The Garden walk... again
We woke up at 4am and arrived at the Garden trailhead at 6:10 after which it only took me 15 minutes to get us ready and on the trail. Not only that, but I didn't forget anything. It was a miracle of miracles. Only one other person was signed in before us (about an hour). They were hiking Saddleback, Basin, and Haystack. I never saw them.
Sunny was excited to be out in the woods as usual. The new elastic leash I picked up from Ruffwear helped arrest his pulling very well. How long will the elasticity last? Only time will tell.
I have to admit that this trail definitely has Big Rock Energy.
Phelps Trail was largely dry and the little streams coming down the Brothers were easy to cross.
We signed in at the second register and headed left for the high water crossing.
Southside Trail Segment
The majority of Southside Trail is abandoned and I knew this from my many adventures here in the past. I wasn't sure if the crossing at the Ranger Outpost was viable. I figured it was since the ADK trail guide mentioned that the trail between here and Keene was abandoned, but it said the bridge was still in good shape, and my copy is only a few years old.
We hiked past the Johns Brook Interior Outpost. I wondered if the public was allowed to use the porch.
The suspension bridge was in good repair.
Looking North downstream the rapids were frothing against the rocks.
The brook was roaring upstream to the South.
Range Trail/Orebed Trail
The blue trail was marked "Range Trail" which was confusing to me since the maps say it's Orebed Trail. Still, AllTrails was helpful in keeping on track.
I could tell that the trail between the bridge and the Wolfjaws/JBL junction doesn't get a lot of love. It reminded me very much of Bradley Pond Trail on the way to Henderson Lean-to. It was just a deep rut of mud and water with an afterthought of trail planning involved.
After the junction, the trail maintenance picks up and the trails were dry as hell.
This is one of the biggest erratics I've ever seen. It was nice to get a good pic of it before the trees filled in.
One of the two parts I'd been concerned about, crossing Orebed Brook, wasn't a big deal. I was actually very surprised when we made it to the brook crossing at 8:45, only an hour after signing in at the junction register. It kind of snuck up on me because I hadn't recognized the Orebed Brook Lean-to when we passed it. We had averaged 2.3mph at that point which was actually quite fast for us.
It was a comfortable 50F by the stream and I decided we should sit to take a snack break. I switched Sunny's leash for his short leash which is flat and almost never gets caught on rocks. I also pulled out my trekking poles; I knew the climb would begin in earnest soon.
Look, Dad! Elevation!
Sunny's ears were up a lot on this hike. The birds and chipmunks were really chattering. However, lucky for us, the bugs weren't really biting. We did have some flies at elevation a bit and I saw a mosquito, but nothing to really write home about.
Up the Slide
We made it to the base of the slide by 9:50. It was 55F and I was sweaty. I always have a tough time picking my way around through here, but today I was able to work with Sunny to find the right path. There are several trail markers missing, however, and it could use some TLC.
Sunny was impatient.
Unless he was stopping to hug some snow.
I have no memory of this little bridge and I've probably crossed it 3 times before.
The stairs were clear of snow.
Stacked rocks and slides were initially wet, but lacking in snow. Most of the slides were porous and easy to climb while others were a bit slimy. I would have been much faster through here if I'd just put on my spikes to help me have more confidence up the slides.
Shortly before the 4000' mark, the snow made a reappearance.
These conditions were new to me, so I put on my microspikes. Through trial and error, I learned to stay at the high points in the snow fields and monorails because they were the parts that were most packed. I also learned to step gingerly rather than pounding forward. Both of these skills helped keep me hiking on the surface of the snow instead of falling through.
"Dude. What is taking you so long? This is easy."
We came to the Saddleback/Gothics junction at 10:35.
Saddleback
Most of the Saddleback climb was actually narrow monorails through tight trails. It was a rocky, rooty ascent; very different from Gothics across the way. There were quite a few smaller trees down, some of which we moved ourselves. I did not get any photos on this part of the trail because I was concentrating on staying safe and also the most recent Android update has made my phone less energy efficient.
There are a couple of tougher jumps on the ascent, but nothing we couldn't manage. Sunny managed all of them on his own except for one which he needed to be pulled up.
Saddleback's false summit has a nice sitting rock.
The overlook prior to the final ascent to the true summit affords a view of Basin...
...and the Colvin Range.
There was a bit more snow on the way up to the true summit which we reached at 11:25am.
"Dad. Why do you keep looking out at nothing important? Where's the sammich?
I edged out as far as I dared to the infamous Saddleback Cliffs. No thanks! The wind that was blowing today was wild. It actually made the summit a little scary. I kept imagining my dog blowing off the cliff.
We will be back for Basin and Haystack later in the Summer.
We hiked back down to the South-facing overlook which was sheltered from the wind and bathed in sunlight. It felt really nice. I did something I never do: I took my boots off and set my socks on a rock to dry out and warm up.
We spent a good amount of time on our break. We deserved it.
Back from Saddleback
On the way back, I got a great shot of Gothics. My mind boggled a little bit about how we have climbed that twice. It might be my favorite mountain right now.
On the way back, I stopped on the stairs many times to enjoy Big Slide.
We stopped to play a little fetch.
Frog or salamander eggs.
Some flowers were out including this Carolina Springbeauty and Yellow Avalanche Lily.
The hike back along the Orebed and Phelps trails was tough as ever. It always seems endless. At the junction register, I did switch my wet socks and boots out for the trail runners my sister got me and some dry socks. Bringing the trail runners was a life-changing decision.
We arrived back at the car at around 4:50pm. We'd left the summit at around 12:15 which means car to summit was 5 hours and summit to car was 4 and a half hours. There was certainly a bit of lollygagging going on, but I have no regrets about that.
My original intent was to hike Giant and Rocky next Monday but I'm not sure it makes sense to brave such a steep snow spine. I think I may take another week off from hiking to save some time at work.
Spring on Saddleback.gpx (922.34 KB)