July 29, 2012
TECHNICAL ROCK SCRAMBLE TO THE SUMMIT
What I learned so far……
DIGITAL NOMADS: People who travel and maintain a blog! I
guess that may be us. Maybe I’ll snag
“digitalnomads.blogspot.com” for my next adventure blog! Wonder if anyone else has that address yet??
ROCK SCRAMBLE: We have personally experienced this ...just
didn’t know what it was called! These
are in most hikes; sometimes at the start, in the middle and at the top.
ROCK SLABBING: A slab of rock, staring you in the face, with
no visible signs of footholds that you have to figure out how to get up or
around….which brings me to
TECHNICAL: Now this term has new meaning for us. Many of the hikes in Vermont are “technical”
which to me means that as you are scrambling up the rocks, you are making
technical (or tactical) decisions of where to place your feet next! I’m sure there is another meaning to this, but
that is what it means to me…….TECHNICAL ROCK SCRAMBLES UP ROCK SLABS! That’s what it’s all about.
Speaking of…………we decided to
take the summit trail from the summit parking lot up to the observation tower
and over to the summit which is crowded with cell towers!
However, before heading up….we
headed over to Stella’s for lunch.
Missed breakfast by 30 minutes so must get started sooner because their
breakfast menu looks fantastic! Now this
little restaurant seats about 30-40 patrons, tops, and it was full. Their food is great, as attested to in previous
entries. Their salads ingredients come
from their garden and it’s all organic; soups are wonderful and their
sandwiches are very good. I’ve been
getting the falafel with lettuce, tomato and cucumber sauce in a flatbread
wrap. Lots of opportunities for
vegetarian meals and of course hamburgers, etc. for the carnivore in the
family!
After fortifying with food, we
headed back to the campground to pick up Billy who is now our resident
“mountain goat” so his name “Billy of the Hills” or “Hill Billy” is aptly
applied.
We drove to the summit to begin
our hike. There are several trails that
start at the bottom and climb to the summit; Brownsville, Weathersfield,
Windsor and Futures.
We climbed 1 mile up the
Futures to Lookout Rock but didn’t attempt a summit climb that day because it
was another 2+ miles up. So for our
first serious hike to the summit we started higher up in the summit parking
lot.
From here it is .7 mile to the
summit. As we started our ascent the
trail was deceivingly easy. We’d been on
this part before when heading off to the Hang Gliding Summit and another hike
to Brownsville Rock on July 3rd, so we knew what was coming up.
LET ME LEAD .... I KNOW THE WAY!
We reached a fork in the road and decided to take it ….. we headed up Slot Trail which, as you can imagine, goes through a slot in the mountain with high walls and stone steps, of a sort. I thought Slot Trail was the easier trail but later read that it was more challenging than the Slab Trail.
This is where the “technical rock scramble over slabs” technique came in handy. Billy didn’t have any problems scrambling up the rocks, except on one slab ……it took him three tries to get his footing up the rock. I could only imagine how many tries it would take us … if we made it at all. Then we noticed a path around a tree that by using the exposed roots we could step up and around the rock. That must be the “technical” part. Eventually we reached the same point as Billy who had been looking down on us!
COMING THROUGH THE SLOT
CHECKING THE TRAIL MAP .... WHICH WAY TO GO? COMING THROUGH THE SLOT!
BILLY ALWAYS BEATS US TO THE TOP!
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT'S NICE AND FLAT....SHORT TIMES!
By this time the 80% humidity
mingling with my over-heated body was creating a situation where my glasses kept
fogging up. I had my State Park hat on
with the brim and didn’t think about that causing the hot moisture to
accumulate on my glasses! Now the
insects droned in like heat-seeking missiles circling my sweaty head. I was fighting the elements on all
fronts.
We kept on going until we saw
another trail sign pointing to the summit in one direction and Castle Rock in
the other. Opted for the summit and
headed up, yet another rock scramble.
Finally we reached the
observation tower. This tower stands
24.5’ high. Now, heights are not my
friend; fire towers, lighthouses, etc. are no longer in or around my comfort
zone….so I sent Dave up to have a look.
He said it was a beautiful
vista looking down on the valley and I took his word for it. On a clear day it is a 360 degree panorama
view of the Green Mountains, Berkshires, Taconics and maybe NH White
Mountains. Today was not one of those days.
Once he came down, I gave him
Billy, and headed up the stairs. I
managed to snap off a picture of the valley before gripping the railing, with
visions of being flung off the side, and made my way down.
THE TOWER IN THE DISTANCEFRONT IS ACTUALLY IN THE SUMMIT PARKING LOT
From here we took a trail up to
the summit which was another rock scramble of a technical nature! The summit has two huge towers on it full of
dishes. TVs and radio stations as well
as cell phone carriers have their equipment up here and at the lower tower in
the summit parking lot. Workers who
come here to these towers have to climb up just like us, with their
equipment. Oh joy!
A young couple in their mid to
late 20’s arrived with their dog. They
had come up the Weathersfield Trail, bottom to top, and I asked how it
was. The “very fit” guy said it was his
first time on the trail and he was surprised how steep and technical it
was! I added, probably some rock
scrambles too, and he said, Oh Yeah!
(See, I’m getting to know the talk!)
AT THE SUMMIT....A MAN AND HIS DOG!
We then headed back down to the
parking lot via the slab trail along slabbing rocks! Walking down slabs isn’t any easier than climbing up, especially
when it’s muddy and wet. Actually one
doesn’t “walk” down these slabs. I finally gave up trying to find an easier way
down some of the rocks and simply sat down and slid. It was a much, much better way to go!
It was a great hike that we
will definitely repeat. All in all it
was not that difficult, just had to
figure out where you were going to place your feet at times. The elevation gain wasn’t much and I’m either
getting used to it or getting in better shape because I was able to swear and climb at the same time without losing my breath!
However, we decided that we no
longer had anything to prove (at our age) and that a bottom to summit hike (and
back down) may not be in our immediate future.
However, there are lots of wonderful places to hike to on the trails
around this mountain and we will plan on doing those. Between Gerry’s Falls, Cascade Falls and the
quarries, we
will probably cover much of
this mountain before we leave, we’ll just do it in spurts rather than all at
once!
On our way back down in the car
we stopped at the picnic area to walk to the view and to let our brakes cool
off a bit.
When we first got here, cars
coming down the mountain had an awful smell.
At first I thought Vermont, being so progressively ‘green’, had
discovered some fuel using compost and the cars were burning that!
What I smelled was the parfum
de burning brakes! Cars coming down off
the mountain with smoke pouring out of their wheels. They usually stop in front of the Ranger’s
Hut to let the brakes cool off. One guy
grabbed a hose to hose down his brakes.
I’m not sure that’s such a good thing for brakes! Anyway, it’s a common smell. You have to come off the mountain in the
lowest possible gear and try not to ride the brakes.
LOOKING DOWN ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER AND CORNISH COVERED BRIDGE
LOOKING OFF ACROSS TO NEW HAMPSHIRE
This picnic area is absolutely beautiful
and looks down onto the Connecticut River and the Cornish Covered Bridge. Between the picnic tables and grills and
covered pavilion with the view, one can make a whole day of recreation on this
mountain.
Made it back to the MH and just
settled in when the skies opened up and the rain came down. Glad we weren’t still climbing down the
slabs!
MARK
GETS A NEW BIKE
HE'S KEEPING THIS ONE IN THE BEDROOM!
Mark is an avid mountain biker
and lost his bike this summer. He called
the bike shop and they put together another Kahuna giving him a little discount
due to his misfortune. He and Lucy went
over to pick it up on their day off and he tried it out on some of his favorite
biking trails in the area.
Gus loves to
run after Mark in the trails and found himself plenty of muddy water to run
through! It’s a happy day!
SCENES
AROUND THE CAMPGROUND
TYPICAL SCENE - BIKERS GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN .... RAIN OR SHINE!
Two cyclers came in from New York and stayed at the Ascutney
Ski Resort. They rode their bikes over
to the park, rode around the park, up the mountain twice and then met up with
another guy who was also training on the mountain. They agreed to meet Sunday, then rode off
down and around the mountain back to the hotel.
Next day they are once again, at the top of the mountain – probably their
second trip up. They are training for
the Mt Washington race. Guys are
probably in their 40’s with the third guy in his late 50’s….maybe older. Gotta hand it to these cyclers. They are dedicated!
TENT CITY FOR THE WEEKEND
The Harpoon Brewery BBQ competition was this weekend and the campground was full. Despite the rain starting on Thursday and coming off and on all weekend, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was surprised how quiet the campground was considering it was a party weekend.
PROMISES OF THINGS TO COME
Walked
down to the Ranger’s Hut the other night and found mushrooms growing
alongside the road. Picked one and
brought it down to find out what kind it was.
Mark & Lucy need to look it up…..however I saw this as a very good
sign of more mushrooms to come. It’s
been raining on and off for the past several days so hopefully we’ll be doing
some mushroom hikes in the near future.
Stay Tuned!
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