surprised myself by reaching the summit an hour faster than book.
Photos of Wet Trails
Summit
Trails: Up and back Hale Brook Trail from Zealand Rd.
Distance: 4.40 mi, Elev Gain 2341 ft, Book Time 3:22, Actual Time 2:30
On top of Mt Hale - wooded with no views
For the 2nd day in a row, I did a short hike, resting up for the Presi Traverse planned for the next day.
It rained for most of the 2.5 hr drive to the trailhead on Zealand Rd. Then it stopped just before I began hiking. It didn't rain on me at all, but the trails were wet.
I wanted to watch Germany vs France in the World Cup (and avoid forecasted thundershowers) so I put my head down and hiked up the mountain as fast as I could. Book to the top was 2:15, and I surprised myself by reaching the summit an hour faster than book.
Photos of Wet Trails
Summit
The summit cairn. Not much to see, so I turned around and hiked back to the car.
The summit cairn. Not much to see, so I turned around and hiked back to the car.
Post Hike
Germany beat France, 1-0.
I was worried about finishing the hike in time to see the game. Instead I hiked so fast (start 08:00, finish 10:30) that I got to Fabyan's Station an hour before it opened. I sat in the car listening to an audiobook of Assassin's Quest, the finale of The Farseer Trilogy.
The beer was excellent, and the Ceasar's Salad was good, but the chili was bland and barely warm. I asked them microwave it for me to make it palatable.
Germany beat France, 1-0.
I was worried about finishing the hike in time to see the game. Instead I hiked so fast (start 08:00, finish 10:30) that I got to Fabyan's Station an hour before it opened. I sat in the car listening to an audiobook of Assassin's Quest, the finale of The Farseer Trilogy.
The beer was excellent, and the Ceasar's Salad was good, but the chili was bland and barely warm. I asked them microwave it for me to make it palatable.
Pre Hike
After the game, I prepared for the next day's Presi Traverse.
I went to Androscoggin Ranger Station in Gorham to pick up a bear canister since I wouldn't have a car at the campground to leave my food in.
Then I drove to Fort Jefferson Campground and set up my tent in a remote corner of the campground. I probably should have stayed at Shapleigh Bunk House at the Highland Center and hiked the Presidential Range south-to-north, but I didn't think of it until after I reserved my camp site (no refunds on holiday weekends).
After setting up my tent I drove in the rain to Highland Center to leave my car at the southern end of the Presi Traverse. My raincoat was in my pack at the campground so I resolved myself to riding in the chilly rain. Fortunately, it stopped raining just as I threw my leg over the bike and riding soon warmed me up, so I was comfortable all the way back to camp.
As I rode past Mt Washington Hotel, I thought "Poor John. He's holed up in a place like this and won't get to experience tonight's rainstorm to the full extent, like me in my tent."
I was worried that it would soon start raining again, so I didn't stop for dinner as planned. Instead, I bought a sausage and a chunk of cheese to eat when I got back to the campground.
Old Cherry Mountain Rd was interesting for this pretty lake, the dispersed camping sites, and then the private cabins at the northern end after leaving the White Mountain National Forest
(I neglected to take a photo of my camp site, but this is what my tent looks like after a night in the rain.) That night it poured. My tent leaked a little, but I managed to stay dry. I woke at 3:15 AM (half an hour before my alarm went off), choked down 3 boiled eggs and half a sandwich (when I am hiking, food is fuel, nothing more), and rode my bike to Appalachia Parking Lot to meet John M.
Appalachia Parking Lot at 5 AM - John and I are ready to go.
Read about our Presi Traverse at http://loagom.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-5-presi-traverse-peaks-14-21.html
Summer Single Season 48
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