MA AT shake down hike, day 2

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Start: Mt Wilcox South shelters
End: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles: 15.8 (+0.8 side trails)

I had a relatively decent sleep, though the cold woke me a few times in the night. I was awake by 6:20am and on trail by around 7am.

It was around 30 degrees when I started hiking, with maybe .5-1 inch of new snow on the ground. It was a cold, windy, overcast kind of day, though blue skies and the sun made appearances in the afternoon.

Today's miles included climbing up Cobble Hill (1279') and Baldy Mountain (1921'). I climbed ~2100 feet of elevation over the course of the day. As it turns out, it's really hard to stay hydrated when it's exceptionally cold and all one has is cold water. I'm trying to remedy that now that I've stopped for the day.

I arrived at the side trail for Upper Goose Pond Cabin around 2:30pm. I made the decision to trek down the 0.5 mile side trail to get to the camp sites, privies, closed cabin, and Pond. I'd seen Boy Scouts preparing to hike out earlier and figured they'd be heading to Goose Pond as well; they arrived around 4pm and went up to the cabin area to camp, while I claimed one of the tent pads and a picnic table near the bear box and privy.

As soon as I got here, I filled up all of my water containers. I made the decision that I'd rather chemically treat them since it involved less freezing water on my hands. I made hot cocoa, soup, and flavored rice as a late lunch, while I set up my tent and got settled in.

I'm curled up in my tent enjoying being horizontal and warm. As it has turned out, my right ankle and the brace have done quite well; while it aches at night, it hasn't been overly troubling. My right knee however, is displaying problems most likely associated with my IT band. This will need to be remedied before mid May. The left ankle has managed to roll a few times due to uneven terrain; I may get a lighter brace for it.

Tomorrow should be warm (~60) and sunny, though it'll drop to ~30 tonight just like last night. I'm hoping the tent will be an improvement over the shelter in terms of warmth but we shall see. I have ~21 relatively flat miles to cover tomorrow and I'm looking forward to better weather to accompany it.

MA AT shake down hike, day 1

Friday, April 7, 2017

Start: MA 23
End: Mt Wilcox South Shelters
Miles: 3.3

I left my car in Dalton and trekked to the bus stop, where I took a bus to Pittsfield (where I got a snack while waiting for my connecting bus) and then another bus to Great Barrington. It took me maybe 10 minutes to get a hitch from a passing car to drive me the ~3 miles to the trail.

I correctly picked the northern direction and headed out on the trail at 6:20pm from MA 23 (1050'). I climbed past Benedict Pond (1598') and along the Ledges (1820') until I got to the side trail for the shelters (1819') around 7:35pm as it was starting to get dark.

I decided on the further and newer of the two shelters, built in 2007. Some kind soul left behind some kindling and a fire log, so it's more festive. It's set to get down to ~30 tonight and I'm glad for my warm sleeping bag. So far, there's been a very curious flying squirrel here in the shelter that's been making a lot of noise and dodging out of my light. I suppose it's better company than bears.

The NH 48 4000 footers: Tom, Field, Willey

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

4000 footers climbed: Tom, Field, Willey

I arrived at the Highland Center at Crawford Notch around 9:45pm on Saturday night. I lucked out and the person I was supposed to share a room with never arrived. I woke up at 5:30am, got up around 6am, and was waiting for the breakfast buffet to open at 6:30am. I ate and then headed out to the trail, starting by 7:15am.

The Highland Center had 24' of snow at their stake, with 7' dropped in the past 48 hours. After asking around, I decided to forgo snowshoes. The ones I had were more sturdy than lightweight, and I didn't really have anywhere good to put them when I wasn't wearing them. I put on my Hillsound Trail Crampons in the parking lot and didn't take them off until I returned from the hike. Since this hike is relatively popular, many people in snowshoes had gone through and packed down the trail, making it possible to leave behind the snowshoes. The weather was perfect for hiking - calm and sunny; it was 12 degrees when I started and 38 degrees by the time I finished my hike.

I headed across the railroad tracks and up Avalon Trail. After 1.3 miles, I went straight to connect to the A-Z Trail. I hiked on that for 1 mile, until the junction with Willey Range Trail and the Mt Tom spur trail. I headed up Mt Tom (4,051') and had limited views from the summit due to the trees at the peak. I went back down to the trail junction and then continued up Willey Range Trail. Within 0.9 miles, I came to the summit of Mt Field (4,340'). The snow was fairly deep (step off the packed path and I'd be in snow up to my mid thigh) and at the top of Mt Field, the snow was starting to be less firmly packed.

As I stood at the top and tried to determine which direction the trail went (most blazes that are normally visible were hidden under snow), two folks from Plymouth, NH out on a day hike came by. They said they'd heard from someone on trail that the snow between Mt Field and Mt Willey was soft and unbroken. They figured they'd try and see how it worked out. They strapped on their snowshoes and headed off down the trail, and I followed behind them. I was glad for their snowshoes. The trail had been broken but it wasn't really packed down from the past 7' inches of snow, so it was soft and deep in a lot of places. Even following behind the snowshoes, it was a challenge in places.

After 1.4 miles of struggle, I made it to the top of Mt Willey (4,285'). I chatted with the Plymouth day hikers for a bit and then they headed back the way we'd come. I took a few pictures and then decided to have a snack before heading back. As soon as I brought out a bag of trail mix, two birds appeared out of nowhere, looking for me to share. I held out trail mix in my hand and they readily flew to my palm to eat my offering. 

They would have done it all day if I'd been willing. I fed them for a while and then packed up and headed back down the Willey Range Trail. I went to the summit of Mt Field again, but headed down Avalon Trail instead, meeting up with the A-Z/Avalon Trail I hiked in on, via a small side trip to Mt Avalon (3,342').

I arrived back at the parking lot by around 1:15pm. I went into the Highland Center for some food and drink, and to change into dry clothes before driving back to Massachusetts.