Cold ( about 20) and windy ( about 20 mph) - not the best day to be on a open ridge but most of the hike would be in sheltering woods. Kelley says , with her excitement, that it's good to be back on the trails and that I'm just a wimp . She never seems to be put off by any kind of weather.
We started from the parking area on Rte. 198 on the Hadlock Brook Trail. The first part of this trail is easy woods walking. Not long after you pass under the carriage road at the Waterfall Bridge it begins to climb.
As we neared the ridge and the Sargent S. Ridge Trail we encountered larger patches of ice that we had to bushwhack around but nothing too bad. Kelley had no problem with any of the trail up and easily found ways around things she didn't like.Looking back down the trail we have just come up.
Once we were on the Sargent Mountain Trail we were exposed to the full brunt of the wind and it felt much colder but this trail offers views in all directions.
And only small patches of ice
These striking grasses grow around small pools near the summit
After sharing an apple at the summit ( we found shelter behind the large cairn) we headed back down the S. Ridge Trail to the Maple Spring Trail and took that down to the stream it eventually follows. There was more ice on this trail that required more bushwhacking and wider detours for Kelley.
The start is very pretty.
At the stream we took the very short trail up to Gilmore Peak which is very open with nice views.
We then returned to the Maple Spring Trail. This turned out to be more difficult for Kelley than I remembered or the trail has deteriorated . It is a pretty trail with precarious footing that follows the stream with several stream crossings and sometimes the trail is in the center of the stream.
Kelley managed it without my help but it was a struggle for her- a couple of times she moved up the ridge and then returned to the stream and once took several minutes to work out a solution. She is very brave and smart and did well in spite of me getting her into a difficult situation.
Once we crossed under the carriage road the trail again became easy and we had an easy finish. A good but challenging hike 3 3/4 hours
She's a trooper.
ReplyDeleteYour weather might be cold, but you have nice clear blue skies! All we've got is rain here with dreary gray skies.
ReplyDeleteShe is John
ReplyDeleteLinda - We have had our share of rain too- also why you don't see snow