Below there are lots of pictures and quite a lot of text. The pictures don't give any credit to the steepness of terrain and pain in knees, hips and back from walking on it with the backpack. You tread along thinking why the heck are you doing this to yourself, and knowing that for sure you'll do that again, and soon. The pictures also don't give credit to the sweeping expanse of space from the mountaintop, with the mountain range from the horizon to horizon, with the wind in your face and acute feeling of being alive in that very moment. Especially after that terrain. In its turn, the text doesn't give credit to the story behind the journey. But I tried.
The White Mountains National Park, New Hampshire
It's my first ever backpacking trip. I found the trail via "the hardest dayhikes in US" and someone's list of "the top 20 overnight backpacking trips in US". Perfect trip for the first ever backpacking experience. I wasn't expecting much from the scenery, considering "it's the East Coast", I was looking forward to good work-out "a-la Algonquin peak". I figured I'll do the thing in four days, Monday to Thursday: trailhead to Lincoln Springs; then to Mt. Garfield; then to Mt. Guyot; and finally back to the trailhead, overall 31 miles with 9000 ft elevation gain.
Monday morning I drove 5 hours to Lincoln Woods trailhead, unloaded the pack from the car (heeeeeeaaaavy) and started on the trail
In the beginning the trail is flat, very flat, passing near the river and some small springs. Meanwhile I was struggling with the pack's belt, mosquitoes, compressed back and depressing woods
The sign for the Osseo trail. My goal is Liberty Spring trailhead, the Liberty Spring camp is nearby
And here it begins... it began so badly, that I wasn't thinking much about photography. Step after step, climbing and climbing and climbing. Here are the stairs at some moment
It took me more than 5 gruelling hours to cover those 5 miles of the trail. Sweaty, with aching back and legs, and thinking what the hell am I doing here, I reached the first summit of Mt. Flume. Finally. It didn't do any good to me. I started to think to myself, that I will get to the first camp, spend the night, and go back. After all, I didn't come to do the Loop, I came to try backpacking. So I've tried. It's not like quitting. I pressed on. Down. And then up again. And up. And up to Mt. Liberty.
Somewhere around the summit I met John-with-the-dog, the music professor from Massachusetts. He took the picture of me on the summit of Mt. Liberty against the Ridge of Mt. Lafayette and actually showed all the mountains on the loop (heck, it's a long way ) and even looming Mt. Washington. (I don't have the pictures, I still was pretty down)
The dog, John and me headed to the Liberty Spring camp. The thing is, due to regulations and terrain it's virtually impossible to find a camping spot for the tent, so unless you have a hammock (I don't) it makes sense to use the camping places, where there are wooden platforms to pitch up the tent, bear boxes and the spring to replenish water. Whatever, wherever, I just want to get rid of the pack and stretch my legs. Campvibes
The cooking area is the main hub for socializing. There were two girls I earlier saw on the parking lot, a couple who were also doing the loop, John-with-the-dog who was going to summit Mt. Garfield and two through hikers - dudes, who are doing the whole Appalachian trail. So the word goes that today's ascent was very difficult for everyone and took more or less the same 5-6 hrs, that the weather forecast for tomorrow says "heavy rain with possible thunderstorms", and the ridge is above the tree line and you don't really want to be caught out there in a thunderstorm. The discussion goes on to gear, rumours of which leg of the loop is the hardest, what's for supper, green cards, hiking with dogs and back to the weather report. Two hours after my arrival at the camp I stretched out in my sleeping bag. I brought a book to read. I closed my eyes and with the whole body aching switched off immediately with the sound of water from the spring just by the tent.I will decide what to do tomorrow . After all, I don't care about doing the loop, I just want to try backpacking.
I woke up 5:10 am, it started raining 5:15ish am.
By the time I finished eating (buckwheat and tuna) the drizzle turned into the deluge. The girls decided to return back ("we'll drive to Adirondacks"), John turned back to hike elsewhere, the through hiker, never mind being soaked wet, pressed on, hoping to pass the thunderous ridge before afternoon thunderstorms. I decided to stay put for the day and figure out what to do the next day. The couple (Julia and Andy) decided to do the same. We looked at the map and talked about reaching to Guyot in one day instead of breaking the camp at Garfield, essentially doing the whole trek in 3 days instead of 4. All those points on the map were so abstract but already so important. The day was spent in the tent, and my ideas of what to do changed according to the amount of water accumulating on the bottom of the tent, on how damp the sleeping bag felt and how wet my (cotton!) hiking pants were. I finished 3/4 of the boring book in a day (2nd volume of Asimov's Foundation is not nearly as good as the 1st). And then the rain stopped ...
... and the forest got wrapped in magic mist and fog
I will decide everything tomorrow morning, again... After all, I've tried backpacking, but this Loop suddenly became personal, so it's a personal challenge. Of course, if I am too tired, I'll go down to the valley from Garfield... I already knew, I won't, even though I didn't have enough food for the extra possible day.
I was up at 5 am, and me, Julia and Andy were on the trail by 6:45am. Climbing up. Up. Up. Into the clouds and on the open ridge with the wind trying to kick you off it. Andy is forcing his way against the wind against the wall of mist.
The path in nowhere
The mist is flying right ahead with the sickening speed and the view comes and goes away again behind the veil. We sat behind the big rocks and nibbled on some chocolates, looking around and on the map.
Clouds sleeping on the mountain slopes
The trail goes on to the summit of Mt. Lafayette...
... finally, the windy summit of Mt. Lafayette, 5,249 ft (1,600 m)
Аfter this it's all down for some time...
...we were there.
And then through the forest trails...
... up again to summit Mt. Garfield. The 1st camp is where we started the day, the 2nd, where we hope to reach by the end of day, and Mt. Garfield, from where the picture is taken is roughly half-way in between.
If it wasn't for the yesterday rain, we would've camped somewhere nearby Garfield. After tuna/chocolate/nuts/bathroom break we start walking again. First getting down. For some time we are going down the waterfall. Julia and Andy descending the trail.
And then at some point we died. The Galehead hut (another mark of the journey) was looming somewhere around the corner, but the corner was moving away somehow. The terrain was "flattish" - pointlessly going up and down, killing knees and burning hips. "Can we at least ask how much it is to stay at the hut?" - there was some logic in Julia's proposition, as there were no legal places to break camp in the vicinity. We asked, got some energy from it. $110 per person. Seriously? Nah, we going to climb Mt. Twin - 1500 ft elevation over 0.8 miles. Essentially near vertical staircase up the mountain. No, I don't have pictures of the ascent. But at some moment the sunset caught up with us, painting everything in mystic golden-pink light. On the very left is the pointy summit of Mt. Garfield.
After 1 h 2 min of climbing we got to the top.
The ascent on Mt. Twin is a staple in all the reports since after that "you are almost done", but for another "13-14 flattish miles" back to the trailhead. We just want to get to the Guyot camp. Which is another 3 miles away. Not very flat miles away. Gruelling descent, then hopping the stones, then summiting another mountain. It's getting dark. Summit of Mt. Guyot
At this moment Julia was dead, Andy, who did this part two weeks ago, kept telling "we are almost there", I got somehow the second breath (or the fifth, more likely) and started hopping the stones with the renewed energy. It was magic after all - windy, the light was fading, the mountains around became shady black masses along the pinky-golden-blue sky. We got into the camp somewhere after 9pm with headlights. The camp was packed. Very packed. Luckily there was some space in the shelter, so we threw the sleeping bags in, and just crawled into them trying not to wake up anyone. To be awakened some 8-9 hours later to the ruckus of the waking up camp and people not bothering a damn to not wake us up. We started late, around 10am, after everyone has finally left. The knees are still hurting, the breakfast feels pretty bland.
After some going up and going down we get to another highlight of the trek - the Bondcliff.
The Bondcliff ridge is again exposed and opened to all winds
All the company on our last summit.
After that the trail is really easy, especially compared to what we did. First we go with lots of talking, then with lots of mosquitoes and the only conversation is about when we get back. After horribly boring last 4.4 miles on the flat road, we reached back to cars with lead legs and being extremely happy.
The White Mountains National Park, New Hampshire
It's my first ever backpacking trip. I found the trail via "the hardest dayhikes in US" and someone's list of "the top 20 overnight backpacking trips in US". Perfect trip for the first ever backpacking experience. I wasn't expecting much from the scenery, considering "it's the East Coast", I was looking forward to good work-out "a-la Algonquin peak". I figured I'll do the thing in four days, Monday to Thursday: trailhead to Lincoln Springs; then to Mt. Garfield; then to Mt. Guyot; and finally back to the trailhead, overall 31 miles with 9000 ft elevation gain.
Monday morning I drove 5 hours to Lincoln Woods trailhead, unloaded the pack from the car (heeeeeeaaaavy) and started on the trail
In the beginning the trail is flat, very flat, passing near the river and some small springs. Meanwhile I was struggling with the pack's belt, mosquitoes, compressed back and depressing woods
The sign for the Osseo trail. My goal is Liberty Spring trailhead, the Liberty Spring camp is nearby
And here it begins... it began so badly, that I wasn't thinking much about photography. Step after step, climbing and climbing and climbing. Here are the stairs at some moment
It took me more than 5 gruelling hours to cover those 5 miles of the trail. Sweaty, with aching back and legs, and thinking what the hell am I doing here, I reached the first summit of Mt. Flume. Finally. It didn't do any good to me. I started to think to myself, that I will get to the first camp, spend the night, and go back. After all, I didn't come to do the Loop, I came to try backpacking. So I've tried. It's not like quitting. I pressed on. Down. And then up again. And up. And up to Mt. Liberty.
Somewhere around the summit I met John-with-the-dog, the music professor from Massachusetts. He took the picture of me on the summit of Mt. Liberty against the Ridge of Mt. Lafayette and actually showed all the mountains on the loop (heck, it's a long way ) and even looming Mt. Washington. (I don't have the pictures, I still was pretty down)
The dog, John and me headed to the Liberty Spring camp. The thing is, due to regulations and terrain it's virtually impossible to find a camping spot for the tent, so unless you have a hammock (I don't) it makes sense to use the camping places, where there are wooden platforms to pitch up the tent, bear boxes and the spring to replenish water. Whatever, wherever, I just want to get rid of the pack and stretch my legs. Campvibes
The cooking area is the main hub for socializing. There were two girls I earlier saw on the parking lot, a couple who were also doing the loop, John-with-the-dog who was going to summit Mt. Garfield and two through hikers - dudes, who are doing the whole Appalachian trail. So the word goes that today's ascent was very difficult for everyone and took more or less the same 5-6 hrs, that the weather forecast for tomorrow says "heavy rain with possible thunderstorms", and the ridge is above the tree line and you don't really want to be caught out there in a thunderstorm. The discussion goes on to gear, rumours of which leg of the loop is the hardest, what's for supper, green cards, hiking with dogs and back to the weather report. Two hours after my arrival at the camp I stretched out in my sleeping bag. I brought a book to read. I closed my eyes and with the whole body aching switched off immediately with the sound of water from the spring just by the tent.I will decide what to do tomorrow . After all, I don't care about doing the loop, I just want to try backpacking.
I woke up 5:10 am, it started raining 5:15ish am.
By the time I finished eating (buckwheat and tuna) the drizzle turned into the deluge. The girls decided to return back ("we'll drive to Adirondacks"), John turned back to hike elsewhere, the through hiker, never mind being soaked wet, pressed on, hoping to pass the thunderous ridge before afternoon thunderstorms. I decided to stay put for the day and figure out what to do the next day. The couple (Julia and Andy) decided to do the same. We looked at the map and talked about reaching to Guyot in one day instead of breaking the camp at Garfield, essentially doing the whole trek in 3 days instead of 4. All those points on the map were so abstract but already so important. The day was spent in the tent, and my ideas of what to do changed according to the amount of water accumulating on the bottom of the tent, on how damp the sleeping bag felt and how wet my (cotton!) hiking pants were. I finished 3/4 of the boring book in a day (2nd volume of Asimov's Foundation is not nearly as good as the 1st). And then the rain stopped ...
... and the forest got wrapped in magic mist and fog
I will decide everything tomorrow morning, again... After all, I've tried backpacking, but this Loop suddenly became personal, so it's a personal challenge. Of course, if I am too tired, I'll go down to the valley from Garfield... I already knew, I won't, even though I didn't have enough food for the extra possible day.
I was up at 5 am, and me, Julia and Andy were on the trail by 6:45am. Climbing up. Up. Up. Into the clouds and on the open ridge with the wind trying to kick you off it. Andy is forcing his way against the wind against the wall of mist.
The path in nowhere
The mist is flying right ahead with the sickening speed and the view comes and goes away again behind the veil. We sat behind the big rocks and nibbled on some chocolates, looking around and on the map.
Clouds sleeping on the mountain slopes
The trail goes on to the summit of Mt. Lafayette...
... finally, the windy summit of Mt. Lafayette, 5,249 ft (1,600 m)
Аfter this it's all down for some time...
...we were there.
And then through the forest trails...
... up again to summit Mt. Garfield. The 1st camp is where we started the day, the 2nd, where we hope to reach by the end of day, and Mt. Garfield, from where the picture is taken is roughly half-way in between.
If it wasn't for the yesterday rain, we would've camped somewhere nearby Garfield. After tuna/chocolate/nuts/bathroom break we start walking again. First getting down. For some time we are going down the waterfall. Julia and Andy descending the trail.
And then at some point we died. The Galehead hut (another mark of the journey) was looming somewhere around the corner, but the corner was moving away somehow. The terrain was "flattish" - pointlessly going up and down, killing knees and burning hips. "Can we at least ask how much it is to stay at the hut?" - there was some logic in Julia's proposition, as there were no legal places to break camp in the vicinity. We asked, got some energy from it. $110 per person. Seriously? Nah, we going to climb Mt. Twin - 1500 ft elevation over 0.8 miles. Essentially near vertical staircase up the mountain. No, I don't have pictures of the ascent. But at some moment the sunset caught up with us, painting everything in mystic golden-pink light. On the very left is the pointy summit of Mt. Garfield.
After 1 h 2 min of climbing we got to the top.
The ascent on Mt. Twin is a staple in all the reports since after that "you are almost done", but for another "13-14 flattish miles" back to the trailhead. We just want to get to the Guyot camp. Which is another 3 miles away. Not very flat miles away. Gruelling descent, then hopping the stones, then summiting another mountain. It's getting dark. Summit of Mt. Guyot
At this moment Julia was dead, Andy, who did this part two weeks ago, kept telling "we are almost there", I got somehow the second breath (or the fifth, more likely) and started hopping the stones with the renewed energy. It was magic after all - windy, the light was fading, the mountains around became shady black masses along the pinky-golden-blue sky. We got into the camp somewhere after 9pm with headlights. The camp was packed. Very packed. Luckily there was some space in the shelter, so we threw the sleeping bags in, and just crawled into them trying not to wake up anyone. To be awakened some 8-9 hours later to the ruckus of the waking up camp and people not bothering a damn to not wake us up. We started late, around 10am, after everyone has finally left. The knees are still hurting, the breakfast feels pretty bland.
After some going up and going down we get to another highlight of the trek - the Bondcliff.
The Bondcliff ridge is again exposed and opened to all winds
All the company on our last summit.
After that the trail is really easy, especially compared to what we did. First we go with lots of talking, then with lots of mosquitoes and the only conversation is about when we get back. After horribly boring last 4.4 miles on the flat road, we reached back to cars with lead legs and being extremely happy.
UNTIL THE NEXT ADVENTURE
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