Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Chestnuts
Left the house with Sadie around 2:30 PM going up the Red Circle, as always. We got to the Green and turned right, bound for Hezkiah's Nob. But somehow I missed it! They may revoke my Giant Master status if this gets out. My vague plan had been to take White from the Nob to Chestnut and back by Orange.
Anyway, at some point, I think at the "big bend", I realized we had missed it and changed destinations. I hesitated when we crossed Red Square and also at Blue. I'm not sure why I rejected Red Square but Blue we had done recently. So I decided to go out to Chestnut and back home via Orange as originally planned.
I noticed that Sadie was already panting and at one point she sat down in the trail. To be fair, she had done a lot of running off the trail after the ubiquitous chipmunks and squirrels. But we were only a little over 30 minutes out. Even so, I called home and asked someone to pick her up at Chestnut.
We got to the trailheads around 3:20 or so based on the fact that my call home was at 3:12. Emily showed up in a minute or 2 and took Sadie back home.
I walked over to the trail map to consider my options but decided on the Orange, again, as originally planned. But when you're just drifting through life, it kind of pushes you in other directions. I knew Yellow headed off far to the left so I just assumed Orange was next. It didn't take long for my keen powers of observation to realize that I was on the horse trail.
I thought about turning back but then I realized that the horse trail must be the one that goes all the way down to the Chestnut Plantation. I had only been there once or twice before and had considered making my way down there a few times in the past. It didn't take a lot to convince me that this was a good time because I had been concerned about Sadie stepping on the spiky shells littering the ground down there.
So I proceeded down to the Chestnut Plantation. I think it was eerier last time because it was in the fading light of day. I picked up a few chestnuts and headed back home via the roads.
Anyway, at some point, I think at the "big bend", I realized we had missed it and changed destinations. I hesitated when we crossed Red Square and also at Blue. I'm not sure why I rejected Red Square but Blue we had done recently. So I decided to go out to Chestnut and back home via Orange as originally planned.
I noticed that Sadie was already panting and at one point she sat down in the trail. To be fair, she had done a lot of running off the trail after the ubiquitous chipmunks and squirrels. But we were only a little over 30 minutes out. Even so, I called home and asked someone to pick her up at Chestnut.
We got to the trailheads around 3:20 or so based on the fact that my call home was at 3:12. Emily showed up in a minute or 2 and took Sadie back home.
I walked over to the trail map to consider my options but decided on the Orange, again, as originally planned. But when you're just drifting through life, it kind of pushes you in other directions. I knew Yellow headed off far to the left so I just assumed Orange was next. It didn't take long for my keen powers of observation to realize that I was on the horse trail.
I thought about turning back but then I realized that the horse trail must be the one that goes all the way down to the Chestnut Plantation. I had only been there once or twice before and had considered making my way down there a few times in the past. It didn't take a lot to convince me that this was a good time because I had been concerned about Sadie stepping on the spiky shells littering the ground down there.
So I proceeded down to the Chestnut Plantation. I think it was eerier last time because it was in the fading light of day. I picked up a few chestnuts and headed back home via the roads.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
First Fall Hike
We got a late start tonight. Headed up around 6:20 and quickly were at the Yellow lookout. I wasn't feeling 100% so I thought about turning around. But we went for the Y/G Crossover and once we got rolling continued to Orange.
There were a couple near misses with acorns again. I may start wearing a helmet!
The Orange was pretty uneventful but Pat called around 7 to ask where we were because it was rapidly getting dark.
Coming down the big rock ramp on the Red Circle the end of the trail looked like a little light at the end of the tunnel. A little farther along and there were lights shining down the path. As we got closer, I got a glimpse of them and saw they were street lights or buildings but I'm not sure where.
We scrambled down the shortcut in the dark and got home at 7:15.
There were a couple near misses with acorns again. I may start wearing a helmet!
The Orange was pretty uneventful but Pat called around 7 to ask where we were because it was rapidly getting dark.
Coming down the big rock ramp on the Red Circle the end of the trail looked like a little light at the end of the tunnel. A little farther along and there were lights shining down the path. As we got closer, I got a glimpse of them and saw they were street lights or buildings but I'm not sure where.
We scrambled down the shortcut in the dark and got home at 7:15.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
This is Nuts!
Got an earlier start this evening to enjoy the start of Fall, the waning daylight and the remains of the warm sunny day. Headed up out back around 5:20 and cruised through the Red Circle to the Green in roughly 20 minutes. The setting sun was already streaming down the great central valley. The plan was to continue to the Violet and turn right. I saw the Blue cross just after the scramble through the boulders, but I guess I missed that the Violet was right after it.
So we continued on and just before a Boy Scout bridge crossing a dried streambed, a trail wandered off to the right. "The path less taken" was calling me. It was flat and wide enough to drive a truck down. We plodded on until we reached a junction where one of the cross-country ski trails went left and roughly straight ahead. Sadie & I continued in the forward direction, still believing I had never reached the Violet and was between it and Blue. I was soon to learn the error of my ways.
After another unmarked trail split to the left we arrived at the Violet trail. Since that had been my original intention, we kept going forward and stayed to the right on Violet when the X-Ski trail went left, even though Sadie obviously prefered the other. I had not made note of how many X-Ski and unmarked trails there are in that area so I soon had another decision. An unmarked trail went right but this time I resisted my PLT (Path Less Taken) urges and stayed on Violet.
Very soon we reached the Red Square and turned right on it up a rock strewn hill. When it leveled off, we were in one of the many areas where large green ferns mingle with big gray rocks. These spots always remind me of the Yale Peabody Museum's great dinosaur mural, which was painted by the late Rudolph Zallinger, who used to live near us.
As we approached the Green trail, a couple was coming from our right on it with a dog. I had already put Sadie on the leash when I spotted them and she barked as I asked them from a distance which way they were headed. They continued on Green to the left and we turned right headed for home.
That section of the Green trail is very wide and an obvious trail goes straight. It is on the Giant trail map which I will link to below, as are pretty much all of the others I've mentioned above. But there was another one that wandered into the swamp and we almost took it but I was concerned which way it might turn, or that perhaps it was the one I know about and have taken before which would bring us away from home to the Blue.
So we wandered ahead on the Green under a canopy of huge Mountain Laurel, by the base of Hezekiah's Nob where the White trail abuts the Green and Red Square (see my Little Italy comment in a previous blog).
Now we were circling the big upper swamp in the high valley on the Giants belly. Ahead there was another Boy Scout bridge with an obvious short cut to the right through the now dry swamp. I opted to stay on the trail and use the bridge.
This has been an incredible year for acorns. There are so many in places that it's easy to do a "3 Stooges" marble routine, which I almost did at one point. As I stepped onto the bridge, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my head and a large acorn bounced off with a loud "crack"! What are the odds? And I've heard of 2 other guys who have been hit on the head this year also.
We walked along the Green trail in the fading light and arrived at the Red Circle at 6:35. We turned towards home and arrived just before 7 PM.
So we continued on and just before a Boy Scout bridge crossing a dried streambed, a trail wandered off to the right. "The path less taken" was calling me. It was flat and wide enough to drive a truck down. We plodded on until we reached a junction where one of the cross-country ski trails went left and roughly straight ahead. Sadie & I continued in the forward direction, still believing I had never reached the Violet and was between it and Blue. I was soon to learn the error of my ways.
After another unmarked trail split to the left we arrived at the Violet trail. Since that had been my original intention, we kept going forward and stayed to the right on Violet when the X-Ski trail went left, even though Sadie obviously prefered the other. I had not made note of how many X-Ski and unmarked trails there are in that area so I soon had another decision. An unmarked trail went right but this time I resisted my PLT (Path Less Taken) urges and stayed on Violet.
Very soon we reached the Red Square and turned right on it up a rock strewn hill. When it leveled off, we were in one of the many areas where large green ferns mingle with big gray rocks. These spots always remind me of the Yale Peabody Museum's great dinosaur mural, which was painted by the late Rudolph Zallinger, who used to live near us.
As we approached the Green trail, a couple was coming from our right on it with a dog. I had already put Sadie on the leash when I spotted them and she barked as I asked them from a distance which way they were headed. They continued on Green to the left and we turned right headed for home.
That section of the Green trail is very wide and an obvious trail goes straight. It is on the Giant trail map which I will link to below, as are pretty much all of the others I've mentioned above. But there was another one that wandered into the swamp and we almost took it but I was concerned which way it might turn, or that perhaps it was the one I know about and have taken before which would bring us away from home to the Blue.
So we wandered ahead on the Green under a canopy of huge Mountain Laurel, by the base of Hezekiah's Nob where the White trail abuts the Green and Red Square (see my Little Italy comment in a previous blog).
Now we were circling the big upper swamp in the high valley on the Giants belly. Ahead there was another Boy Scout bridge with an obvious short cut to the right through the now dry swamp. I opted to stay on the trail and use the bridge.
This has been an incredible year for acorns. There are so many in places that it's easy to do a "3 Stooges" marble routine, which I almost did at one point. As I stepped onto the bridge, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my head and a large acorn bounced off with a loud "crack"! What are the odds? And I've heard of 2 other guys who have been hit on the head this year also.
We walked along the Green trail in the fading light and arrived at the Red Circle at 6:35. We turned towards home and arrived just before 7 PM.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Hezekiah's Nob
I just started this blog earlier but wanted to talk about tonight's hike.
Sadie & I headed up the Red Circle from the yard just after 6 PM. The sun was already low through the trees as we climbed up past the Yellow, White and Orange trails. We came down the Cantor Steps onto the Green trail and turned right. After a short level walk we were at an area I call Little Italy where the Green, White and Red Square trails come together. We veered off the Green onto the White and up Hezekiah's Nob.
I stopped to rest on top, sitting on one of the big stones looking out to the view to the southeast where the Blue trail comes up. The White and Blue trails cross on Hezekiah's Nob so I guess it's as close a spot as any to being Red, White and Blue with the Red Square passing just by the bottom of the Nob. We headed down the Blue and came to the corner where Sadie got lost the other night (see previous entry). She followed the trail and we found ourselves on switchbacks down into the ever darkening forest.
It had taken us about a half hour to reach the Nob and the sun was going to set around 7. I'm not sure how long we rested up above but it wasn't long. I also realized that the Blue was taking us a lot farther from home than I had thought about. We turned right towards Yellow on the Yellow/Green crossover and crossed the Orange trail on our way. I thought about taking the Orange home but decided to stay with my original plan. I'd reassess at the junction with the Red Square.
We reached the Red Square just before 7 and I decided that if we were going to get lost in the dark, at least we'd be behind the house. I could call home for a ride from the Red Square trailhead but this was doable.
It was getting darker but the yellow blazes are easier to see than some of the other colors like Green or Violet. You could look up and see the sun was still shedding enough light above that the tops of the trees were yellow but when you looked back down to the trail ahead, it was all shades of gray. There are a few ups and downs in there but we were alongside the ravine from the stream that runs down the neighbors' backyards in a very short time. It was longer up and farther than I remembered along the ravine but soon we were crossing the boulders that form a bridge when the stream is running. After the long dry summer there wasn't any water for Sadie. We turned left onto the shortcut to the Red Circle and were surprisingly precise to my planned arrival back home at 7:15.
So it had taken roughly 20 minutes to the Green, another 10 to Hezekiah's Nob, maybe 20 to the Red Square crossing of the Yellow after a 5 minute break on the Nob and then another 20 to home. I've been doing a reasonable job of finding hikes of about an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half.
Sadie & I headed up the Red Circle from the yard just after 6 PM. The sun was already low through the trees as we climbed up past the Yellow, White and Orange trails. We came down the Cantor Steps onto the Green trail and turned right. After a short level walk we were at an area I call Little Italy where the Green, White and Red Square trails come together. We veered off the Green onto the White and up Hezekiah's Nob.
I stopped to rest on top, sitting on one of the big stones looking out to the view to the southeast where the Blue trail comes up. The White and Blue trails cross on Hezekiah's Nob so I guess it's as close a spot as any to being Red, White and Blue with the Red Square passing just by the bottom of the Nob. We headed down the Blue and came to the corner where Sadie got lost the other night (see previous entry). She followed the trail and we found ourselves on switchbacks down into the ever darkening forest.
It had taken us about a half hour to reach the Nob and the sun was going to set around 7. I'm not sure how long we rested up above but it wasn't long. I also realized that the Blue was taking us a lot farther from home than I had thought about. We turned right towards Yellow on the Yellow/Green crossover and crossed the Orange trail on our way. I thought about taking the Orange home but decided to stay with my original plan. I'd reassess at the junction with the Red Square.
We reached the Red Square just before 7 and I decided that if we were going to get lost in the dark, at least we'd be behind the house. I could call home for a ride from the Red Square trailhead but this was doable.
It was getting darker but the yellow blazes are easier to see than some of the other colors like Green or Violet. You could look up and see the sun was still shedding enough light above that the tops of the trees were yellow but when you looked back down to the trail ahead, it was all shades of gray. There are a few ups and downs in there but we were alongside the ravine from the stream that runs down the neighbors' backyards in a very short time. It was longer up and farther than I remembered along the ravine but soon we were crossing the boulders that form a bridge when the stream is running. After the long dry summer there wasn't any water for Sadie. We turned left onto the shortcut to the Red Circle and were surprisingly precise to my planned arrival back home at 7:15.
So it had taken roughly 20 minutes to the Green, another 10 to Hezekiah's Nob, maybe 20 to the Red Square crossing of the Yellow after a 5 minute break on the Nob and then another 20 to home. I've been doing a reasonable job of finding hikes of about an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half.
25 years on the Giant
I've pretty much abandoned my old blog and I wanted to write about my hikes, so here we go...
After living on the side of the Sleeping Giant for 25 years, my entire family has officially hiked all the trails, becoming Giant Masters as noted on the www.sgpa.org website. Shortly thereafter, we started figuring out how many of the trails Sadie, our dog, has done and decided we could get her there. So mainly Pat (my wife) and I have pushed to get Sadie there in the last few weeks. It has forced us to hike trails we haven't in years.
In making the push, I've started hiking more regularly and doing longer sections in the evenings, squeezing as much as I can into the shorter time after dinner before dark. One evening I hiked the blue trail to the left over the little bridge by the river and had to carry Sadie down the last steep drop. Then we walked under the quarry, ablaze in the sunset, and missed the turn onto violet to the left. We came back and walked down the stairs in front of the old ruins and over the rocks back to the bridge via the violet trail. From there, I tried to push it in the rapidly diminishing daylight on the Red Diamond trail to the left where I thought we'd get to Tuttle. But I missed a turn in the dark and I felt a little like one of the Sims when they keep bumping up against a wall. The "trail" we were on kind of disappeared and there wasn't time to figure out the right way. I even made some vain attempts to determine the color of the marks on the trees using the dim light of my cell phone.
Another evening I went up the Red Circle right from the backyard all the way to the Blue and turned right. We went up and over some impressive cliffs that have beautiful views in the sunset. Back down to the upper valley and across and up Hezekiah's Nob. There is something about that place. I need to find the origin of the name, but it's funny to me because I had a great-grandfather named Hezekiah Summers. So it's a great place to celebrate the end of this summer of this incredible year of 2010. We went down the blue and the wind was picking up and the sky was darkening. Sadie ran ahead but the trail turned right. I turned around and she was gone! Pat called to say she was on her way to pick us up on Chestnut so I told her I had lost the dog. Pat called again from the trailhead and said that she could not even hear me calling Sadie's name so I was farther in than I thought. We both kept calling and met in the woods. Then we went back to the van and called out the window while driving. I suggested we go home because Sadie at least has our phone number on her tag, unlike the first time I lost her shortly after we got her (another long story). Pat dropped me at home and went back. I called Evan to come right home and just after I hung up with him, Sadie trotted out of the woods from our usual exit on the left even though the spot where I lost her was deep in the woods to the right. I called both Pat & Evan and was thrilled to see her and amazed that she had found her way.
After living on the side of the Sleeping Giant for 25 years, my entire family has officially hiked all the trails, becoming Giant Masters as noted on the www.sgpa.org website. Shortly thereafter, we started figuring out how many of the trails Sadie, our dog, has done and decided we could get her there. So mainly Pat (my wife) and I have pushed to get Sadie there in the last few weeks. It has forced us to hike trails we haven't in years.
In making the push, I've started hiking more regularly and doing longer sections in the evenings, squeezing as much as I can into the shorter time after dinner before dark. One evening I hiked the blue trail to the left over the little bridge by the river and had to carry Sadie down the last steep drop. Then we walked under the quarry, ablaze in the sunset, and missed the turn onto violet to the left. We came back and walked down the stairs in front of the old ruins and over the rocks back to the bridge via the violet trail. From there, I tried to push it in the rapidly diminishing daylight on the Red Diamond trail to the left where I thought we'd get to Tuttle. But I missed a turn in the dark and I felt a little like one of the Sims when they keep bumping up against a wall. The "trail" we were on kind of disappeared and there wasn't time to figure out the right way. I even made some vain attempts to determine the color of the marks on the trees using the dim light of my cell phone.
Another evening I went up the Red Circle right from the backyard all the way to the Blue and turned right. We went up and over some impressive cliffs that have beautiful views in the sunset. Back down to the upper valley and across and up Hezekiah's Nob. There is something about that place. I need to find the origin of the name, but it's funny to me because I had a great-grandfather named Hezekiah Summers. So it's a great place to celebrate the end of this summer of this incredible year of 2010. We went down the blue and the wind was picking up and the sky was darkening. Sadie ran ahead but the trail turned right. I turned around and she was gone! Pat called to say she was on her way to pick us up on Chestnut so I told her I had lost the dog. Pat called again from the trailhead and said that she could not even hear me calling Sadie's name so I was farther in than I thought. We both kept calling and met in the woods. Then we went back to the van and called out the window while driving. I suggested we go home because Sadie at least has our phone number on her tag, unlike the first time I lost her shortly after we got her (another long story). Pat dropped me at home and went back. I called Evan to come right home and just after I hung up with him, Sadie trotted out of the woods from our usual exit on the left even though the spot where I lost her was deep in the woods to the right. I called both Pat & Evan and was thrilled to see her and amazed that she had found her way.
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