Each morning I put out my "Do Not Disturb" sign:
This morning it is a two-hour drive to get to the Trailhead Parking:
It is a long drive, especially after hosting my Thursday Men's Breakfast Zoom call.
Tupper Lake sure is pretty this morning:
Eventually got to the Trailhead a little after noon:
Today's hike up Seymour Mountain (west-to-east):
is pretty flat for 5.8 miles, then up-through-the-woods for 1/2 a mile, then STRAIGHT UP for 3/4 of a mile, then along/up a ridge for 1/4 mile.
I figure about 15 miles up-and-down. Other people have taken 8 hours, but I feel like I am in great shape, and should be able to budget 7 hours.
I'm listening to 4-of-the-5 cds in the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68 box set, and just doing regular comfortable hiking down the trail. I figure I will take a picture each mile, so this is what it looks like at Mile 1 at 12:34
Mile 2 at 12:54
Mile 3 at 1:14
Nice to see trail markers on the trees:
Mile 4 at 1:35
Blueberry Lean-to:
Mile 5 at 1:57
Looking back at Ward Brook Lean-to:
At 5.8 miles (2:15 PM), this is the intersection for the herd path up to Seymour Mountain:
this is where I left my big water bottle, and my hiking poles; I also finished my turkey sub.
Mile 6 at 2:28
This shot is just after 3 PM, about halfway up the mountain:
There is a lot of hand-over-hand climbing (kind of like a jungle gym as a kid). I'm REALLY GLAD I left my poles down below!
Really cool moss-on-trees-on-rocks:
I got to the summit at 3:58
GREAT VIEWS:
Looking south at misc. mountains:
Just a little ways back down the trail is a little side-trail:
which offers FANTASTIC VIEWS off to the west:
Lovely ridge-path on Seymour:
Excellent "climb" back down - very thankful that I didn't have to deal with my hiking poles. Picked them up (and my water bottle) at the bottom, and then headed back west on the trail. Mile 10 at 5:20
I finished a little before 7 PM - 14.87 miles in 6 hours 38 minutes:
Wow - this was one of THE BEST hikes I have ever done!!
A two-hour drive back to the Super 8. Grilled Chicken Caesar salad for dinner/italian sub for breakfast-lunch tomorrow. 188 miles driving today.
Wonderful Wife phone call, and then Lights Out - Thank you God for this Super Great Day!
Thursday morning drive to the trailhead:
Billy Joel - Kohliept, 1987 live album
Paul McCartney - McCartney, 1970 debut solo album
Quincy Jones - Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!, 1978
One of the things I am experimenting with on this trip is listening to music while I hike. Sure, I have always been able to listen to the music in my head, but I have found that on my last few hikes, I have been repeating myself, and only remembering a small number of artists and albums. So we're going to try the boom cube and my orange nano:
I have had a 6-cd box set Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68 on my computer - this will be a great opportunity to listen to it:
A surprising amount of excellent jazz - I think I can delete cd 3, but we'll see. And it took me to the top of Seymour Mountain!
Richie Havens - Mixed Bag, 1966 debut album:
still sounds GREAT!
The Rolling Stones - Big Hits & Fazed Cookies, 1972 2nd greatest hits album:
and then back in my car for the two-hour drive home:
Ray Charles - The Best of Ray Charles/The Atlantic Years:
Bette Midler - The Divine Miss M, 1972 debut album:
EXCELLENT version of John Prine's "Hello in There", most recently done by Joan Baez on YouTube Sunday, March 29, 2020 (John Prine had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and passed April 7, 2020).
The Pretenders - The Isle of View, 1995 live acoustic album:
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Friday drive home:
Say goodbye to my nice room at the Super 8:
Taking it easy this morning, saw some nice views of South Bay in Whitehall, New York:
Crossed over the AT in North Clarendon, Vermont:
The Connecticut River looks beautiful today - downstream:
and upstream:
Pretty flowers in New Hampshire:
I had a scheduled pickup at the Acton Library from 2:00-2:30, and I got there 15 minutes early.The book person came out 5 minutes early, so I got my book and got out of there. It was hot going through Reading (under I-93):
Filled up with gas on Route 1, and home by 3:30 (234 miles today, 777 miles for the whole trip)- WOW, Thank you God for this Great Day! (and this Great Adventure!)
Driving music:
Neil Young - This Note's for You, 1988
various artists - Windham Hill Records Sampler ‘88, 1988
various artists - An Evening with Windham Hill Live, 1982
pretty cool listening to this Windham Hill stuff while I am driving through Vermont.
The Mamas and The Papas - Greatest Hits, 1998
The Pretenders - Pretenders, 2006 bonus disc
not very good stuff, but a few live tracks.
The Pretenders - Pretenders II, 2006 bonus disc
Now this has some GREAT LIVE stuff - Tracks 1–15 were recorded live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, on 4 September 1981.
the Psychedelic Furs - All of This and Nothing, 1988 compilation album
I only like 5-of-the-14 songs, but I like them soooo much that I listened to it twice, which got me home.
