This was a solo overnight, attempting to hit a bunch of trails that I've never hiked before. The weather failed to cooperate, and I didn't end up doing what I had planned, but I enjoyed myself and got to spend some quality time alone.
I took off on Thursday evening and arrived at the cabin in Randolph just around 10:00. After a good night's sleep I woke up early, had breakfast, and hit the Appalachia trailhead around 6:45 AM. As I started out I noticed that they finally removed the railroad tracks that paralleled the road. I was trying to take the Maple Way to Sylvan Way, but missed one trail junction and ended up on the Cliffway. I did a quick backtrack to where the Sylvan Way crosses the stream and continued on track. The Sylvan way crosses a big clearcut, then reenters the woods and hooks up with the Howker Ridge trail. I'd done part of this trail in the winter but without a full pack. As I climbed, I noticed all the wonderful mushrooms along the trail.
After about two hours of hiking, I started getting some views. The
first was to the north, of the
Pilot/Pliny range. As the trail hits
the ridgetop it becomes a little gentler for a while. There are nice
mossy areas
that are a great change of pace from the steady climbing.
Finally, I reached the
first Howk, and got a great
view of Madison.
From here, the trail goes through some more
undulating terrain, with
several
Howks that bring you higher and higher. I would stop at
each one, resting, eating a bit of gorp, and taking pictures. I
haven't been hiking
too much recently with a full pack and I could really feel it on this
4000' foot climb. The closer I got to the treeline I could see the
fall colors begining to show on the birches.
At the last Howk I could see
Moriah,
the Carters, and
Carter Notch.
The birches were
very colorful up here. Finally, I gained the top of the
ridge and connected with the Osgood Ridge trail for the final .3 miles
to the summit. As I climbed up the last section I noticed a hiker
coming up the ridge behind me, the first person I'd seen all day. At
the summit I dropped my pack and took a well earned sigh of relief.
The bright morning sunshine had diminished a bit, but
Adams,
Washington,
the Great Gulf, and the
Wildcats still looked wonderful. After a
sandwich and all my remaining water I headed down. Just off the summit
I took a nasty spill but there was no damage, except to my confidence.
I was more tired than I expect, and I could see the weather was coming
in from the northwest, so I decided to head for Crag Camp instead of
the Perch tentsites.
It is a quick drop to
the hut from the summit. I dropped pack and
hoofed it over to
Star Lake for the view of Washington and
back to Madison. I filled my water
bottles from the stream and briefly talked
to the AMC croo guy who was turning the compost. The hut was
closed for the season. I left the
hut via the Gulfside trail planning on
skipping Adams due to my tiredness. I love the rockwork on the Gulfside
trail, wonderful
stone steps and
paving stones. After passing the
Airline I began to feel better, and the
views into King Ravine were
perking me up. At Thunderstorm Junction I dropped
my pack and took a
quick run up to the summit of Adams. From there
I had nice views of
Jefferson and
Madison, as well as
Osgood Ridge. But I had done what
I wanted, it was time to head down.
I still hadn't made up my mind about the Perch or Crag Camp, but back
at Thunderstorm Junction I decided to just
head to Crag down the
Spur trail. As always, I loved the views across King Ravine to the
Durand Ridge and Madison. Along the way I saw
a stream of highschoolers from
Montreal heading up to the summit. There must have been 20 of them,
spread out over a miles. It was after 3:30 now, and it seemed kind
of late to be heading up above treeline with
no packs, gear, or flashlights. Just
above Crag Camp I stopped at Knight's Castle for a neat view of the
cabin and into King Ravine.
There were lots more of the high school kids
in the cabin, all day users, and one other guy who was spending his
second night after a 50 mile journey. As it turns out he sent me
e-mail asking questions about his trip after finding this web site.
Small world. After the kids left (all 35 of them) I settled in for
dinner and a relaxing night.
For those of you who've never been to Crag Camp, it's a cabin run by the RMC for hikers. There are no reservations, it's first-come first-serve, and $8/night. In the summer there is running water, other times you use a spring .2 miles away. There are three bunkrooms, two with two four-person sleeping shelves, one with four bunks, all with mattresses. The kitchen has tiled countertops for cooking, a sink for washing, and a few odds and ends. In July and August, there is a gas stove for cooking. The large windows look over King Ravine on one side and towards Jefferson and Randolph to the other. There is a composting privy just next to the cabin.
During the night I heard heavy rain, and was glad I made the decision to
come here. I woke up to find everything
socked in and occasionally
raining. The other guest left early so I had breakfast alone and then
walked over to Gray Knob, where the RMC caretaker lives, to find out
what the weather forecast was for the day. Unfortunately, the forecast
didn't come in that morning, so I looked around the place,
upstairs and
down, and decided to pack up and head out. I
planned on going to
Edmond's Col, then the Perch and Log Cabin on my way out. I took the
Gray Knob trail over to the Randolph Path, but as I broke treeline
the rain started pouring and the wind howled. I took this as a sign
to head down. At
the Perch there were three through-hikers (Osgood,
Purple Haze, and T????) who were taking a rest day due to the weather.
Actually, they were planning on heading to Osgood Ridge Campground but
my description of the conditions up high changed their minds. I ate
lunch, then gave them my extra day's food and took their trash to pack
out. They were very happy. As the rain picked up I reached the
Log Cabin and rested for a few minutes. There
were several hikers coming
up who seemed rather miserable with the weather. The last few miles
were steady slog in pouring rain, Randolph Path to Shortline to Airline
to Appalachia. It wasn't raining too hard when I hit the trailhead.
I changed clothes, drank the water I had left in the car, and headed
for home.
I didn't accomplish what I had originally planned but I had a good time. My two nights tenting at the Perch turned into one night in Crag Camp, and I didn't go down into the Great Gulf and climb the headwall, but I know I made the right decision for me. Flexibility is always the key in the Presidential Range.
