JMT Training, Peak 2 of 21: North Percy Peak (52WAV and T25).

All I can say about North Percy is...wow.  This is now, by far, my favorite peak in New Hampshire when it comes to views.

North Percy Peak via Percy Peaks Trail, Percy Loop Trail, and a roadwalk.  Six mile loop hike with about 2150 feet of elevation gain.

Sage and I used our new ultralight Gossamer Gear backpacks today.  Alex's backpack had not yet arrived, so she brought her old, trustworthy (but not ultralight) Osprey 25 on this hike.  Sage carried her new ultralight sleeping bag, a change of clothes, water, and one day's worth of food in her new backpack.  Her pack weighed less than Alex's...and Alex carried only a change of clothes, water, and half a day's worth of food.  My backpack held my new ultralight bear canister, 6 pounds of food, our new ultralight three-person tent, two sleeping pads, a change of clothes, and two liters of water.  All of that weighed far less than what I carried on the Camino last year.  Of course, I'll be schlepping a lot more food and a bit more gear when we actually do the JMT, but still...gotta love going ultralight!  I'll do a full report on each item we use on the JMT after we return in September.

We arrived at the trailhead to find a friendly fellow named Creston gearing up.  Creston's a veteran NH hiker; we enjoyed speaking with him about various trails and peaks, and we enjoyed meeting his dog, Daisy.  The girls and I "played leapfrog" with Creston and Daisy throughout our hike, and we shared some summit time with them on the peak.  It was a pleasure meeting them both.

At the trailhead...

Heading into and through the woods (the grades were usually moderate)...

Love the tree on this boulder!

We hit the base of a wet ledgy area at about 1.2 miles...

The trail went steeply up, to the right of the wet ledgy area...

...then it crossed a few slanted, dry ledges...

...before heading back into the woods.  The path flattened out a bit for the last couple tenths of a mile before the intersection with Percy Loop Trail.

From here, it was a steep half mile up to the peak of North Percy.

Breaking out above treeline was glorious...the weather was perfect and the ledges were easy to climb...and oh my goodness, the views views views views views!

These ledges are what qualify this hike for the T25 list...
this trek is fine in good weather, but I'd hesitate to try it during rain or in the winter)

We'd take a break from ascending the ledges every few minutes to turn around and look at THIS --

We reached the summit (congrats on another 52WAV peak, Sage!)...

then we sat, ate, and enjoyed the incredible morning.

Eventually, we began heading back down.  The girls and I loved descended the ledges, since the views were simply fantastic.

After reaching the intersection, we decided to take the Percy Loop Trail and then roadwalk back to our car.  Percy Loop Trail was fairly easy to descend...it wasn't as steep as Percy Peaks Trail and the footing was relatively free of rocks and roots.

We made it to the road...

...and walked the mile or so back to the car.

What a wonderful morning!  Sage and I love our new packs!

Our first week of training is complete.  Next week, we'll kick it up a notch by hiking three times a week (two 52WAV hikes and one TW72 hike).  Alex will have her new pack, and each of us will carry a bit more weight.  Within two weeks, each of us will be carrying everything we'll carry on the JMT.

I must say, though...I don't know what the JMT has to offer that NH doesn't...today's scenery was so breathtakingly beautiful that I can't imagine a prettier view on earth.

Tuesday Trip Report: Magalloway Mountain. June 7, 2013

Today's trip report will be a short one -- be sure to come back first thing tomorrow morning, June 12, for my review of Dan Szczesny's inspirational memoir, The Adventures of Buffalo and Tough Cookie.

*****

Coot Trail, Bobcat Trail.  1.6 mile loop with 800 feet of elevation gain.

The forecast called for constant rain, so a Terrifying 25 trail was out of the question.  Instead, the girls and I opted to bop up Magalloway Mountain, a short and easy 52WAV peak. 

The girls and I piled into the car and headed north.  And north.  And north some more.  It took us three and a half hours to get to Magalloway Road, which is north of Pittsburgh, NH and just south of the Canadian border.  The girls carschooled until they ran out of assignments, then listened to Freakonomics podcasts until we finally arrived at the trailhead.

Parking lot and trailhead for Coot Trail...

 

 It may have been raining all day down in the Whites, but the sun prevailed up in North Country.  Though the clouds were thick and low, not one drop of water fell during our hike.

 

The Coot Trail was muddy and steep, but well maintained.  Our 0.8 mile ascent was straightforward and quick.

 

 

I hadn't told the girls about the fire tower on the summit; they were thrilled to see it when we reached the clearing.

Up we went...

Views all around...

 

 

 

The descent was tricky -- I had forgotten a map and the trails were not signed at the top.  I wanted to take Bobcat Trail down...Coot and Bobcat make a loop...but I couldn't immediately figure out which way to go.  There are a few herd paths descending from the summit, so Bobcat Trail is not obvious.  Finally, with the help of a compass, I figured it out.  Start out on Coot Trail, then take a wide path that branches to the left during the descent (not far from the summit).

 

At the end of Bobcat Trail, about 50 feet from the parking area....

 

 

Though I kvetched online about having to drive seven hours roundtrip for a 45 minute hike, I did enjoy seeing the Great North Woods and I look forward to returning to this part of New Hampshire.  I'm fortunate to live in such a beautiful state.

 

*****

 

Coming soon...as in, first thing tomorrow morning...my review of Dan Szczesny's new book, The Adventures of Buffalo and Tough Cookie.  Also coming soon...a Paravival Paracord Bracelet giveaway!



Gear Review & Trip Report: Flume Slide Trail (T25) With ParaVival's Paracord Survival Bracelet.

Jennifer Miller of the unique and inspiring blog UNCOMMON CHILDHOOD recently interviewed Alex and Sage about their Camino experiences.  The girls loved answering Jennifer's questions; you can read the interview here.

*****

 

Flume Slide Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Liberty Springs Trail.  Around 8.5 miles with about 2800 feet of elevation gain.

What a crazy week!  A few days ago, New Hampshire experienced a (very!) late spring snowstorm that blanketed the higher summits with six+ inches of snow.  The day of our Flume Slide hike, however, we had extreme heat and an air quality advisory.  That's mountain weather for you...

Hugh joined us on this one, as did our friend Mike C.  Alex and I first met Mike outside Lakes of the Clouds Hut in March 2012, the day Alex and I bagged Washington and Monroe for our winter 4Ks.  Mike's a kind fellow and excellent company; we were happy to share this Terrifying 25 trail with him.


Got my Paracord Survival Bracelet.

Before we left the parking lot, I fastened my Paracord Survival Bracelet.  I don't usually don jewelery, but I've heard a lot about this particular piece of gear and I wanted to see if it could be of use on the slide.







The Paracord Survival Bracelet

We set off down Franconia Bike Path...

Alex enjoyed chatting up Mike...

Mike knew of a bushwhack we could use that would allow us to bypass the paved path.  He pointed the way into the woods...

We were slightly off with the entrance point, but we got to the main 'whack within a few minutes of tromping.

The 'whack led us to the lower portion of Liberty Springs Trail, just a tenth of a mile or so beneath the intersection with Flume Slide Trail.

 

 

The Flume Slide Trail starts flat, then climbs moderately to the base of the slide.

 

 

There are a few stream crossings here and there (all were rock-hoppable)...

 

 

 

Love this picture of Sage!

 

Getting a little steeper and rougher...

 

 

 

The fun began with this slab.  Alex walked right up the boulders.  Sage followed suit.  I had to climb cautiously.

 

 

More wet ledges...

 

 I'd been keeping an eye out for ways to test my new bracelet.  We weren't going to be hunting, fishing, hanging a tarp, or anything like that, but I thought I might be able to rig the paracord in such a way as to be of use on the more difficult ledges.

 

Soon after we began climbing the slide, I saw a ledge with a tree at the top.  Perfect, I thought, for testing ParaVival's Paracord Survival Bracelet.  I climbed the ledge, took off my bracelet, and unraveled the 550 parachute cord.

 

The bracelet was easy to unravel.  All one has to do is pull down on that loop just under the buckle.  The others waited while I took a minute to unweave the two cords. 

 

 

 

Once the cords were unraveled, I knotted them together, end-to-end (ParaVival provides a tutorial on making knots).  I then tried to toss the cord down to the Mike, Hugh, and the girls...but that didn't work out.

 

 

One can see that the cord is far too short for my chosen ledge.  That is not the fault of ParaVival, however...they clearly state on their website that they provide 8-16 feet of cord.  I simply hadn't been thinking.  I apologized to the others for being a goober and we continued on our way.  I stuffed the unraveled cord into a front pocket...and I'm glad I did, because that cord came in handy a mere ten minutes later.

 

As we climbed, we began to get some views...

 

 

 

Up up up...



 

 

More slabs to scamper....

 

 

 

I followed the girls up that last stretch and got stuck near the top.  Way up high, just out of clear sight in the above pictures, is a ledge with few footholds.  I've no idea how Alex and Sage managed to make climbing that thing look easy, but I ended up suspended without much to step or hold onto.  Just out of my reach, a solid-looking tree trunk beckoned...if I could grab onto it, then I'd be able to haul myself the rest of the way without fear of falling.

 

This is when the bracelet came in handy.  While stuck on that troublesome section, I carefully reached into my front pocket with my right hand (while clinging to granite with my left), grabbed the unraveled paracord, and flung one end around the nearby trunk.  That end went around the tree and swung back toward me.  I then held both ends of the cord and hauled myself up.  The tree held and I was genuinely happy I'd brought the bracelet with me. 

 

A few more slabs...

 

 

Sage slowed down near the top of the slide.  The heat was getting to her.  Alex and I went ahead, but we kept her in our sights.  Here, we look down a steep stretch toward Sage, Hugh, and Mike (who were also feeling the heat).

 

 

Not long after I took the above picture, Alex reached the top.  I rounded a bend and there she was, happy as a climbing clam.  

 

 

A few short minutes later, Sage joined us.

 

 

 Next came Hugh and Mike.

 

 

 Family shot...

 

 

 We trekked the remaining tenth of a mile to the summit....and enjoyed the spectacular views.

 

 

 

Heading up to Mt. Flume's summit. Mt. Liberty is in the background.

 

 

Summit!

 

 

Views from the top of Mt. Flume...

 

 

 

 

 

Hugh and the girls on Mt. Flume...

 

 

Mike on Flume...Liberty's right behind him....

 

 

 

We lounged, we ate, we moved on. 

 

The mile and a half between Flume and Liberty went by quickly.  Before we knew it, we were approaching Liberty's summit.

 

Forgive the smudges in the photos below.  They're the result of taking pictures with sunblock-covered fingers (oops).

 

 

 

 

Looking back at Flume...

 

 

Onward, to Liberty's peak...

 

 

 

Summit!

 

 

We lounged, we ate, we moved on. 

 

Looking back at Liberty's summit as we descended toward Liberty Springs Trail...

 

 

The way down was hot, but uneventful.  We reached the entrance to the bushwhack (go straight in a northwest direction when the trail takes a sharp turn southwest toward the bike path) without any troubles.

 

On the 'whack (which looks like a maintained trail)...

 

 

On the bike path, looking back toward the entrance of the bushwhack (on the left, up around the bend...enter the woods, cross the small stream, and find the well-developed herd path).

 

This was a fun hike and we're grateful to Mike C. for his enjoyable company.  Looking forward to doing another Terrifying 25 hike this Friday (provided the weather behaves).

 

EDIT -- afternoon of 6/4/2013 -- Forgot to add that ParaVival's site contains a video on how to reweave your bracelet.  Though I liked the look of mine, I think I'm going to keep the cords unraveled for now.  Since the girls and I plan to tackle many "scrambly" trails this summer, I think those unraveled cords will come in handy over the next few months.  I'll reweave the bracelet when winter rolls around.

 

Coming soon...Keeping Calm in the Presence of Truly Annoying People (Part Two of Making the Post-Camino Changes Last).