First Hike of the Year

This past Saturday my Mom and I went for a hike on the south end of the Wapack Trail. The Wapack Trail is one of the oldest interstate hiking trails in the country. It runs from Mt Watatic in MA to North Pack Monadnock in NH through rolling hills for 21 miles.
 We climbed up Mt Watatic, and sort of had views. There were a lot of low clouds. We then continued heading north, along logging roads and through some recently logged areas. We crossed the MA/NH border at a stone wall, then walked along a beaver pond for a while. The trail then climbs up the next mountain, which we did up to the first view point. There was a great view of the pond and hills we had just walked. We snacked, then headed back. When we got to Mt Watatic again, the clouds had lifted a bit and there was a better view. We ate lunch then went back to the car.

The view from Mt Watatic. You can see Boston from here.

The MA/NH border runs along the stone wall, through the beaver pond here.

Everything is very green this time of year.

A different view.

Rainbow Braid posted an entry on her blog about Pivot Dude and myself, if you want to read someone else's view on the end of the hike.

http://www.loveandlegwork.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-wiff-of-hiker-funk-makes-medicine-go.html

In other exciting news, my 2000-miler patch and certificate arrived from the ATC yesterday.

Some Pictures

Buzzard Rocks



Roan Highlands



We're Done!



Springer Mountain

Day 142, 11-7

--> Springer Mountain, 21.0 miles

Sleeping on the picnic table bench may not have been the best idea. It was pretty narrow. I did, however, choose the side of the table that stayed dry under the tarp in the rain. After people had gotten up we made pancakes, or rather we tried and Pancake and Rooster made them. It had stopped raining but was pretty foggy when I left. Rainbow Braid was kind enough to slackpack us to Big Stamp Gap, so it was a fast hike. I stopped at the Hawk Mountain Shelter for lunch and a short break. There was a guy there drying out his gear. It was an easy seven miles to the road from there. I met Pivot Dude and Rainbow Braid there, and we reloaded our packs and all headed up the last mile together. The sun was out and it had turned into a beautiful day. At the top we signed the register and took lots of pictures. We each had a bottle of champagne to celebrate. It was then a quick return down to the car at the road, where Rainbow Braid gave us a ride to her apartment for the night. It is weird to be done. So much time spent walking and living in the woods. It seems like yesterday I was in Maine, slogging through the 100-mile wilderness.

Day 141, 11-6

--> Woody Gap, 10.7 miles

We took our time getting ready because it was very foggy out. The climb up Blood Mountain was shorter and easier than I thought it would be. It was still foggy at the top, so no views. There was a long slow descent. At Woody Gap Fresh Grounds was set up and cooking food for hikers. I had been told before that there was food there, so I nearly ran there. Upon my arrival, Rooster and Pancake started making me some eggs, and shortly later Bison, Chickadee, and Rainbow Braid arrived. Pivot Dude got here, and they started cooking more food. We decided to stay and spend the afternoon and night here, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with other hikers. Fresh Grounds and Chickadee made a resupply run and brought back a cake, beer, and wine. We played ninja, and did a tequila shot every few rounds. I even managed to win a few rounds. Rainbow Braid made an Indian dish for dinner, which was really good. We stayed up very late talking, then eventually went to sleep.