It turns out that I only have 18 mountains left - 4 in Vermont, 4 in New Hampshire, and 10 in Maine! With my new-found confidence in bushwacking (well, maybe not "confidence", but at least "competence"), I read a bunch of blogs and decided to tackle Vose Spur:
It sounds straightforward enough - up Signal Ridge Trail for 1.7 miles, then right up Carrigain Notch Trail for about 1.6 miles, then up into the woods for about a mile. Return the same way.
I had previously hike these trails in October 2014 when I did Mount Carrigain (read blog here)
Into Boston for my Thursday breakfast, then straight up 93 through Franconia Notch, then curve around east on 3, then south on 302 through Crawford Notch, then 2 miles up Sawyer River Road to the Signal Ridge Trailhead. Return home down 16 and 95, thus completing the loop:
The Mount Washington Valley IS BEAUTIFUL TODAY:
Unfortunately, due to this year's storms, SAWYER RIVER ROAD IS CLOSED!!
This hike just got 4 1/2 miles longer!
Started at noon. Although it does not appear on my White Mountains map, Sawyer River Trail runs up between the river and the road:
It is a great trail. It turns out to be an old railroad bed, with constant views down to the Sawyer River:
I was making really good time, until suddenly I wasn't - I found the "road washout":
At this point I climbed out of the "trail" up onto the Road.
Looking back, this is the washout I climbed up out of:
Hiking on the road was pretty:
but I was glad to get to the trailhead (at 1 PM):
I was making great time (23+ minute miles):
but then I WAS PASSED BY SOME KID ON HIS WAY UP TO CARRIGAIN! At least I got to tell him about coming down on the backside, on a cool trail named "Desolation".
I reached "The Big Rock" around 2:30, where I left my hiking poles and a 1/2 bottle of water:
I have learned that hiking poles are worse-than-useless when bushwacking (I even lost one up on Scar Ridge).
I headed left into the woods, on a kind-of-path. After 60/70 yards, I turned left and made my way uphill. Because I had read about a guy who made a mistake by keeping a little too far to the right, I kept angling left, up the slope. Some parts were dense:
and some parts were "a little less dense":
Until I found myself on this really cool ridge, with "kind of a trail":
Going up the ridge was a really nice surprise - I had not read anything about it in any of the blogs. There was a steep dropoff to the left, and a kind-of-steep dropoff to the right, so it was a perfect way to get up (that part of) the mountain.
As the trail curved up around the mountain, it seemed to level out somewhat. But "the trail" continued to be there:
Until I broke out at the bottom of "THE TALUS FIELD" at 3:37:
I sat under the tree on the slope, relaxed, ate, drank, and took some pictures:
Before I reached the Talus Field, I ran into a couple of guys coming down. We chatted about "the trail", and wished each other good luck. I actually caught up with them back down on Signal Ridge Trail.
I had read that there was a cairn at the top of the Talus Field:
To the left of it is "the best way to the top", so before entering the woods, I took a couple of pics:
The "trail to the top" seems to be "marked by these red ribbons":
but be careful - you can still lose your way.
I hit the summit at 4:11:
It is a nice kind-of-open area, but the chair I read about is gone:
On my way back down, I made a wrong turn shortly after leaving the summit:
and wound up going down essentially very-heavily-moss-covered cliffs, with tons of tree cover. Because there was so much moss, it was comfortable, and because there were so many trees, I just grabbed one, then grabbed another, then grabbed another. I think it was during this process that my left eye got wacked (hence the name "bushwack"?) - when I looked at it in the mirror back at the car I thought "Horror Movie". My vision is not affected, and it doesn't hurt - hopefully the blood-red will go away over the next week or two.
When I emerged from the trees, I was at the far-right side of the Talus Field:
I hiked over-and-down, and did the crab-crawl sometimes. That is why I have my gloves!!
At 6:00 I was back down at the Signal Ridge Trail, alongside Whiteface Brook:
I took off my shoes and socks, and my shirt. I rolled up my pants legs, and splashed the water all over me (it was TOO COLD to get naked/all the way in)
Down the rest of the Trail, then down the road - I was back at the car at 6:50 = 14.73 miles in 6 hours 40 minutes:
Home at 10:00 - Thank you God for these wonderful adventures!! (and Please Heal my eye)
Today's driving music was the 2nd group of the "G" songs from my big iPod. I made it through 88 songs (click here for the list of songs), beginning with:
R.E.M. - "Get Up" from the album Green, 1988
and ending with:
Michael Jackson (with Paul McCartney) - "The Girl Is Mine" from the album Thriller, 1982
highlights include:
Simple Minds - "Ghost Dancing" from the album Live in the City of Light, 1987 live double album
Counting Crows - "The Ghost in You" from the album Clueless, 1995 movie soundtrack
This is one of a number of "Counting Crows songs that do not appear on any Counting Crows albums". It is a fun aspect of being a fan of the band - tracking down these other (generally very good) songs.
many versions of Bruce Springsteen - "The Ghost of Tom Joad" from the album The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995
The Rolling Stones - "Gimme Shelter" from the album Let It Bleed, 1969
Merry Clayton does the female vocals on "Gimme Shelter", and NAILS IT. As Dave Marsh wrote in The Rolling Stone Record Guide (1979): "Some of the most frightening and beautiful music the Stones have ever made is here - "Gimme Shelter" encapsulates the former, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" the latter, until you listen closely, at which point the categories revise themselves still more."
Traffic - "Gimme Some Lovin' (live)" from the album Welcome to the Canteen, 1971
7 versions of "The Girl from Ipanema" - the best/best-known version is by Stan Getz, 1964, and appears on the album Bachelor Pad Pleasures:
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