Baxter State Park, '07
This year, I was light on photos again.
Trying to capture a mountain on film (digital 'film', in this case) is out of my
league (or anyone's really). I did play around with photoshop to add some fake
drama to the photos. I think they're fun. You may not.
The timing of this year's trip came together much
better. Flights were on time and everyone was well rested. A quick round-up and
gear check in the morning and we hit the
road.
The weather was about perfect, maybe a touch warm. But considering this was July and not June like past years, that's not unexpected.
The drive was uneventful and fairly speedy. We reached the park and got to the parking lot well before the cut-off time to start the hike. The food was divided up, everyone groaned about how much heavier their packs got (expect Heather, since I was carrying both of our stuff).
The hike went quickly as well, since Heather set a speedy pace up front. Other than a brief chat with the ranger in which he gave us a pleasant warning about how radios (the walkie-talkie kind) aren't allowed in the park (other kinds aren't allowed either). Oh well. We weren't chatting on them or anything. I think that restriction is a bit much.
We reached the campground is record time and quickly set up and started dinner. Burritos were on the menu and we had plenty of fresh ingredients to add. Heating up the rice and beans without burning them proved a touch difficult but no one seemed to care that everything was just warm.
We played some cards, as has become the tradition. My waterproof cards worked very well, although they are a bit slippery. There was even a game of war but thankfully, that was a abandoned before the wee hours of the night arrived.
The next morning, we took a count of who was climbing. Heather's back wasn't quite cooperating and she didn't want to risk it. Jonathan's knee was hurting after running a road race days before and Tia stayed with him. Kelly, David, Rick, Kristin, and I decided to take Cathedral trail up. A tough but fun climb- the one we did two years prior. I tried to talk folks into the Knife's Edge, but no one bit.
Some shots of the hike up:
We made it to the peak in 3 hours even- not a bad time considering we weren't rushing or anything and had several longer breaks for food. The peak was crowded, as usual, but possibly more crowded than I remember ever seeing it. We got photos and had lunch. David and I walked over to the beginning of the Knife's Edge and he said "No way!". That's not an uncommon reaction.
The top:
As were getting ready to start down, we were looking at the beginning of the Appalachian Trail (or, more commonly, the end of the trail) and talking about hiking over 2000 miles from Georgia and what someone would feel like as they took those last few steps. I said that it was early July, too soon for us to see a hiker finishing. Was I ever wrong.
Minutes later, a guy come swiftly up the trail, stops at us and asks "Have you seen Guns for Jesus and The Dingleberries?"
Well, we were a bit confused until he added "...the other thru-hikers."
Wow. So this guy was in fact just finishing a 2000+ mile hike from Georgia.
We replied that we hadn't seen them or at least hadn't noticed anyone else as a thru-hiker.
"So, this is it." were his next words, as he took it in that he was finally done. He had a huge smile and was said in a positive manner, not in disappointment.
I asked if he wanted me to get a photo for him and he said sure. It was the only question I could ask because I really wanted to ask about a thousand more and probably could have chatted with him for hours about what the hike is like.
We did discover that he had been on the trail for 126 days. That's really fast. It was later confirmed on a trail web site that he was one of the first to finish this year. Guns for Jesus (one person) and The Dingleberries (two people) were also among the fastest.
He asked where we had hiked from. This was rather deflating. We had been feeling good about our hike, but considering we could point to where we started from, we suddenly felt less good. Georgia vs. Right Down There. Not a fair fight.
Coconut Monkey, the thru-hiker, with his coconut monkey:
The hike down was good and quick and full of chat about long distance hikes (and the song lyric game as well). Jonathan and Tia had left to deal with some personal stuff. We hope they return next year and climb with us!
Heading down:
We started dinner and generally lounged around. David built a model of the lean-to and surrounding area, complete with some moose.
As usual, the trip ended as soon it started.
Hiking out:
The next morning, we buzzed out quickly and hit the swimming hole on the river. The water was still frigid. I made it to my waist and managed to splash a little more up on my. Kelly went in briefly and Rick, again, was the only one to really 'swim'. I think he likes swimming a little too much.
Kelly and David took off to meet up with their mother and the remaining four of us hit the Millinocket House of Pizza for some pizza and onion rings. So very good.
We gassed up and drove home. The weather held out all three days, with clouds but nothing too gray or too sunny. Perfect, especially considering if we had gone in June, we would have had lots of rain.
The weather was about perfect, maybe a touch warm. But considering this was July and not June like past years, that's not unexpected.
The drive was uneventful and fairly speedy. We reached the park and got to the parking lot well before the cut-off time to start the hike. The food was divided up, everyone groaned about how much heavier their packs got (expect Heather, since I was carrying both of our stuff).
The hike went quickly as well, since Heather set a speedy pace up front. Other than a brief chat with the ranger in which he gave us a pleasant warning about how radios (the walkie-talkie kind) aren't allowed in the park (other kinds aren't allowed either). Oh well. We weren't chatting on them or anything. I think that restriction is a bit much.
We reached the campground is record time and quickly set up and started dinner. Burritos were on the menu and we had plenty of fresh ingredients to add. Heating up the rice and beans without burning them proved a touch difficult but no one seemed to care that everything was just warm.
We played some cards, as has become the tradition. My waterproof cards worked very well, although they are a bit slippery. There was even a game of war but thankfully, that was a abandoned before the wee hours of the night arrived.
The next morning, we took a count of who was climbing. Heather's back wasn't quite cooperating and she didn't want to risk it. Jonathan's knee was hurting after running a road race days before and Tia stayed with him. Kelly, David, Rick, Kristin, and I decided to take Cathedral trail up. A tough but fun climb- the one we did two years prior. I tried to talk folks into the Knife's Edge, but no one bit.
Some shots of the hike up:
We made it to the peak in 3 hours even- not a bad time considering we weren't rushing or anything and had several longer breaks for food. The peak was crowded, as usual, but possibly more crowded than I remember ever seeing it. We got photos and had lunch. David and I walked over to the beginning of the Knife's Edge and he said "No way!". That's not an uncommon reaction.
The top:
As were getting ready to start down, we were looking at the beginning of the Appalachian Trail (or, more commonly, the end of the trail) and talking about hiking over 2000 miles from Georgia and what someone would feel like as they took those last few steps. I said that it was early July, too soon for us to see a hiker finishing. Was I ever wrong.
Minutes later, a guy come swiftly up the trail, stops at us and asks "Have you seen Guns for Jesus and The Dingleberries?"
Well, we were a bit confused until he added "...the other thru-hikers."
Wow. So this guy was in fact just finishing a 2000+ mile hike from Georgia.
We replied that we hadn't seen them or at least hadn't noticed anyone else as a thru-hiker.
"So, this is it." were his next words, as he took it in that he was finally done. He had a huge smile and was said in a positive manner, not in disappointment.
I asked if he wanted me to get a photo for him and he said sure. It was the only question I could ask because I really wanted to ask about a thousand more and probably could have chatted with him for hours about what the hike is like.
We did discover that he had been on the trail for 126 days. That's really fast. It was later confirmed on a trail web site that he was one of the first to finish this year. Guns for Jesus (one person) and The Dingleberries (two people) were also among the fastest.
He asked where we had hiked from. This was rather deflating. We had been feeling good about our hike, but considering we could point to where we started from, we suddenly felt less good. Georgia vs. Right Down There. Not a fair fight.
Coconut Monkey, the thru-hiker, with his coconut monkey:
The hike down was good and quick and full of chat about long distance hikes (and the song lyric game as well). Jonathan and Tia had left to deal with some personal stuff. We hope they return next year and climb with us!
Heading down:
We started dinner and generally lounged around. David built a model of the lean-to and surrounding area, complete with some moose.
As usual, the trip ended as soon it started.
Hiking out:
The next morning, we buzzed out quickly and hit the swimming hole on the river. The water was still frigid. I made it to my waist and managed to splash a little more up on my. Kelly went in briefly and Rick, again, was the only one to really 'swim'. I think he likes swimming a little too much.
Kelly and David took off to meet up with their mother and the remaining four of us hit the Millinocket House of Pizza for some pizza and onion rings. So very good.
We gassed up and drove home. The weather held out all three days, with clouds but nothing too gray or too sunny. Perfect, especially considering if we had gone in June, we would have had lots of rain.
Posted: Sat - July 8, 2006 at 05:25 PM |
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Published On: Jul 27, 2006 05:35 PM
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Published On: Jul 27, 2006 05:35 PM