Hiking Year in Review

It's the last day of 2013, and as I look back on the year from a hiking perspective, it really wasn't a big hiking year. I simply didn't get out for the day trips I usually do. There are a number of reasons, but family busyness (especially taking care of my mom) just used up my vacation time and didn't allow for the spur-of-the-moment "hey, it's a nice fall day, I'll take the day off and run up to Hawk Mountain" day trips I've done so often in the past.

There was only one real highlight - the Maine trip - but it was a good one. Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are famous vacation spots for good reason. The classic rocky coastline Maine scenery is beautiful, and I can easily imagine returning with family.

Baxter State Park is a hiker's paradise, and provided the hiking highlight of '13. My hike to Hamlin Peak was one of my all-time hikes. There were so many amazing vistas, and coming down Hamlin Ridge provided constant breathtaking scenery. I'm also not forgetting what a butt-kicking it gave me. It ranks among the hardest days I've ever done. But very much worth it.

Here's hoping that 2014 will be a better hiking year. Hopefully life will allow me to get  back to doing some spontaneous day hikes. Also hoping that things will work out with the boys for some day hikes, or even some overnighters.

Stay tuned.

Mt. Misery, VFNP, 12/8/13

Hiking time has been very hard to come by this fall, but I carved out a little time a few Sundays ago. I was out in the morning near Valley Forge, and I decided to do a short hike before returning home. The forecast mentioned the possibility of a few inches of snow in the afternoon, but wouldn't impact a late-morning hike.

I parked at the Mt. Misery parking area on Rt. 23, just up the road from the covered bridge. It was cold (a few degrees above freezing) and cloudy and felt like snow. I only recently became aware of this parking lot, and it provides a great option for a short and scenic loop - up the mountain (really more a hill than a mountain), down the other side, then back around on a wide packed-gravel path following Valley Creek. I was thinking it's probably a 3-mile/1-hour hike.

A few snowflakes were falling as I started up the trail. The climb is steady - so much so that I was breathing heavily and shedding my topmost layer by the time I was nearing the top. There's a junction with the Horseshoe Trail at the top - with the yellow-blazed HT going left. By this point the snow was falling fairly heavily. I followed the Mt. misery trail straight, then down the other side in a couple of big switchbacks.

The walk along Valley Creek was very pretty, and made even more so by .the hard-falling snow. I completed the clockwise loop, and found my car covered with snow. I cleared it off and got home with no problems, though the going was a bit slow. And I was happy to be home - the predicted 1-3 inches turned out to be a surprise 8.

My GPS track showed this to be a little short of 2.5 miles - a little less than I'd guessed. But no matter, this is a great loop when looking for a short hike.

Total Distance: 2.46 miles
Elapsed Time: 45 minutes

Day 7: Home and Finale

8:02am
I'm up, showered, packed, and ready to go. It's a beautiful sunny day. I slept great - probably something to do with being showered and sleeping in a bed. John's also up and ready, so we'll see what the motel breakfast looks like, then hit the road back to Bangor.

12:45pm
Uneventful morning. The motel breakfast was exactly what I expected from a run-down motel, so we availed ourselves of McDonald's, then hit the highway back to Bangor. We made great time, and the first stop was Goodwill. It turned out to be right around the corner from the Quality Inn where we spent our first night, and we quickly donated the air mattresses.

It was still mid-morning, and we had nothing to do until our 3pm flight. I remembered seeing a sign for an L.L. Bean outlet, and it turned out to be nearby. We spent at least an hour ogling the gear and clothes - and there were some great deals. I picked up a lightweight rain jacket for $20.

Then we found an unattended dumpster in the back of a shopping center and emptied the remaining food and trash from the car. The stop after that was Dunkin Donuts, where we relaxed for an hour with coffee and our phones. Then we got lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings - I'd never been there, but it was good. Now we'll go to the airport.

7:15pm
Home and all is well. The flight was on-time and uneventful. I was on the right-side window again, and had some nice views of Long Island, NYC, and the Jersey shore. Eric picked us up, and we're glad to see that he's feeling much better. We picked up John's car at Eric's house, and he brought me home. That concludes Maine '13.

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Final Thoughts

Cadillac Mountain, Acadia N.P.

It's now a few weeks later. My trip reports are written, photos are organized, and an album of the best pics is posted to Facebook. This trip was...different. In some ways, it was defined by who wasn't there. I guess we'd been lucky, in that this was the seventh year of an annual boys' trip, and no one had ever had to cancel before. That was probably beating the odds, as we all have jobs, responsibilities, etc. But the odds caught up with us this year, first with Ted, and then with Eric.

That said, it was still a great trip. We saw some places and did some hikes that I will long remember. Acadia is beautiful, and its reputation is well-earned. The classic rocky coastline views are worth the trip. And it's very much a place where you can bring the non-camping family. We camped in the National Park, but there are plenty of very fancy and less fancy hotels in and around Bar Harbor.

Note the new stickers!

For exactly that reason, I liked Baxter State Park better. It's way out in the woods, and it's only for campers and hikers. The hiking wasn't always easy, but the views of woods, mountains, and lakes was frequently breathtaking. My Sunday hike to Hamlin Peak was harder than I expected, but I won't say I regret it - the views coming down Hamlin Ridge were just gorgeous at every step.

John and I made the best of it, and didn't let events we couldn't control ruin the trip. We were sorry about those who couldn't be there, but we still had a great time and saw and did the things we intended to do.

Finally, I can hardly express how much I enjoy having a guitar with me on these trips. Playing at a campsite is just fantastic.

The next step will be to gather with everyone and talk about thoughts for '14. Stay tuned.

Day 6: Katahdin Lake

8:10am
We're breakfasting in a light rain. John was up at 7:15, and I rolled out of the sack a few minutes after that. I slept well, and it wasn't as cold as the night before - I didn't have my sleeping bag zipped up all the way, and I didn't have my wool cap on. I was vaguely aware of the sound of rain in the night. We'll still hike - we both feel good after our long hikes yesterday, and a light hike today will loosen up the legs and feel good.

9:41am
The car is packed and we're ready to go. John was talking to some folks at the next lean-to, and asked if they wanted our camp chairs, air mattresses, or cooler. They declined at first, but then came over a few minutes later to ask if the offer still stood. Of course it did, and they took our camp chairs and our cooler. That's great, and now the air mattresses will be the only things we'll donate to Goodwill tomorrow. It's still raining lightly, but the sky looks lighter. Lean-to #7, Roaring Brook Campground was a great campsite.

The trailhead to Katahdin Lake is a few miles up the road, on the way back to the park entrance. We'll park there, hike, then continue the drive out of the park and back to Millinocket.

I filmed a video tour of our lean-to, linked here and at the bottom of this post.

9:59am
Katahdin Lake trailhead. Happily, it's not raining now. I'm wearing long hiking pants, a short-sleeve polypro shirt, and my rain jacket (which I'll undoubtedly take off in a few minutes.)

11:23am
Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camp. It's been a very nice hike, and we're now at the lake sitting in Adirondack chairs enjoying the view of lake, woods, and mountains while we have a sandwich and a drink and a rest. This is an interesting little lakeside camp - a few rustic cabins, some canoes, and an outhouse. We were wondering whether this is a private camp, or part of Baxter State Park - and I think it has to be part of the park. It doesn't matter, there's no one here, and we haven't seen a soul since starting our hike. It hasn't rained since we started, and the sky looks like it may even be clearing. It was warm enough hiking that I didn't need a jacket, but there's a wind whipping off the lake, and my jacket is on while we're sitting here. It's chilly enough that John, who never passes up an opportunity for a swim, isn't tempted by the lake.

11:49am
South Katahdin Lake lean-to. This is another spot a few tenths of a mile up the lake shore. We're heard some funny water bird calls, and think it must be a loon. There's a wooded island offshore, and a big bald eagle is perched in a dead tree. Gorgeous.

1:05pm
Rest break at Martin Pond Lean-to. John and I are in full agreement that this might be the nicest campsite we've ever seen. The six person lean-to is in a pine woods looking out over Martin Pond. The views are beautiful, and there's even a canoe here! It's about 2.5 miles to the trailhead, so it wouldn't be a tough hike in with gear and supplies. We could even decide to make a second trip to haul some beer and ice (or a guitar) in to the camp.

We've been moving at a good pace - I think we're both happy to have flat ground to walk on after yesterday's orgy of rocks, and we're really striding. We had some trail-finding difficulty soon after leaving the Katahdin lean-to. The trail just seemed to end, and John finally figured out that it went across a stream on a dam of sticks (possibly a beaver dam?)

1:50pm
Back at the trailhead. Fantastic hike. It really felt good to stretch out the legs and stride. It was a beautiful trail - mountain, lake, and forest scenery - and mostly flat. Just what the doctor ordered! The day is now gorgeous - sunny, warm, blue sky. No sign that it was gray and rainy this morning. We didn't see anyone on the trail all day. We'll now head out of the park and back to Millinocket, where we have two motel rooms reserved (from when we thought it would be four people.)

2:55pm
Pamola Motor Lodge, Millinocket. It's a seedy little roadside motel, but it looks like the Ritz to me right now. We'll unpack everything, letting things get as dry as possible, then re-pack for the flight home tonight. But first, a hot shower!

11:05pm
I'm about to turn lights out. I'm pretty much packed and ready to go. We went back to the laundromat we found on Saturday and did another load of laundry. No sense in packing wet smelly clothes. Then we found the Appalachian Trail Cafe and had a filling dinner.

There were a number of A.T. hikers who had obviously just gotten off the trail - most likely thru-hikers, as this would be the time of year when someone who started in Georgia in the spring would be finishing their thru-hike. Personally, I find the idea of hiking 2,100 miles less daunting than managing 6 months away from job, bills, obligations, etc. John noted, I think correctly, that the age distribution of thru-hikers is probably a reverse bell curve - it's kids right out of college who don't have any responsibilities yet, and older folks in their 50's and 60's whose heaviest responsibilities are behind them.

It's hard to believe we fly home tomorrow. Baxter was amazing.

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Just as with yesterday's hike, my phone ran out of battery, so I filled in our approximate route in purple. We hiked the loop in a counter-clockwise direction.

Total distance: 7.4 miles
Elapsed time: 3:51

Day 5: Hamlin Peak (Coming Down)

(Continued from here)

Looking down the Hamlin Ridge Trail

12:45pm
I've come a very short way off the summit and down the Hamlin Ridge Trail. I'm finally protected from the roaring wind, so I'm stopping to take a few pics, and even my first ever mountain-top video. The view of the mountains and the forests and the lakes is awe-inspiring. The trail goes right down the ridgeline, so I'll have views at every step of the way. But now that I look closer, it's not actually a trail - it's a path over big boulders. Unless that changes as I get lower on the mountain, it means that I won't be walking - I'll be picking every step from boulder to boulder. I'm sure-footed (*knocks wood*) and am good at rock hopping - but that means slow going. As the ranger predicted, I haven't seen another soul since taking the fork to Hamlin.

1:12pm
The views continue to be everything I could hope for, but the trail is slow, hard going. It's a steady downhill over boulders, and I'm being slow and careful. A false step could mean a fall and maybe an injury, and there's no one on this trail but me. I'm feeling a little weak, so I'm going extra slow. This is harder than I thought. I've taken some good slow looks into the North Basin, but I haven't seen any wildlife.

1:41pm
I'm feeling a little bit of despair at how far *down* there still is to go. I've been giving up elevation steadily over the last hour, but I'm still up on the ridge, and pretty far above the valley floor. I'm not feeling great. I've taken some extended looks into the basin, and as much as I willed some black dots to be moose or bear, I don't think they were.

2:08pm
Junction of the main trail from Chimney Pond to Roaring Brook Campground. Thank goodness. Now I know exactly where I am and how far I have to go (a little over 3 miles.) The last 45 minutes or so were not pleasant. I was feeling weak and I'm running low on water, and I wasn't sure how far there still was to go. The ridge trail was beautiful, but much harder than I thought.

I even started having thoughts about the possibility of having to spend the night on the trail. (I never thought it was likely, but I did start thinking about some "what if's".) I'm prepared - but I could be more prepared. I do have my emergency survival kit with me, but I should have another set of warm clothes in my pack, and I should have brought more water. I also noted with alarm that my cell phone was getting low on battery, so I turned it off (to save a little bit of battery for if I really did need to try to send a message for help.) That's why there's a section of purple on my GPS track. The red line ends where I turned the phone off. I drew in my estimate (in purple) of how I connected back to the main trail.

3:30pm
I'm back home at lean-to #7, and very happy to be here. The last three miles were long and hard and rocky - but I was no longer worried. I was back on the main trail and never went too long without passing other hikers. Many had full backpacking gear and were heading to Chimney Pond Campground to camp (as there's no road access - you have to park at Roaring Brook and backpack in.) I was almost out of water, so now I'm going to drink a lot of water, and then drink some more water, and then get out of these wet clothes and into some dry cotton...and then maybe lay down for a short nap. John isn't back, and I'm wondering where he is and how he's doing.

4:35pm
I've changed and napped and am feeling much much better. But I'm starting to worry a little about John, mostly because of the text message I got from him - specifically, the "may try Hamlin" part. I can imagine him feeling good, deciding to go from Katahdin over to Hamlin, then down the ridge trail I came down. If he fell, there'd be no one to help him. Or he might run out of daylight - it took me much longer to come down the ridge trail than I would have thought from looking at a topo map. I'm not super worried...just a little worried.

5:12pm
He's still not back, and now I'm a little more worried. He's been gone for 10 hours. I've walked up to the trailhead to watch people coming off the trail. I'm commiserating with a woman in a car who's driven here to pick up her daughter after a hike of a few days. We're reassuring each other that everything will certainly be fine.

I just saw the ranger, and asked him what the procedure is for a hiker who doesn't return. He said to come back and see him tomorrow morning when he comes on duty at 6:30am. That makes sense - there's nothing they can do once the sun goes down. They have to wait until morning.

It's silly to wait here, I'll go back to camp.

5:45pm
John just walked into camp, thank goodness. He said I shouldn't have worried...but I couldn't help it, especially since I didn't know his route. It turns out he didn't do Hamlin too - he went to the start of the Knife's Edge, pronounced it "crazy", and turned around and retraced his path back down. He saw a moose close-up, and I'm green with envy. I didn't see any moose or bears.

6:43pm
We have a fire going, and dinner will be soon. The menu is hot dogs and leftover sausages from last night. That was a strenuous day (damn, I used the "s" word again...but it's the right word.) Much more than I intended. In hindsight, I should have avoided the Saddle Trail and the Slide. I should have *ascended* the Hamlin Ridge Trail, just going up as far as I felt like (not necessarily all the way to the summit), then turned around and came back. I would have had a good hike and seen the spectacular views. But it all worked out.

John is very happy, as he should be. He didn't feel good about not summiting Marcy last year, and I think he wanted to see if he could still do a hike like this. He also stunned me by saying that he didn't stop once going up the Slide. I bet I stopped 20 times.

I may not have mentioned this yet, but this campground has no facilities. Pit toilets, no showers, no running water. Our running water is Roaring Brook (and the two big jugs we brought with us.) Also, no trash collection. You pack out your own trash. We're washing up with Wet Wipes, which does the job - but I'll admit I'm fantasizing about a hot shower.

We're both joking about where we feel on the "Sanford" scale. I think we're both at about a "medium Sanford." On our first boys' trip (2007, to the Southwest), Phil was so tight after the first big day of hiking, that I joked he was hobbling around like Fred Sanford in "Sanford and Son". Since then, the mark of how you feel after a hard day of hiking can be measured on a scale of "no Sanford" to "light Sanford" to "full Sanford." (See this trip report, three paragraphs from the end.)

8:30-ish
Sack time very soon. Dogs and sausages were delicious, then we sat at the fire and reviewed our hikes. It's not as cold tonight as it was last night, and sleeping should be good.

The plan for tomorrow is get up, pack up our gear and load the car. There's a hike to Katahdin Lake which isn't too long, and more importantly, is mostly flat. We'll leave the campsite, make the short drive to the trailhead, do our hike, then leave the park and drive to Millinocket, where we have a motel room reserved (presumably with hot showers.)

Today was a very good day - tough, but rewarding. Nite nite.

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Total distance: 9.8 miles
Elapsed time: 7 hours

Day 5: Hamlin Peak (Going Up)

8:24am
I'm finished a quick breakfast and I'm dressing and prepping to go. John was up at 6:00 and left for his Katahdin hike before I was out of the sack (around 7:30.) It was a cold night - I had my sleeping bag fully zipped up and had a wool cap on. I slept really well and really needed it.

I have a tentative plan for today, but I'm going to stay flexible in case my plan is too ambitious, or my body decides it's had enough. I'm going to follow John for some of his hike. The first leg is 3.3 miles to Chimney Pond. This looks innocuous on the map, but the rangers told us there's 1,300 feet of elevation gain. The next 1.1 miles is up The Saddle, with the last half mile (called The Slide) being a very steep rock climb. Once up onto the ridge, John will turn left and climb 0.9 miles to the summit of Katahdin. I will turn right and climb 1.1 miles to the summit of Hamlin Peak, which is 500 vertical feet shorter than Katahdin.

My hope is that this will be less strenuous, but will still have some good hiking, good climbing, and good mountaintop views. If I get there, I can come down the Hamlin Ridge Trail, which the ranger said offers great views, plus the possibility of wildlife sightings. We'll see. It looks like a nice sunny day, and I'm in long hiking pants and a short-sleeve polypro shirt. I have a fleece jacket and my Gore-tex rain jacket in my pack, along with gloves and a wool cap, sandwiches and Powerbars, two Gatorades, and a full water bladder. Off we go.

9:34am
I've stopped for a short break. It's a perfect sunny cool day, and the mountain and forest views are gorgeous. So far it's been a tough rocky uphill trail - hard work and slow going.

One very surprising note. I turned my phone on back at the trailhead, in hopes of capturing a GPS track of today's hike. I just looked to make sure it's getting the track, and to my astonishment, I have cell phone and internet connectivity. I have notifications for e-mails and text messages. How is that possible? I'm not going to Facebook from the Maine woods, but I will check messages to make sure everything's okay at home (and I'm assuming the absence of hair-on-fire messages is a good sign. :-))

10:35am
Chimney Pond Campground. That was a tough and strenuous first leg. (I know, I'm not supposed to use the "s" word, but there's no other word for it - that was a tough, rocky, uphill hike.) There's a sign-in station here - you're supposed to log when you're leaving and where you're going, in case you don't come back and they have to go out and rescue you. I also logged my start from Roaring Brook, and I'm now signed in here too. I note that while John logged his start from Roaring Brook, he didn't sign the log here.

I had a short, pleasant talk with the ranger. He told me I'll likely be all on my own if I go to Hamlin, as everyone wants to bag Katahdin. That's perfect, I love solitude. He asked if I had water, layers of clothing, and a light. I answered "yes" to everything, even though I may not actually have a light. I couldn't find my headlamp when packing at home, so I've been wearing a little flashlight on my belt. But I've misplaced it since leaving Acadia. Maybe it's in the bottom of my pack (which was my hope/assumption when answering "yes" to the ranger.)

Oh, as I was on the trail approaching the campground, I passed two hikers coming the other way who asked me if I'd seen the moose. Moose?!? I had to answer that I hadn't. Apparently one had been seen this morning near a pond I'd just passed. Damn...I would have loved to see him!

10:55am
Rest break, Saddle Trail. The rocky uphill started as soon as I left Chimney Pond. It looks like it continues to get steeper. I'm wondering if this was a good idea...but I do feel good, and the weather couldn't be more perfect. I'm sweating freely (which I always do on a climb), and am taking frequent sips of water. My mantra for the day is "we shall see." I'm not putting any pressure on myself to get to a summit or complete a hike. Whatever happens, happens.

11:55am
Ridgeline, top of the Saddle Trail. Holy f&^k. That was just plain *brutal*. Maybe the toughest climb I've ever done...or at least the steepest unrelenting rock climb. I probably sat down and took a short break and a few gasps of air about every 50 feet. And I wasn't the slowest hiker on the trail. For a while, I was hearing female conversation ahead of me. As I got closer, I realized they were speaking French. I think it was a mother and daughter, maybe 55 and late 20's. I passed the mom, who was struggling, and a while later I passed the daughter, who had stopped to wait for her mom and was shouting encouragement down to her. I was momentarily tempted to wow them with my high school French, but all I could think of was "Ou est la salle de bains?" Ah well. In hindsight, the phrase I wanted (with Google Translate's help) was: "Belle journée, n'est-ce pas? Je pense que je suis sur le point de mourir."

As soon as I got to the ridge, I was exposed to a ferocious cold wind from the west. I took my shirt off for a few minutes to dry the sweat, but then I put it back on, and also put on my fleece jacket and gloves. The views are amazing in all directions. I can see my trail to Hamlin Peak, and it looks like a gentle uphill walk. The trail to Katahdin, in the other direction, also looks like a fairly gentle uphill walk. Last night, John said that if I got to this point and felt good, that maybe I'd decide I couldn't resist Katahdin. I do feel good, but it's not tempting. This has already been more strenuous than I intended, and now that I'm here, I'll do the lower peak, then come down the Hamlin Ridge Trail, which shouldn't be too bad.

The French-speaking ladies finally made it up The Slide and gave me a smile as they started off to Katahdin. I wonder how John is doing? I'll end my break and start for Hamlin.

12:38pm
Summit of Hamlin Peak. Wow wow wow! That last mile wasn't bad - there were a couple of rocky climbing stretches, but it was mostly an uphill walk. The wind never let up, and still hasn't - I'm on the ridgeline and exposed to the west, and it's blasting me. It's a clear sunny day, and the views in every direction are amazing.

I looked at my phone to check the GPS and was stunned to see a text message from John, from just a few minutes ago! From the summit of Katahdin!!! It was a bit garbled, but seemed to say this: "Leaving Katahdin summit. May try Hamlin." Good for him! I texted back that I was at the summit of Hamlin, and had done the 5.5 miles in a little over 4 hours.

I stopped to eat a sandwich and drink in the views. To the west, I can see miles and miles of forest, seemingly all the way to New Hampshire or Quebec. To the east, I can probably see to the Atlantic coast. Katahdin is visible from Acadia on a clear day, so the coast should be visible from here. Katahdin is *massive*, and dominates the sky to the south. I'm thrilled for John that he's up there.

Looking down the Hamlin Ridge Trail

The Hamlin Ridge Trail is clearly visible in front of me - it follows the ridgeline down, with rocky drops on both sides. The drop-off to the left goes down into the North Basin. The ranger yesterday said the basin is covered with two-foot-tall scrub, so any interesting wildlife (i.e., bears or moose) will be clearly visible.

I still feel pretty good, but that climb did take something out of me. I'll rest here for a little longer, than start hiking down.

(Continued here)

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Here's my GPS track of the day. It starts at Roaring Brook Campground, on the far right. It goes to Chimney Pond (not following the purple path, which was my return route on the clockwise loop - and I'll explain the purple later.) After the steep ascent of the Saddle, it goes right to Hamlin Peak. John went left from that point, and got to Baxter Peak (the summit of Katahdin.) If you keep going, you get to South Peak, then traverse the Knife's Edge to Chimney Peak, then come down the ridge.

I realized as I was taking pics from the summit of Hamlin, that my phone also has a video camera. So I did my first ever video tour, here, and below. And yeah, now I know that you should turn your camera to portrait mode for YouTube, not landscape. Oh well.

Day 4: Acadia to Baxter

...or "Now We are Two"

Sunrise from the summit of foggy Cadillac

5:30am
John and I are up and having breakfast. We're going to drive up to the summit of Cadillac and see if we can see the sunrise (weather permitting, of course), which should be just after 6am. It looks cloudy/foggy, but we'll give it a try. I don't think Eric slept at all last night, and he's staying in the sack. We'll talk to him and decide what to do when we get back.

6:37am
There were a good number of people at the summit, but there was no sunrise to see - it was all clouds and fog. The wind was *whipping* and it was really cold. I went back to the car twice for more layers. We could see a hazy red ball, so we knew the sun was up, but just like yesterday, there was no view of the bay and the islands below.

Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands

As we started to drive down the mountain, we got below the clouds almost immediately after coming off the summit. I pulled off at the next overlook, and we finally did have some good views. It's just gorgeous, and easy to see why this is considered one of the "must see" parks.

7:40am
We're starting to pack up camp. It's clearing - there are patches of blue sky, and the sun is out. It's always a blessing to not have to either set up or break camp in the rain.

Eric asked if we could take him to Bangor airport - he needs to go home. John and I would support whatever he decided, but I think this is the right decision. We offered to come home with him, but he insisted that's not necessary. We're close to the town of Bar Harbor and civilization here, but Baxter is remote and out in the North woods. We'll work the phones when we get out of the park and see what the options are for flights back to PHL.

12:46pm
John and I are on the road to Baxter State Park. Eric got a flight with no problem, and we dropped him at Bangor airport. The rental car was in his name, so we adjusted that so that it's now in mine. Logistically, this really doesn't change anything. John and I can still continue with the trip as planned. We'll still be in Baxter this afternoon. But I think we're both kinda stunned at how things have turned out. We started with four after Phil said he couldn't make the trip this year. Then Ted had to bail at the eleventh hour because of work. Then two weeks ago, I was laying in a hospital bed pretty sure I wouldn't be making the trip. Now Eric's gone home. There's a pall in the air, and we're trying to shake it.

1:51pm
Millinocket, ME. This is the little town closest to the park. We found a laundromat and threw all our dirty/wet clothes in, then found a grocery store to stock up for our time in Baxter. It's turning out to be a nice day, and we can't wait to get to the park, and there should be time for a "stretch the legs" hike.

Lean-to #7, Roaring Brook Campground, BSP

3:03pm
We're at our site: lean-to #7, Roaring Brook Campground. The campground is an 8-mile drive from the entrance station on a rough dirt road. What a fantastic site! It's a log shelter with three sides and a roof. The floor is raised off the ground, as we can set up our sleeping pads and bags. It's not huge, and would have been a bit of a squeeze to get four people in here - but it's plenty spacious for two guys. We have a fire ring and picnic table, and right on the other side of that is Roaring Brook (appropriately named - it's loud.) I love that sound of a swift-running mountain stream, and it's so nice to sleep by. It reminds me of our site by the stream at Elkmont CG in the Smokies. John and I are in full agreement that lean-to's are the way to go, and we should look for the availability of lean-to's on future trips. Especially on a flying trip, if we could find lean-to's, we wouldn't have to bring tents.

We signed in at Baxter's entrance station, and they had a little trouble finding our reservation. Things finally worked out, and we talked to two rangers for a while. They had a 3D relief map of the Katahdin area and talked to us about mountains and trails. John is definitely going to try to summit Katahdin tomorrow - and I'm definitely not. I could feel on the Cadillac hike that I'm still a bit weak, and that wasn't a fraction as strenuous as Katahdin will be. Plus I've promised that I will not overdo it.

Shady Stream Pond, BSP

We lost cell phone service outside of Millinocket, before we even got to the park, which isn't a surprise. I'll turn my phone off until we're out of park again on Monday.

I think the rangers talked John out of trying the Knife's Edge. It's a section of trail high on Katahdin that's about a mile long and has sheer thousand-foot drops on both sides. The rangers said it's three feet wide in some places, can be slippery, and is completely exposed to wind and weather. As someone who passed on the final section of Angel's Landing in Zion, there's no way I would even consider attempting that. There are other trails to the summit, and I think John has a plan for tomorrow. I have a tentative plan for tomorrow too - not Katahdin, but a less-strenuous summit in the same vicinity. We'll see.

Shady Stream Pond, BSP

6:06pm
We're back from a very nice little hike. There's a trail that leaves from the campground and loops around Shady Stream Pond. It's a 2.3 mile hike, and we extended it by a mile by going further up the trail to Whidden Pond. There wasn't much, if any, elevation gain - but footing was a a bit tricky at times, with rocks, tree roots, and some boggy spots. From both ponds, there were great views of Katahdin and surrounding mountains. We could watch the clouds coming over the mountains from the west - very beautiful.

John has the fire going and we're getting ready to cook - hamburgers and sausages. We're also getting our sandwiches ready for tomorrow's hike. We got the standard talk at the entrance station about food handling in bear country - all food, and anything with a "food" smell (like toiletries, toothpaste, etc.) has to be secured in the car where bears can't get into it. There are also moose in the park, and they're much more dangerous than bears - they won't come after food, like bears will, but they're territorial and sometimes aggressive. We both want very much to see bears and moose.

6:37pm
It's going to be a very cold night. I can already see my breath and the sun's not even down yet. The forecast was for a low of 48, but it feels colder than that already. I've been playing guitar, but I'll put it away now. Dinner soon.

9:00-ish
Sack time. Dinner was delicious, then we talked around the fire. John is planning to get as early a start as possible tomorrow, as Katahdin will be a long and strenuous day. I'll see how I feel - if I feel like an early start, great...but if I want to stay in the sack a little longer, that's fine too. I won't have as long a hiking day as John, and I didn't sleep well last night and could use a really good sleep. Nite nite.

Day 3: Cadillac Mountain

6:40am
I woke at 6:20 to the sound of steady rain hitting the tent, so I stayed in my warm and comfy sack. But I guess I should get up. I slept well. The night wasn't too cool, and I slept in my bag liner with the bag itself unzipped.

7:57am
It's still raining, but lightly, and we're happy to be mostly dry under our tarp - and more importantly, our stuff is dry. Breakfast was Pop-tarts and yogurt. We'll hike - there's nothing else to do. Today's our last full day here at Acadia. Hiking in the rain isn't a problem - it might affect the views we'll have from the top of Cadillac, but the weather will do what it'll do. We'll prep (make sandwiches, dress appropriately, and bring rain gear and spare clothes/layers) and go.

8:45am
We're ready to go. It's still gray and misty and raining lightly. It's warm enough - I'm wearing long hiking pants and a short-sleeve polypro shirt. I'm starting out wearing my Gore-tex rain jacket, but I'll probably shed that soon, unless it really rains hard. The South Cadillac Trail starts right from our campground and goes to the summit. It's about 4 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation gain to the summit. From that point, we could either retrace our steps and hike back to the campground, or we could continue on the North Cadillac Trail, follow it to its trailhead, then pick up the park shuttle bus to bring us back to our campground. We'll make that decision when we get there.

10:20am
It's been a good hike. We started out in pine forest that smelled fantastic, then moved out of the trees and are now hiking on granite. The climb has been steady but not overly steep. The rain has gone from light to steady, and I'm pretty much soaked - but it's a warm rain, so it's not bothering me. Eric is concerned about me, and I appreciate it, but I feel good - a little weak, and I can tell than I'm not 100%, but it feels great to be out here hiking. I'm returning the favor and am concerned about Eric - he's not saying much, but he's not well.

John noted correctly that this is feeling reminiscent of our hikes to Mt. Marcy in '08 and Charlie's Bunion (in the Smokies) in '10. On both of those days, we hiked through a foggy rain to points where there should have been an amazing vista, only to get there and have zero visibility.

11:50am
We're at the summit of Cadillac, taking rest and shelter in the Park Service gift shop! We knew there was a road to the top, but we didn't know there was a gift shop - quite a pleasant surprise. It's still raining steadily, and it's nice to get out of it for a little bit. We arrived here at 11:10, and they don't mind us hanging out here. I didn't bring any cash with me, but John has a credit card, and he's spotted me a chocolate bar and a Gatorade. We're eating our sandwiches and talking with tourists and hikers - some of the tourists, having driven up here, are looking at us like we're wild mountain men...and in our soaking wet state, I guess that's what we look like.

The summit of Cadillac Mountain supposedly has gorgeous vistas of Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands, and the Atlantic Ocean - but just as at Charlie's Bunion, we'll have to take their word for it. Visibility is close to zero. It's also famous for being the spot where the sunlight of a new day first hits the U.S. Being at the summit of Cadillac at sunrise is a very touristy thing to do - and we may drive up here tomorrow morning.

2:08pm
North Cadillac Mountain trailhead. We decided not to re-trace our steps, and followed the trail down the other side of the mountain, where we'll pick up the shuttle and ride back to Blackwoods Campground. The rain stopped as we hiked down, and we got some nice views of Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor. It was a slippery, rocky descent at times. We met a couple at the last viewpoint who took our picture. The shuttle stop is right here at the trailhead, and we're waiting for it to arrive.

3:10pm
Back at the campground. I've changed out of my soaking wet hiking clothes into dry cotton, and man does that ever feel good. The campground has no showers, but we saw a coin-operated shower facility just outside the park (not very far away.) We may go up there later. It's still gray, but no longer raining.

5:07pm
We decided to take a ride in the car. It looked like it might be clearing, so we decided to drive back up to the summit of Cadillac. But it's now raining and foggy again - there may be even less visibility now than when we hiked here this morning (if that's possible.) The prospect of cooking over a campfire in the rain is not too appealing to any of us. We'll drive around the park for a bit, see what the weather does, then either go back to cook or drive back to Bar Harbor for a restaurant meal.

8:45pm
Back at the campsite and ready to hit the sack. We drove around and saw some different areas of the park, then found a pizza joint in Bar Harbor for dinner. We realize that we never got to the coin-op showers as we'd intended. Oh well. :-)

Eric is not well, and I'm not sure he's going to be able to continue. John and I told him we will do whatever he wants: 1) Take him back to Bangor airport so he can go home. 2) Go back to Bangor airport and we'll all go home. 3) Continue the trip. He says he wants to continue the trip. We'll see how the night goes and what the morning brings.

Day 2: Arrive at Acadia N.P.

7:43am
We're up and showering and getting ready to go. We thought we'd be up earlier than this, but I slept really well - and I guess we all did. It obviously rained in the night, though Eric says it's not raining now. We'll see what the motel breakfast is, and either do that or have an Egg McMuffin on the road. The drive to Acadia should be about an hour, and we're hiking today, rain or shine.

11:37am

Causeway to Bar Island at low tide

We just tried to register at Blackwoods Campground and were told that check-in is at noon and to come back then. Really?!? We can't go to our site 20 minutes early? Apparently this is strictly a "by the book" operation....

The campground is an easy drive from the town of Bar Harbor. We stopped on the way in, first at the Visitor Center (where we got some maps and an Acadia sticker for my guitar case), then at the causeway to Bar Island. Eric had read about this hike - at low tide, you can walk on dry land over to Bar Island, but when the tide comes in, the causeway is underwater and it's actually an island. It was a fun little walk, and the salt breeze smelled great. Beautiful sights, and there was a breeze and a fog coming in off the ocean.

12:25pm
Blackwoods Campground, site A-17. On our first drive through the campground, we marked how cool one site was, in a natural amphitheater surrounded by rocks. It turns out that's our site! We're happy to be here - tents are up and we're unpacking. It's gray, and the forecast at the check-in station says heavy rain after 1pm and into this evening. All we can do is hope for the best.

1:20pm
John and Eric made an A-frame lean-to out of the huge tarp they got at Walmart last night. It's a little unwieldy, but it will give us shelter if it rains. We're making sandwiches at the picnic table and looking at what hike to do this afternoon.

Ocean Trail, Acadia N.P.

2:03pm
Otter Point trailhead and the Ocean Trail. As the name suggests, the trail runs along the rocks at the ocean's edge. It shouldn't be a strenuous hike, but the views right from the beginning are amazing.

3:37pm
We've hiked down the Ocean Trail to Sand Beach - appropriately named, as it's the only sandy beach for miles around. We're taking a break. It hasn't been a hard hike - an oceanside walk is closer to the truth. There's no reason to be in any hurry, and we're not - we're making frequent stops to look at the vistas (classic Maine rocky coastline!) and take pics.

Eric has a nice camera, John has a point-and-shoot, and I have both a POS (which can stand for whatever you want :-)) and a phone. It's not raining, and not even threatening, but it's gray and a little foggy, and Eric is wishing the light was better. He's afraid we're going to have a whole lot of indistinguishable gray pics. John and I don't know enough to say, and we're happily snapping away.

It's breezy and a little cool, but I'm fine in shorts and a t-shirt. This will be our turnaround point, as we have to hike back, and we have to get firewood, and optimally before dark.

4:15pm

We're at Thunder Hole - a point where the waves come into an opening, have no place to go, and shoot straight up into the air. The tide isn't high enough (or the waves strong enough) to give a really good show, but the power of the ocean is still impressive. There are dark threatening clouds, and rain looks imminent.

Puffins apparently live in these rocky cliffs, but I'm sure they can only be seen from the water. If I were to see one, I'd be the envy of every female in my house.

4:40pm
Back at Otter point trailhead. That was a fantastic walk (I can't honestly call it a hike.) Gorgeous rocky coastline scenery. It's easy to see why Acadia is such a tourist attraction.

5:55pm
Relaxing in camp. The campground doesn't sell firewood, but it's for sale at many places just outside the CG - most of the houses have bundles at the street - take what you want and leave $3/bundle. The campfire is burning nicely, and we (by which I mean John and Eric) will add charcoal soon. Steaks are on the menu. It's still very gray, but so far no rain. Spirits are good, but it's a little subdued without Ted here.

10:15pm

Site A-17, Blackwoods campground

We're tired and ready to hit the sack. Eric and I are in my 3-man tent (which is really a 2-man tent - adding a third person would be *awfully* snug!), and John is in his solo tent. We like our campsite as much as we thought we would - we discussed some of our favorite campsites over the years, and this ranks right up there.

We were also treated to live music tonight, which was a delight - and I'm not talking about myself. I did get out my guitar and played for a while, which is a great pleasure. But as it got dark and I put my guitar away, we realized as we sat around our campfire that we heard another guitar. And then a beautiful female voice. It was from the campsite next door. There was a middle-aged couple, and the woman was singing and accompanying herself. She did two songs I *love* right away - Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" and Judy Collins' "Someday Soon", and as far as I know it might have actually been Joni or Judy at the next site. She sang for a while longer - some songs we recognized and some we didn't - but she was very talented. We clapped and whistled after most songs, and she thanked us with a laugh.

Tomorrow we'll hike to the summit of Cadillac Mountain - an actual hike, and the signature hike of the park.

Day 1: Off to Bangor

2:55pm
We're waiting at our gate in Terminal F, and our flight to Bangor is now listed as departing a half hour late. As long as that all it is, that's fine. We're here and checked in and all is well. John was supposed to pick me up at 11:30, but he had some last minute business, and it was after noon when he got to my house. We were still plenty early.

My plan was to wear jeans and hiking boots and my rain jacket (wearing rather than packing some heavy stuff), but it's scorching hot here today, so I stuffed them in my big duffle bag and am wearing shorts and a t-shirt. As I mentioned in my last post, I am bringing my travel guitar, and they checked it without batting an eye.

One note of concern - when we got to Eric's house, he took me aside and said he wasn't feeling entirely well, and that if there were more than three people on the trip that he might even stay home. But he's coming, and I hope things will work out.

10:20pm
We're in two adjoining rooms at the Quality Inn, Bangor, ME. The flight took off half an hour late, but all was smooth sailing from that point. It was one hour and ten minutes in the air from PHL, and the flight was very pleasant. I was on the right window, and had a great view. I saw Long Island sound, the coast of Connecticut, and then the city of Boston in the bright afternoon light. Then it was woods, woods, and more woods.

No Maine stickers - yet!

The Bangor airport is very small, and we got our bags and our rental car quickly - unbelievably quickly by PHL standards. We have a Dodge Journey, which looks like something between an SUV and a station wagon. This is a very pleasant surprise, as we ordered a 4-door sedan. This is *much* bigger, and will carry us and our gear with ease. My guitar is fine (though it had a note inside saying it had been opened by the TSA!) Our motel was a few miles from the airport, so we went there first, checked in, and unpacked. Eric and I are in one room, and John has the other to himself.

After settling in, we went to the Walmart across the street and did our shopping for Acadia - groceries to last until Saturday noon, and common stuff (camp chairs, a cooler - and John and Eric found a very big tarp (12x24!) that they think might come in handy.)

At that point it was after 8pm and we were *hungry*. There was a 5 Guys burger in the Walmart lot, and that was fine with all of us. Since getting back to the rooms, we've been arranging our stuff and hanging out and talking. Bedtime is very soon. Off to Acadia in the morning.

Maine: Final Prep

One day to go before departure, and excitement is running high. I'm still going (*frantically knocks wood*), having promised everyone that I will be smart and do the right thing. (I think I'm always smart and do the right thing...but every female who shares my last name has doubts.)

I'm packed, and I'm kinda shocked at the bulk of stuff I'm taking. I have one big duffel bag that's completely stuffed, a small duffel (also stuffed) as my carry-on, and my day pack for incidentals. I don't think I've grossly over-packed - the big duffel has my tent (which Eric and I will share) and sleeping bag, which are bulky. I've also packed clothes for all temperatures - days could be warm, but the nights will probably be down in the 40's, and we have to be prepared for rain. So that's a lot of layers, and the fleece and rain gear is bulky. We're planning on a quick laundromat stop on the transfer day between Acadia and Baxter, so I'm really packing for 4 days instead of 7.

One thing I am bringing, after assuming I wasn't bringing it, is my travel guitar. It never occurred to me that it was possible, but Darling Wife said (after listening to me lament), "Why can't you bring it? I see people with guitars in airports all the time." A light went on. Of course she's right. A quick check of the US Airways baggage rules (under special items) shows that a guitar case is just another checked bag. The "special items" page made me chuckle at some of the things people fly with: not just golf clubs and ski equipment, but surfboards, fishing tackle, and get this - antlers! It's nice to know that if I bag a moose, US Airways will let me bring the rack home.

Something that bothered all of us on the Dakotas trip was the "buy and leave" items - camp chairs and coolers mainly. Stuff that was so cheap and so bulky that we bought it there and left it next to the hotel dumpster before flying home. That kind of waste offended all of us, but there didn't seem a better option. Well, a better option occurred to me - "buy and donate." It still makes no sense to pay to carry a $10 camp chair on a plane. But a quick Google search shows two Goodwill centers in Bangor. We can buy camp chairs and coolers there, and donate them Tuesday before flying home. Problem solved.

Specific hikes and trails will be determined when we get there. Eric has done some research on Acadia trails. I think Cadillac Mountain will probably be a must-do (and *not* a long, steep, or strenuous climb.) Beyond that, there will be plenty of short trails to coastline vistas. Baxter is more of an unknown. I have the National Geographic topographic trails map of the park, and there are many possible options. We'll talk to the rangers when we get there and decide what to do.

Here's a slide show of Acadia N.P. scenes.

I'll post trip reports when I return.

My Northernmost Point

Warning: random and pointless trivia from a map and geography geek to follow.

The thought occurred to me that this trip to Maine might take me further north than I've ever been. The other possibility seemed to be my 7th grade band and orchestra trip to Ottawa, Canada. Well, Google makes it so easy to find out random and pointless trivia that I was able to find:

• Mt. Katahdin: 45.9044 degrees north latitude
• Ottawa: 45.4214

So yes, we will be going north of Ottawa.

But then I did some thinking and a little more Googling, and discovered that I've been significantly further north, and without crossing a border. In the fall of '10, my aikido friends and I did a trip to Seattle over a long weekend. They flew home Sunday morning, but I stayed until Monday, as I had a free flight on Southwest, and for some reason couldn't use it on Sunday. So I dropped them at the airport, kept the rental car, and drove out the Olympic Peninsula for the day (trip report here).

Reading my trip report and looking at a map, my northernmost point that day was at Pillar Point on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Consulting Google, it wins by a large margin:

• Pillar Point, WA: 48.2167

Yeah, the things that keep a geography geek amused. :-)

Maine: New Plans

Unbelievably, the calendar now says September. That means a few things (in addition to the obvious, "Holy smokes, where did the summer go?!?") It means back-to-school for Younger Daughter (11th grade, today), and off to college for Elder Daughter (two more weeks to go.) And it means that Maine '13 is 8 days away.

The general outline of the trip hasn't changed from our initial plans:

• Wednesday: fly to Bangor, Maine, pick up the rental car, shop for supplies, spend the night at a motel (daughters consider this last point outrageous - how can you call it a "hiking/camping" trip if you spend a night in a motel?!? I've given up arguing the point.)
• Thursday: drive an hour and a half to Acadia National Park, set up camp at the site we've reserved at Blackwoods Campground, have all afternoon and evening to hike/explore Acadia.
• Friday: hike and sight-see at Acadia. Cadillac Mountain?
• Saturday: 3.5 hour drive to Baxter State Park, reprovisioning in Millinocket on the way. We still have to decide to how to divide the day. Spend some time in Acadia, then break camp and travel to Baxter? Or get up, pack, and go? We don't have to decide until that moment. We just have to be reprovisioned and have camp set up in Baxter by nightfall. We have a lean-to reserved at Roaring Brook Campground.
• Sunday: hiking in Baxter. More on this below.
• Monday: hiking in Baxter. Break camp late in the day, drive one hour to Millinocket, where we have a motel room. Prepare for the next day's flight home.
• Tuesday: home.

This is a good plan. We'll see and hike in both "rocky coastline Maine" and "woods and mountains Maine." But here's how plans have changed.

First, Ted is not coming. He broke the news last week that busyness at his job simply won't permit him to take the time off. Of course we understand, but we're very sad. We know he wouldn't bail if he had any choice. Since these annual boys' trips started in '07, he's been on every one. Logistically, the only thing this changes is the car we'll rent. Where we had a minivan reserved for 4 people, we can now go to a much-cheaper 4-door sedan. We will miss him a lot - but not, I suspect, as much as he'll miss being along with us.

The second change is the hiking I'll be doing, which can now be summarized as "strictly non-strenuous." There was a very serious possibility over the weekend that I'd also have to bail, but I'm tentatively still on board - with the restriction that my hiking will be non-strenuous. Doctor's orders. So the placeholder I have in the itinerary for Sunday labeled "Hiking in Baxter"? That was planned to be a hike to the summit of Katahdin - 10+ miles, 3,500 feet elevation gain, part of it along a stretch called The Knife's Edge. I can't find any way to spin that hike as non-strenuous. :-)

I have ladies from 16-81 who think I shouldn't go, and I've solemnly promised that I will be smart and careful. And I will. I *will* hike, but there are plenty of mostly flat hikes along streams and to mountain lakes. If John and Eric want to give Katahdin a whirl, they have my blessing to go and give it their best. I'll happily occupy myself in and around the campground - maybe finding out whether harmonica playing attracts or repels wood nymphs....

The other possibility is that I still won't be able to go - in which case you'll find a post entitled "Arrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!" So, fingers crossed that I don't need to post that!

Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine

Camping and Sleep Schedules

I recently read an article about camping and sleep schedules, titled Camping Helps Set Circadian Clocks Straight. It begins:

A new study, published in the journal Current Biology, reveals that if given a chance, our body's internal biological clocks will tightly synchronize to a natural, midsummer light-dark cycle.

The study found that a week of exposure to true dawn and dusk with no artificial lights had a significant effect on people who might otherwise describe themselves as night owls.  Researchers found that under those conditions, night owls quickly become early birds.

"By increasing our exposure to sunlight and reducing our exposure to electrical lighting at night, we can turn our internal clock and sleep times back and likely make it easier to awaken and be alert in the morning," Kenneth Wright of the University of Colorado Boulder said in a news release.

This might be the least-surprising study I've ever read, undoubtedly co-authored by Captain Obvious, Ph.D. Anyone who's ever camped could tell you that's one of the strongest appeals of camping. You can't help falling into a natural rhythm. When the sun goes down, you sit around the campfire for a while, and then you naturally want to go to sleep (especially if you've been hiking that day and your body is a little sore). And when the sun comes up and the birds are singing, you can't help but wake up.

You don't have to make a conscious effort to change your sleep patterns - it just happens.

Speaking of which, Maine '13 is five weeks away. More on that very soon.

Remembering TRNP

It hasn't been a great hiking summer so far, for reasons both good and bad. That will change soon, as Maine '13 is rapidly approaching (more on that very soon.) But I saw a couple of things recently that made me think of the Dakotas trip of two years ago.

The first was a feature article on Theodore Roosevelt National Park on CNN. It's a nice summary with some great pictures, and it mentions the Caprock Coulee Trail as a "don't miss" hike. That's the trail we did on our first day in the park, and I agree that it's a "don't miss" hike.

The second link is a YouTube video from National Geographic titled "Red-Tailed Hawk vs. Rattler". This is interesting in itself, but all the more so because on our hike on day 2 of our TRNP stay, we saw a red-tailed hawk fly overhead with a sizable dead snake in its beak.

This brought back some good memories, and I read back over my trip reports, which made more memories come flooding back. In some ways, it seems like that was *way* longer than two years ago. Good times.

Hiking in TRNP

Ridley Creek S.P., 3/3/13

I had a little free time the other Sunday, and decided to stretch my legs in Ridley Creek State Park. I know I take RCSP somewhat for granted - it's about 20 minutes away, and the nearest "real" hiking (i.e., a trail in the woods, as opposed to walking on a paved path), so it's basically my default option for when time is limited. But it's more than a default, it's a good option, with pleasant trails and some very pretty scenery.

The goal for this day was just to get out in the woods again, as I hadn't done any hiking in...a long time. A few months anyway. So it felt wonderful to get out in the woods. The day was cold and gray, but I was dressed lightly and quickly heated up once I started moving.

I did what I guess is my standard hike - a big general loop with a couple of smaller loops thrown in. I did everything in a counterclockwise direction. I only saw a few other hikers, all of whom were dressed like Eskimos in the depths of an Arctic winter. I guess they thought I was the crazy one.

I took a few camera phone pics, and intended to put a slideshow here. But Google has changed their web albums, and if that's still an option, I can't find it. So if you're interested, here's a link to a few pics.

Distance: 5.49 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:40