OK, I'm certifiable.
We started out at 6:30 from Tuttle on the Red Circle. Walking along and above the waterfalls is one of the most beautiful sections of trail in the park. We were passing through the group camp site after 10 minutes of uphill climbing. The trail had more turns than I remembered and one Boy Scout bridge before you reach camp.
From there the trail goes more off into the woods but still along a dryer stream bed. Soon I could see the rock pile that we had been to the other day on the Violet trail. The sun was pretty low and I had an ambitious plan in my head. When we reached the Red Triangle, I remembered the boulder-strewn stream that we had to climb up from other passes through here. We had seen a couple of people up in the boulders so I put Sadie on the leash and hoped that they didn't have a dog.
Sadie practically pulled me up and over the boulders but we never saw the people when we rounded the bend. There was a couple walking down the bend of the Tower Path to our right as we approached it. We crossed over and arrived at the Green trail. I turned left and called Sadie to follow me. The green markings are harder to see in low light than most of the others but you can't really get too lost on the Green trail.
As we got out of the boulders and onto the more solid ground, with some mushy spots, I began looking along the cliffs to the left for Dead Man's Cave. I had read some comments online recently about how it looks like a big scar in the rocks but the commenter had said that it was about 200 yeards past the Spider Cave in the direction I was headed. However, I saw something that fit the description well in advance of the Yellow/Green crossover, which is roughly across from where I remember the Spider Cave to be when I found it with Evan & Kyle last summer.
Soon we past the Yellow/Green crossover and Sadie wanted to turn onto it. We had been in this area in the snow when she took off on me and made it home by the time I called to admit that I had lost her. I told her we were going ahead on the Green and was consumed by a wild idea that I might find the ice grip I had lost in the snow. In a little while Sadie started running and I realized there were at least 2 deer crashing through the woods away to our right. Remarkably she stopped when I called and came back so I gave her a treat.
When we got to the Cantor Steps, named by me after the man who made them for his Eagle project, Sadie ran up them to head home on the Red Circle trail. I sometimes think besides being a better hiker that she may be smarter than me. I kept going on Green and soon she was racing past. It was already pretty dark when we reached what I call the Acorn Bridge, where I got beaned with an acorn in the snow last winter. We plodded on, trying to hit the rocks and not the muck.
As I said, it's kind of hard to get lost on the Green trail and I even remarked to myself that the next rise must be Hezekiah's Nob where I was planning to jump off to the Red Square. But somehow I missed it because the Green trail veers into the woods off of the wide carriage path that it follows most of the way. It was getting dark now and I was annoyed that I had walked even a little farther than I had to. I crashed through the trees to the real Green trail and back to Little Italy.
Again, Sadie wanted to take the shortest route home and started up the White. I started down the ravine to the left and she went up on the rocks behind me. She was right! The Red Square follows the rocks above the ravine. We roughly followed what I believe to be the Red Square but it was pretty dark now. At one point Sadie started to bark and I decided to put her on the leash so as not to lose her for my fourth time. When we got down to the lowlands and came to a rocky stream, I guessed that it was the Orange trail. We had been here not too long ago and I remember the intersection looking like that. I would have felt much better if I had seen an Orange mark anywhere or even something that I could convince myself was orange.
I had a decision to make here. We either had to stumble down the Red Square out to Mount Carmel Avenue OR stumble up this rocky stream and hope it was the Orange trail. I have to admit that I wanted another segment for my personal Four Season Giant Master but I knew that this Orange segment was short and I convinced myself that when I got over the hill that there would be a little more light.
I was a little concerned halfway up when I still hadn't seen anything that I could even delude myself into believing was an orange mark. At this point we were committed and there was no turning back. At some point Sadie pulled me to the left and I discovered that she knew the trail better than my eye could make it out in the dark. I was glad I had put her on the leash because she helped pull me up the trail and served as a seeing eye dog.
When we reached the saddle and I could make out white markers I knew where we were, crossing the White trail. There were a few frog-like noises but not as raucous as they had been in the warm weather a week or so ago. Sadie absolutely saved me in here because several times my instinct was to go forward and she would turn where the trail turned.
The intersection with the Red Circle was obvious, even in the dark without the benefit of the markings. We walked down the rock ramp and negotiated the swampy area. As we came to the table rock on our left, I could see the lights of civilization over the path ahead and felt certain we were going to make it now. We reached the Yellow trail and I opted to turn left for the shortcut as I was tiring of walking on rocks and concerned about twisting an ankle.
Again Sadie led me through the darkness. As we neared the ravine where the water runs most of the year, Sadie stopped and stared ahead. I have to say that the hair on the back of my neck stood up now. I couldn't see anything but some pretty wild ideas raced through my head. In a few paces I could make out the turn onto the shortcut even in the dark.
As we began the last leg of the journey the phone rang. Pat asked "Where are you?" I told her I was right behind the house, thinking she was home. Had I known she was calling from Dairy Queen to see if I wanted anything, I might have pushed it even more.
Besides surviving, the remarkable thing to me was that it was just after 8 PM when we got in the house. We had started out at 6:30 and I had estimated an hour and a half. Yes, I know, it's not at all light at 8 PM yet.
OK, I'm crazy.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Quick One
Drove up to Chestnut around 5:30 with Sadie but I knew we only had an hour. I would have pushed it but my feet were hurting some so we just went up the Green to make a loop. We only passed one man with a dog but we did see some people up above to our left, probably on the Blue trail.
The trail was pretty swampy in spots. We crossed the Blue and then the Red Square and continued on Green. I was tempted to take it to the Red Circle to get another segment done but when we reached "Little Italy" again, I opted to hop over to the Red Square and roughly follow it (there was one area that was not marked well so I took the high ground rather than down the mud-filled rut) until we reached the Orange. From there it was an easy walk back to the van, but I had to do the little piece of Violet we missed yesterday. Have to keep things legitimate.
The trail was pretty swampy in spots. We crossed the Blue and then the Red Square and continued on Green. I was tempted to take it to the Red Circle to get another segment done but when we reached "Little Italy" again, I opted to hop over to the Red Square and roughly follow it (there was one area that was not marked well so I took the high ground rather than down the mud-filled rut) until we reached the Orange. From there it was an easy walk back to the van, but I had to do the little piece of Violet we missed yesterday. Have to keep things legitimate.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Springing into the Next Season
First hike of the spring - and it was a beauty!
Chelsea stopped by at the house on her bike and said she was going to run some of the trails - like Red Circle up to Orange or Green out to Chestnut and back on Yellow. I told her I was going to take Sadie up to Chestnut and hike the Violet trail. I was very pleasantly surprised when I turned around after locking the van and Chelsea was smiling there. She had taken the Green out to Chestnut and just got there when I did.
I told her I doubted I would keep up but she told me she was fine with hiking, even at my pace. So we started out on Violet but as soon as I let Sadie off the leash, she took off to the left and we soon realized she was frolicking with a dog on a leash. Chelsea got to Sadie first and Sadie took a parting shot at the other dog before I reprimanded her and put her back on the leash.
We continued on the Violet and crossed the Red Square and the unmarked trail pretty shortly thereafter. The walk along the flatter north side was very pleasing. We talked about how many unmarked, horse and cross country trails there are in that area. Soon the trail headed uphill and I talked about how we had done a 10-mile Boy Scout hike and that was the last piece so I remembered there were some painful ups and downs.
I can't remember now if the Blue/Violet crossover trail came first but I think it did. I said that the waterfall running down the cliff to the right always made me think of Africa but that Chelsea would know more about that. Then there was a steep scramble up some rocks so I took Sadie off the leash for the last time so we could climb detached.
We scrambled up the rocks and along the ridge with views to our right. Soon there was another daunting rockpile ahead when I realized that the Violet trail turned to the left. I saw a red arrow on a tree below and discovered we had reached the Red Circle trail. Sadie for some reason had chosen the high ground so I had to call her down.
We turned left on the Red Circle and headed for home. All in all the trails weren't that wet or mushy but Chelsea said that parts of the Green had been pretty swampy. We passed Table Rock and I explained the name. At some point there was a guy walking behind us as I showed Chelsea the uppermost parts of Evan's Eagle project.
The guy headed past the Yellow trail so I decided to show Chelsea the shortcut and she said she would probably use that in the future.
It was a great hike and very peaceful. Except for the first encounter with the dog and the guy at the end, we saw nobody else. As much as I enjoy hiking alone with Sadie, Chelsea's company was a welcome surprise.
So begins my spring hiking, but it can't get much better than this.
Chelsea stopped by at the house on her bike and said she was going to run some of the trails - like Red Circle up to Orange or Green out to Chestnut and back on Yellow. I told her I was going to take Sadie up to Chestnut and hike the Violet trail. I was very pleasantly surprised when I turned around after locking the van and Chelsea was smiling there. She had taken the Green out to Chestnut and just got there when I did.
I told her I doubted I would keep up but she told me she was fine with hiking, even at my pace. So we started out on Violet but as soon as I let Sadie off the leash, she took off to the left and we soon realized she was frolicking with a dog on a leash. Chelsea got to Sadie first and Sadie took a parting shot at the other dog before I reprimanded her and put her back on the leash.
We continued on the Violet and crossed the Red Square and the unmarked trail pretty shortly thereafter. The walk along the flatter north side was very pleasing. We talked about how many unmarked, horse and cross country trails there are in that area. Soon the trail headed uphill and I talked about how we had done a 10-mile Boy Scout hike and that was the last piece so I remembered there were some painful ups and downs.
I can't remember now if the Blue/Violet crossover trail came first but I think it did. I said that the waterfall running down the cliff to the right always made me think of Africa but that Chelsea would know more about that. Then there was a steep scramble up some rocks so I took Sadie off the leash for the last time so we could climb detached.
We scrambled up the rocks and along the ridge with views to our right. Soon there was another daunting rockpile ahead when I realized that the Violet trail turned to the left. I saw a red arrow on a tree below and discovered we had reached the Red Circle trail. Sadie for some reason had chosen the high ground so I had to call her down.
We turned left on the Red Circle and headed for home. All in all the trails weren't that wet or mushy but Chelsea said that parts of the Green had been pretty swampy. We passed Table Rock and I explained the name. At some point there was a guy walking behind us as I showed Chelsea the uppermost parts of Evan's Eagle project.
The guy headed past the Yellow trail so I decided to show Chelsea the shortcut and she said she would probably use that in the future.
It was a great hike and very peaceful. Except for the first encounter with the dog and the guy at the end, we saw nobody else. As much as I enjoy hiking alone with Sadie, Chelsea's company was a welcome surprise.
So begins my spring hiking, but it can't get much better than this.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Ambitious Weekend
I may or may not have mentioned before that Pat and I and all 4 children are Giant Masters. I have been interested in completing the Four Season Giant Master program, meaning you have hiked every segment of every trail in all 4 seasons. I have set this as a personal goal, not for publication, simply for my own motivation and satisfaction.
So with the onset of spring on Sunday evening, I was faced with 7 sections not completed in winter and one which was nagging at me from the hike I messed up the other night. I was hoping to get the two segments of the Orange and White trails in one hike but on St. Patrick's evening I got a late start with Sadie and went up the Orange from the picnic area. I suppose the Green trail would have been more appropriate to the day but I already have the entire Green trail. When I finally reached the Red Triangle, it was getting dark so I decided to just go down and take the Yellow trail back to the car.
To reach my goal on the weekend, I decided on two hikes, both requiring some distance and ups and downs. On Saturday, I went for the Blue and White trails between the Red Circle and Red Triangle. Sadie & I started up the Red Circle from home, making sure to get to the real Red Circle and not just the access road because I also have dreams of being a 12 month Giant Master someday so I keep track of each segment in each month also. We got to the Blue trail and took a right up and over the first ridge, one of my favorite parts of the park. Hiking along the trail atop the cliffs in the sunshine is one of the joys of the Giant.
I was intent on hitting the Blue/Violet crossover, which is an annoyance because in a case like this, in order to complete the Blue segment along with the B/V crossover, it's simply a hike down and back up again, and rather steep. I'm typing this days later but I remember taking times at the various intersections. I'm pretty sure I arrived at the Blue trail from home in 15 minutes and the top of the B/V crossover in another 15 minutes. The trip down and up the B/V crossover took about 7 minutes.
From there we finished the Blue segment at the Red Square and took that to Green and then to what I call "Little Italy" where Green, White and the Red Square come together. We started up the White from there, technically missing a tiny piece between Green and the Red Square and were soon up on top of the White cliffs. We scrambled down the rocks to the Red Circle and arrived home possibly a little over 1 hour after we had left but my numbers may not be correct from memory.
On Sunday I took Sadie out in the early afternoon intent on completing everything, including redoing the Red Hexagon out to Mount Carmel Ave. We parked in the picnic area again and started up the White trail. It seemed to me like we had done this recently but we were soon on the Tower path and shortly afterwards up on the wonderful White lookout over Quinnipiac. We walked right by "the pit" where I have since learned there may be another cave and possibly a cave system.
We continued on into the woods again, crossing the Orange trail and almost losing the trail on an unmarked extension that dead-ends. We hopped down the rocks to the Red Triangle. As we walked up towards the Tower path, I really only needed to get there and go down but I decided to pick up a few extra March segments and turned left onto the Green. We completed the Green segment which dead ends up on the White lookout again and I decided to get the Blue/White crossover done. There is some confusion when following the B/W crossover because the markers are Blue and somewhere in there you find yourself on the Blue trail without knowing that you completed the B/W.
We got back to the Red Triangle and jumped on the Tower path going down. This part was easy but following the Red Hexagon along the Tower path is not easy. There is a significant shortcut which I convinced myself was the Red Hexagon, as I had the previous week in the dark. Then we rounded the next bend and I was unsure where the Red Hexagon had gone. I knew it had to be farther to the east so we took the Nature trail off the end of the next east-pointing bend in the Tower path. When we got to the Red Hexagon, I saw that we had once again missed a segment and was determined to right my previous wrong. So we hiked up to the Tower path and up to where we had taken the erroneous shortcut. We turned around and headed back all the way down the Red Hexagon to Mount Carmel Ave.
At some point here I called home and said I was almost done. But I still had one segment left to complete in the waning winter hours. So I drove around to Tuttle and we hiked in to the quarry on the Red Diamond to complete that segment which lies between the quarry and where the Red Hexagon turns uphill. There is more of a climb up to the quarry than I realized but we went all the way across the opening of the quarry and I made sure to touch the marker on the Blue trail.
A Winter Giant Master! One season completed!
So with the onset of spring on Sunday evening, I was faced with 7 sections not completed in winter and one which was nagging at me from the hike I messed up the other night. I was hoping to get the two segments of the Orange and White trails in one hike but on St. Patrick's evening I got a late start with Sadie and went up the Orange from the picnic area. I suppose the Green trail would have been more appropriate to the day but I already have the entire Green trail. When I finally reached the Red Triangle, it was getting dark so I decided to just go down and take the Yellow trail back to the car.
To reach my goal on the weekend, I decided on two hikes, both requiring some distance and ups and downs. On Saturday, I went for the Blue and White trails between the Red Circle and Red Triangle. Sadie & I started up the Red Circle from home, making sure to get to the real Red Circle and not just the access road because I also have dreams of being a 12 month Giant Master someday so I keep track of each segment in each month also. We got to the Blue trail and took a right up and over the first ridge, one of my favorite parts of the park. Hiking along the trail atop the cliffs in the sunshine is one of the joys of the Giant.
I was intent on hitting the Blue/Violet crossover, which is an annoyance because in a case like this, in order to complete the Blue segment along with the B/V crossover, it's simply a hike down and back up again, and rather steep. I'm typing this days later but I remember taking times at the various intersections. I'm pretty sure I arrived at the Blue trail from home in 15 minutes and the top of the B/V crossover in another 15 minutes. The trip down and up the B/V crossover took about 7 minutes.
From there we finished the Blue segment at the Red Square and took that to Green and then to what I call "Little Italy" where Green, White and the Red Square come together. We started up the White from there, technically missing a tiny piece between Green and the Red Square and were soon up on top of the White cliffs. We scrambled down the rocks to the Red Circle and arrived home possibly a little over 1 hour after we had left but my numbers may not be correct from memory.
On Sunday I took Sadie out in the early afternoon intent on completing everything, including redoing the Red Hexagon out to Mount Carmel Ave. We parked in the picnic area again and started up the White trail. It seemed to me like we had done this recently but we were soon on the Tower path and shortly afterwards up on the wonderful White lookout over Quinnipiac. We walked right by "the pit" where I have since learned there may be another cave and possibly a cave system.
We continued on into the woods again, crossing the Orange trail and almost losing the trail on an unmarked extension that dead-ends. We hopped down the rocks to the Red Triangle. As we walked up towards the Tower path, I really only needed to get there and go down but I decided to pick up a few extra March segments and turned left onto the Green. We completed the Green segment which dead ends up on the White lookout again and I decided to get the Blue/White crossover done. There is some confusion when following the B/W crossover because the markers are Blue and somewhere in there you find yourself on the Blue trail without knowing that you completed the B/W.
We got back to the Red Triangle and jumped on the Tower path going down. This part was easy but following the Red Hexagon along the Tower path is not easy. There is a significant shortcut which I convinced myself was the Red Hexagon, as I had the previous week in the dark. Then we rounded the next bend and I was unsure where the Red Hexagon had gone. I knew it had to be farther to the east so we took the Nature trail off the end of the next east-pointing bend in the Tower path. When we got to the Red Hexagon, I saw that we had once again missed a segment and was determined to right my previous wrong. So we hiked up to the Tower path and up to where we had taken the erroneous shortcut. We turned around and headed back all the way down the Red Hexagon to Mount Carmel Ave.
At some point here I called home and said I was almost done. But I still had one segment left to complete in the waning winter hours. So I drove around to Tuttle and we hiked in to the quarry on the Red Diamond to complete that segment which lies between the quarry and where the Red Hexagon turns uphill. There is more of a climb up to the quarry than I realized but we went all the way across the opening of the quarry and I made sure to touch the marker on the Blue trail.
A Winter Giant Master! One season completed!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Light Later - but not that late!
So Sadie and I got a later start than I wanted. Tory dropped us off at the base of the Red Triangle across from Hogan Road around 6:30 PM. We climbed up what is pretty much a stream bed, except for the louder stream to our right on the way up. There were some fairly large trees down but I didn't have the time or energy to move them.
I was grateful when we crested near the Orange trail and got to take it easy as we crossed the Blue and Tower Path. The drop down the north side was steep in places. We crossed the gulley and could see Tuttle down below. The path takes a pretty long bend to the east but I was true to the path and reached the bottom near River Road. There was a pretty strong stream running along the road so I stayed up on the bank as long as I could although Sadie opted for the middle of the road.
I started to get concerned when I realized that the walk along Tuttle was a lot longer than I expected. I just measured it now as more than half a mile. The sun was pretty much down when we reached the Diamond/Hexagon start and headed in on the flat part. The sun was still reflecting off of the Mill River to our right.
I was trying to decide if I should just be satisfied with completing the Triangle and Diamond north of the Blue trail in my pursuit of the 4 Season Giant Master. I left the decision up to Sadie and soon there was a couple with a dog approaching along the Diamond trail. So we quickly turned up the Hexagon and now I was determined to complete it. I just wasn't sure how dark it would get.
We climbed the long gradual ramp along the back of the head. Twice I was hoping that the top was just around the next bend and twice I was fooled. But we reached the Blue trail and I was energized by the fact that we had completed another section.
It was getting pretty dark now and I was concerned about missing the spot where the Hexagon trail drops off the Tower Path down to the right. I probably should have studied the map a little closer before we left. The moon was reflected in the puddles on the Tower Path. I see now that I did miss it and just cut across the first switchback on the way down. Now I was sure that the Hexagon cut across the next switchback rather than follow the side of it so we followed a trail of sorts to the next crossing of the Tower Path.
At some point in here I was convinced that I saw a Hexagon on a tree leaving the Tower Path in one spot so I was proud of myself for finding it in the dark. We continued on this "trail" I had found. A few times Sadie balked and I had to call her to get her to follow me. I'm sure she knew we weren't on any marked trail. It may have been that I did see a Hexagon on the Tower Path because they coincide for awhile here. In essence, when we crossed the Tower Path the last time, we were crossing the Red Hexagon.
Tory called around this last crossing because they were concerned because it was after 7:30 and quite dark now. I told her I was just about to call (I was) and that I would be out soon. As we crashed through the dark woods, I now know that we were west of where we should have been. I thought I saw Tory's car and called her. I had her beep her horn and was surprised when she was off to our left. There is just enough of a rise along the road that I couldn't really tell where we were relative to the University entrance. I called Tory again and then saw her. We crashed out and walked to where she was.
I feel that we were close enough to the Red Hexagon to count the southern portion also for March 16th. Only a few more segments for the winter but only a few days left until Spring begins. Will we complete the mission?
I was grateful when we crested near the Orange trail and got to take it easy as we crossed the Blue and Tower Path. The drop down the north side was steep in places. We crossed the gulley and could see Tuttle down below. The path takes a pretty long bend to the east but I was true to the path and reached the bottom near River Road. There was a pretty strong stream running along the road so I stayed up on the bank as long as I could although Sadie opted for the middle of the road.
I started to get concerned when I realized that the walk along Tuttle was a lot longer than I expected. I just measured it now as more than half a mile. The sun was pretty much down when we reached the Diamond/Hexagon start and headed in on the flat part. The sun was still reflecting off of the Mill River to our right.
I was trying to decide if I should just be satisfied with completing the Triangle and Diamond north of the Blue trail in my pursuit of the 4 Season Giant Master. I left the decision up to Sadie and soon there was a couple with a dog approaching along the Diamond trail. So we quickly turned up the Hexagon and now I was determined to complete it. I just wasn't sure how dark it would get.
We climbed the long gradual ramp along the back of the head. Twice I was hoping that the top was just around the next bend and twice I was fooled. But we reached the Blue trail and I was energized by the fact that we had completed another section.
It was getting pretty dark now and I was concerned about missing the spot where the Hexagon trail drops off the Tower Path down to the right. I probably should have studied the map a little closer before we left. The moon was reflected in the puddles on the Tower Path. I see now that I did miss it and just cut across the first switchback on the way down. Now I was sure that the Hexagon cut across the next switchback rather than follow the side of it so we followed a trail of sorts to the next crossing of the Tower Path.
At some point in here I was convinced that I saw a Hexagon on a tree leaving the Tower Path in one spot so I was proud of myself for finding it in the dark. We continued on this "trail" I had found. A few times Sadie balked and I had to call her to get her to follow me. I'm sure she knew we weren't on any marked trail. It may have been that I did see a Hexagon on the Tower Path because they coincide for awhile here. In essence, when we crossed the Tower Path the last time, we were crossing the Red Hexagon.
Tory called around this last crossing because they were concerned because it was after 7:30 and quite dark now. I told her I was just about to call (I was) and that I would be out soon. As we crashed through the dark woods, I now know that we were west of where we should have been. I thought I saw Tory's car and called her. I had her beep her horn and was surprised when she was off to our left. There is just enough of a rise along the road that I couldn't really tell where we were relative to the University entrance. I called Tory again and then saw her. We crashed out and walked to where she was.
I feel that we were close enough to the Red Hexagon to count the southern portion also for March 16th. Only a few more segments for the winter but only a few days left until Spring begins. Will we complete the mission?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
DST Extra Hour
Celebrating the extra hour of daylight, Pat dropped me and Sadie off on Hartford Turnpike a little after 4 PM. It was 4:15 when we reached the top of the climbing trail from Hartford Turnpike. The walk was quiet as we crossed Chestnut Lane at 4:36.
We crossed the Yellow Trail at 4:42 and the Orange at 4:45. As we approached the wall, I knew we were in for a steep climb. We reached the top of Hezekiah's Knob at 5:00 and rested for awhile. Then we continued on the Blue until we reached the Red Square. I had planned on either continuing on the Blue or turning left on the Red Square. There was a girl hiking alone towards us on the Blue and she turned back. Rather than follow her, I decided we'd turn left on the Red Square.
We walked along the rock outcrop over the central valley. We passed below Hezekiah's Knob at 5:22 and continued down the rocky slope. We crossed the Orange trail at 5:29 and the Yellow at 5:33. The trail gets steep with a big switchback to the valley floor with the roaring stream off to the left. We got to the parking lot on Mount Carmel Ave at 5:45 and were home at 5:52. Almost 2 hours total - a great day to enjoy the later sunset.
We crossed the Yellow Trail at 4:42 and the Orange at 4:45. As we approached the wall, I knew we were in for a steep climb. We reached the top of Hezekiah's Knob at 5:00 and rested for awhile. Then we continued on the Blue until we reached the Red Square. I had planned on either continuing on the Blue or turning left on the Red Square. There was a girl hiking alone towards us on the Blue and she turned back. Rather than follow her, I decided we'd turn left on the Red Square.
We walked along the rock outcrop over the central valley. We passed below Hezekiah's Knob at 5:22 and continued down the rocky slope. We crossed the Orange trail at 5:29 and the Yellow at 5:33. The trail gets steep with a big switchback to the valley floor with the roaring stream off to the left. We got to the parking lot on Mount Carmel Ave at 5:45 and were home at 5:52. Almost 2 hours total - a great day to enjoy the later sunset.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hiking on Leaves Again
I never thought that snow would "leave". But a lot of it has! I've been under the weather for a week or so and today I finally decided to go for it.
It's amazing how light it is at 5 PM. I headed up the trail at 5 with Sadie and we went all the way to the White lookout. Between the warm temperatures and the rain, a lot of snow has melted and now we have streams where the trails used to be.
I checked on Evan's Eagle project on the way up. Some of the water bars are doing what they were designed to do but some have been obliterated. I worked a little on the uppermost one to channel the water off the side of the trail and cleared the exit trough with a stick.
Mostly water, rocks and leaves as we made our way past the Yellow/Green Crossover and kept heading into the sunset on the White trail. I forgot how much of a descent there is on the far side before you reach the Red Triangle. There was a deer down below but Sadie could only bark from above. There was no way to get down there quickly.
We took a right on the Red Triangle and then headed East on the Orange Trail. Up a bit of a hill and then through the Mountain Laurel to the Yellow/Green Crossover again. We decided to continue on the Orange although it was getting darker now.
The Orange Trail is a bit more sheltered from the sun and there were places where we had to step in snow, sometimes kind of deep on the north side of piles of rocks. You also had to mind your step as there was some ice on some of the rocks. But we made it to the Red Circle and then headed for home. It was pretty dark when we got to the door around 6:30.
Great to be hiking on leaves again.
It's amazing how light it is at 5 PM. I headed up the trail at 5 with Sadie and we went all the way to the White lookout. Between the warm temperatures and the rain, a lot of snow has melted and now we have streams where the trails used to be.
I checked on Evan's Eagle project on the way up. Some of the water bars are doing what they were designed to do but some have been obliterated. I worked a little on the uppermost one to channel the water off the side of the trail and cleared the exit trough with a stick.
Mostly water, rocks and leaves as we made our way past the Yellow/Green Crossover and kept heading into the sunset on the White trail. I forgot how much of a descent there is on the far side before you reach the Red Triangle. There was a deer down below but Sadie could only bark from above. There was no way to get down there quickly.
We took a right on the Red Triangle and then headed East on the Orange Trail. Up a bit of a hill and then through the Mountain Laurel to the Yellow/Green Crossover again. We decided to continue on the Orange although it was getting darker now.
The Orange Trail is a bit more sheltered from the sun and there were places where we had to step in snow, sometimes kind of deep on the north side of piles of rocks. You also had to mind your step as there was some ice on some of the rocks. But we made it to the Red Circle and then headed for home. It was pretty dark when we got to the door around 6:30.
Great to be hiking on leaves again.
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