Wandering Montello

Sunday I hiked Passaconaway and Whiteface in the Whites. I slept at the trailhead Saturday night, and I am quite a fan of the mattress I got for the back of my car! Anyway, the hike was frustrating but good. Snow-covered branches reaching across the trail hit my face and my pack, dropping snow all over me and into the outer pockets of my pack. I took the trail less traveled to the top of Passaconaway and postholed every few steps. I brought my snowshoes, but it wasn't bad enough to justify using them. I find my snowshoes so cumbersome that I'd rather randomly posthole. On the way up Whiteface a branch caught one of my snowshoes and ripped both of them out of my pack. I screamed and cursed the AMC for not doing basic trail maintenance. The few on top of Whiteface made it all worth it, especially since the sun was out and warming the summit. I made good time down the mountain and took advantage of a flat, warm and dry rock on the side of the trail and soaked up some rays.

Getting up Three Ridges was not easy because I basically had to break trail the entire time. I wanted to make it back to my car by 2pm, and I wasn’t so sure I would make it. Luckily the downhill was quite nice, and the snow actually helped me go a bit faster because it made for softer footfalls than the frozen ground. As I got down in elevation the snow disappeared completely. I ended up getting back to my car at 1:30pm! In the parking lot I met a lady who was slackpacking a friend of hers, and we chatted for 15 minutes or so. Every time I do a section hike I’m reminded of why I love the trail so much--the people.

With about two miles to the shelter I lost all motivation, yet again. I stared ahead at the little bump I had to get over with dread. Then I came across the guy I saw at Rockfish Gap when I started! As always, the trail provides. We chatted all the way to the shelter, and when we arrived Brant was getting firewood together. We stayed up well past dark talking about the trail, life, and anything else that happened to come up. I’m really glad I got to spend the night with some folks because, for me, that’s what the trail is all about. I love hiking, the mountains and the woods, but it’s the folks I meet on the trail that warm my heart and help create lasting memories of my experiences.

Once I got over Humpback Mountain I noticed fresh footprints in the snow. I could clearly make out to sets, as well as a set of dog tracks. The tread of one set looked like Merrell Barefoots, and I hoped to catch up with the tracks to see if I was right.

Thankfully the shelter had an elevated sleeping platform that remained untouched by the snow. Although I got there right around noon and still had plenty in me to keep hiking, I setup in the shelter because I didn’t want to struggle to setup camp further on down the trail while it was snowing. Around 6pm the snow stopped and it actually warmed up a bit. I hung my food up and visited the privy, which had a great view as you can see from the last picture. Nobody else showed up at the shelter, and I slept 11 glorious hours.

Haven’t done much hiking or traveling lately because I’ve been super busy with school and work, but as soon as I graduate in May--it’s on! I plan on finishing up my New England 4000 footers, doing some trail crew and traveling around to visit folks and camp around the east coast. For the winter my goal is to get a job at a ski resort out west, then hopefully get a job in Alaska for the summer. While I’m working I’ll be saving up money to buy a van to convert into a camper! Who knows how long it will take, but I’m excited nonetheless!

Monday my sister and I stopped at Pinefield Gap in Shenandoah because I wanted to show her what a shelter on the AT looked like. We had planned on taking Skyline Drive up to Front Royal before cutting across to DC, but they closed it due to the incoming storm.

Yesterday we cruised to Standardsville, VA and stopped at the Blue Mountain Barrel House and Grace Estates Winery for some tasty beverages. We also stopped by the dinosaur in Glasgow for a selfie!

Yesterday we stopped by Grayson Highlands hoping to see some ponies, but it was too cold to hike to look for them. We spent the night at Woods Hole with Neville and a southbound thru hiker finishing up his thru hike. Having such a small group there was very nice and personal, unlike on my thru hike when there were over 14 people at dinner (not that it wasn’t a blast with all those awesome folks). Gaia is the new resident kitty, and she won me over. I couldn’t get enough of her!

Road tripping with my sister! Last night we stopped in Asheville and stayed at Sweet Peas Hostel, had dinner at Lexington Ave Brewery, breakfast at Early Girl Eatery, and coffee at this awesome little coffee shop before hitting the road.

Traded my regular VW Golf for a VW Golf Sportwagen. Now I can fit a twin-sized memory foam mattress in the back! With the help of my hiking stick to keep it from covering the latch. I now have the ultimate road trip car!

Beautiful sunset on the long drive from RI to GA, heading home for the holidays.

Headed south.

Saturday we hiked Camel's Hump, and it was so much warmer and busier than Friday. The summit was so nice we spent an hour hanging out up there, drinking beer (from Bent) and enjoying the view. Afterwards we went to a few breweries, including Otter Creek and Drop In.

Dude on the summit of Camel's Hump (where temperature was in the teens and the summit was covered in snow.

I barely slept Thursday night, and Friday morning we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground. I got all my stuff out of the tent and into the car. I pulled the stakes, grabbed the rain fly and took it to the car. I walked back to where my tent was supposed to be, but it wasn't. The wind blew the damn thing into the middle of a wetland. I didn't want to get my boots soaked retrieving my tent, so I made a "fishing pole" out of Devin's trekking pole, some old ridgeline, and a whistle for a hook. Luckily, my contraption worked. It was so cold that morning! And the hike was a lot more difficult than we anticipated. The snow made the hiking slow, and the ice hidden under the snow made it challenging to step anywhere without slipping. The hike was so amazing though! The views were unbelievable, especially with the snow. The summit was a whole other story though. The wind was blowing so hard, and it was so cold that my face was in pain. It hurt so bad I thought my face would fall right off. I hightailed it to the summit, took a picture, and hustled back down to cover. Still, it was one of the best hikes I've ever done, and we were the only ones on the trail.