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glad to hear you've moved past "hiking for checkmarks" and are now onto "hiking for fun" (flame shield up) sounds like a real fun day to be out and about, and oh how I wish I could have joined ya! G On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Matthew Kulas <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Having finished working on the 116 4,000 footers in the Northeast last > August, I am now working on another list, one that I've been eagerly > anticipating for the last several years. It is called simply, the "To-do > List," and it currently occupies one side of a sheet from a yellow legal > pad, though it is threatening to expand to a second page. On it are the > names mountains, notches, trails and locales, from all over the Northeast, > that have struck my fancy over the years, since I first came down with my > peak-bagging affliction. Some of the goals include: Percy Peaks, the Adam's > Slide Trail, Sawtooths 1 & 2, Whitewall Mountain, the Great Slide on Grace, > Klondike Notch, completing the Triangle Trail, the Traveler Loop, Hawthorne > Falls, and a Pemi back-pack. > > * * * > > At 10:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, Jeff S. returned my call, saying that he > was game for a hike. I threw out a couple of suggestions and asked if he > had anything in mind. It turned out that he did. There is a cluster of > 3,000 footers in the southeast end of the Presidential Range, that make up > the southern end of the Montalban Ridge, including Mts. Crawford, Stairs, > Resolution, and Parker. All but Parker are just off the Davis Path, one of > the items on my To-do List, so I was vaguely familiar with them and game. > > I pulled in late to the Davis Path trailhead, at 9:30 AM, on Sunday > morning, Jeff already there and ready to hike. First, we dropped my car > down in Bartlett, at the trailhead for the Mt. Langdon Trail, then we headed > back to the Davis Path. Along the way, Jeff informed me not only were four > 3,000 footers the objective today, but there was also a bushwhack to a NH > 200 Highest peak that he hoped to do, too. That sounded good to me. > > Sunday was sunny and warm, and with the Davis Path's steep initial climb > out of Notchland, we were soon breaking a good sweat. Shortly after gaining > the ridge extending between Crawford and Hope, we reached the unmarked spur > to Crawford's summit, which starts up a steep, open slab of rock. The > summit isn't far off of the Davis Path. Ledgey, it is almost entirely open > and it afford us astounding views of the Rockpile, the Dry River Wilderness, > the Southern Presidentials, Crawford Notch, the Sandwich Range, and the > Pemi--including mighty Carrigain, the Bonds, Guyot, the Twins, Zealand, > Zeacliff, Hale, Willey, Nancy, Bemis, Lowell, and even far-off Lincoln. It > is quite simply one of the more stunning viewpoints in the East. > > Astounding as it was, we eventually had to move on, so we made our way up > the Davis Path on towards Stairs Mountain, stopping along the way to visit > the soon-to-be removed Resolution Shelter and top off our water from the > small trickle that was Sleeper Brook. > > Stairs Mountain, so called be cause it's eastern ledges look like a giant's > stairs, was off on another unmarked spur from the Davis Path. Again, we > feasted on remarkable views from the east lookout, careful not to get too > close to the precipitous edge. On our way back to the trail we used up some > time trying making sure that we stood exactly on the very highest point. > Like I said, peak bagging is an affliction, it makes us do rather odd > things. > > Back on the Path, we backtracked South to Stairs Col and descended the > Stairs Col Trail. Near the base of one particularly big cliff, we began our > bushwhack over to East Stairs, which at 2,967', is one of the 200 highest > peaks in New Hampshire. I like to think that I'm no slouch at bushwhacking, > but Jeff is a master of the art and compass-in-hand, he led the way. > > Once in the saddle between Stairs and East Stairs, we discovered a nice, > small meadow and a ridiculous abundance of moose shit, some of it rather > recent and some already covered moss. The moose had opened some spots up, > others were on the thick side. Somewhere around 4 PM, I think, we reached > the summit, and after some searching, we found the canister. The previous > two visits were by the same fellow from Quebec, the first of which--from > early last fall--said that he was just scoping it out for a winter bid, > which gave us a good chuckle. He returned in January. The summit was > wooded, and though some one had cut out a small clearing, there were > virtually no views. > > Rolls of thunder chased us off the summit and we took a more direct, but > steeper route down back to the Stairs Col Trail, which meant that we had a > bigger climb back up to the Davis Path. Fortunately, while we still heard > thunder, it didn't seem to be approaching us, and by the time we were back > at the Path, it had dissipated. > > Across the Davis Path from the spur to the Resolution Shelter was the > junction with the Mt. Parker Trail, which we headed South on towards Mt. > Resolution. Upon reaching the bare ledges on the western edge of the summit > plateau, we ventured off trail again, for the short, but thick bushwhack > over to the true summit. Again we found the canister and were treated to > marvelous views. By the time we'd returned to the trail, it must have been > around 6 or 7 PM and it was apparent that we would be returning to our > spotted car a little later than we'd expected. Still, Jeff guessed that > we'd finish without having to use our headlamps. > > Onward to Mt. Parker! The Mt. Parker trail south of Resolution sees very > little use and has a delightfully soft and unscarred treadway. We reached > the summit of Mt. Parker just before sunset, and as with all the other > summits but East Sleeper, were treated with extraordinary sights. Not only > could we see peaks as far of as Lincoln, Liberty, & Flume, but we had an > outstanding perspective of the Carter Range and the Baldplates, both of > which basked in alpenglow. It was a special gift to be there at that > moment. > > Following the steep descent off the south-side of Parker, we eventually > reached the Mt. Langdon Trail and began the final descent back to the car in > the quickly fading light. By the time we reached the old logging road > section, it was all but pitch black, still the lights remained in our pack. > At 9:30 PM, we finally reached my car, parked at the small trailhead, > bringing to a close another outstanding day in the mountains. And, Jeff was > right, we finished before needing headlamps. > > --Matt K. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SkiVt-L is > brought to you by the University of Vermont. > > To unsubscribe, visit http://list.uvm.edu/archives/skivt-l.html > -- "I'm a simple man, Hobbes." "You?? Yesterday you wanted a nuclear powered car that could turn into a jet with laser-guided heat-seeking missiles!" "I'm a simple man with complex tastes." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SkiVt-L is brought to you by the University of Vermont. To unsubscribe, visit http://list.uvm.edu/archives/skivt-l.html