First trip report I have ever done. This was a solo camping trip I was planning on for a very long time. I was going to test some gear and I waited for the weather to be as cooperative as it could be. Everything came together for this weekend. I left on Wednesday night and planned to start into the woods for Thursday morning. My plan was to camp at a spot as close to the Captain as possible and do the bushwhack with minimal equipment with a possible overnight heading to the pond and then trying to hit the peak of the Captain and then back to the camp.
Some background:
This is an area in the White mountain national forest. Very isolated and almost no one really goes there because there are no trails and there are no high peaks easily or directly accessible from that area. The Captain is the granite throat from a long extinct volcano. He is called the Captain because he stands vigil at the head of the valley guarding it. Behind him lays a high mountain pond called Carrigain pond.
What worked:
The weather, absolutely spectacular. The kind of weather I live for. Maybe a little warmer during the day than I prefer but still fantastic. Clear night, cool and very windy, great for sleeping. Black flies were out but for the most part the high winds kept them mostly at bay the first day. The second day a little Deet was enough to keep them at bay. The fifty-eight pound pack (weighed) was heavy for me but the training I did seemed to help prevent any rolled ankles on the mostly uneven footing but more training would be needed to actually attempt this full hike by me.
Problems:
When I woke up Wednesday morning I had a sore throat. Nothing terrible but I could notice it starting. My wife had something earlier that caused her difficulty breathing, chills and fever. I decided that this was a game that couldn't be postponed because of a cold so I needed to go. If I had problems I could always bail. By Thursday night it felt as though I had been gargling with razor blades. To make it worse was the feeling that my throat was closing. Friday morning the feeling hadn't improved so I decided to bail. I could always try another attempt another time. So here I type, my throat still very sore, sucking on a lozenge but at least that swollen closing throat feeling isn't as bad.
Interesting happenstance:
So, here I am. Hiked for around 3 hours, partly on a forest road and then off trail. Through some areas where the trail actually doesnt exist through several blow-downs and I get to "my" spot that I had planned as my area to set up my camp. Its Thursday a weekday. There is no way that I need to be "worried" about being run across by any other person. No one around for miles. I am not in camp more than 30 minutes when this young guy pops into my camp, but he isn't staying. He is traveling fast and light. We talk for a couple of minutes and I find out he is doing virtually the same hike as I am but he is taking the fast and light option. He was also astounded to see my tracks as he knows how isolated this area is as well. We talk a little more and discover that we are both on another hiking forum and we have read each others comments.
Reasons to be thankful:
While it was shorter and much less adventure than I had planned I was thankful for the things I had seen. The snakes, a couple of hopeful frogs in a small shrinking puddle, the Painted Trillium's and being close to the Captain with better views than my lousy photography show.
Things of common interest:
One of the gadgets I have been interesting in trying is SPOT. I read about the original SPOT but then some of the reviews I had read were less than flattering. I had decided to wait until the release of the second rev. It is smaller, lighter and more reliable. Upon release it immediately had power issues and had a recall. I waited until the recall was over and purchased one making sure the serial number was above the recall problems. I had done some minor testing of the unit around home. It seemed fairly reliable but the canopies are not as thick at home as they are in the Whites. So I sent several OK messages that made it through. Then I tried a track on the way out which should beacon a location every 10 minutes. Most of those got thorough but those were all sent while on the forest road so that wasnt real thick canopy either.
Regards,
KR
Some background:
This is an area in the White mountain national forest. Very isolated and almost no one really goes there because there are no trails and there are no high peaks easily or directly accessible from that area. The Captain is the granite throat from a long extinct volcano. He is called the Captain because he stands vigil at the head of the valley guarding it. Behind him lays a high mountain pond called Carrigain pond.
What worked:
The weather, absolutely spectacular. The kind of weather I live for. Maybe a little warmer during the day than I prefer but still fantastic. Clear night, cool and very windy, great for sleeping. Black flies were out but for the most part the high winds kept them mostly at bay the first day. The second day a little Deet was enough to keep them at bay. The fifty-eight pound pack (weighed) was heavy for me but the training I did seemed to help prevent any rolled ankles on the mostly uneven footing but more training would be needed to actually attempt this full hike by me.
Problems:
When I woke up Wednesday morning I had a sore throat. Nothing terrible but I could notice it starting. My wife had something earlier that caused her difficulty breathing, chills and fever. I decided that this was a game that couldn't be postponed because of a cold so I needed to go. If I had problems I could always bail. By Thursday night it felt as though I had been gargling with razor blades. To make it worse was the feeling that my throat was closing. Friday morning the feeling hadn't improved so I decided to bail. I could always try another attempt another time. So here I type, my throat still very sore, sucking on a lozenge but at least that swollen closing throat feeling isn't as bad.
Interesting happenstance:
So, here I am. Hiked for around 3 hours, partly on a forest road and then off trail. Through some areas where the trail actually doesnt exist through several blow-downs and I get to "my" spot that I had planned as my area to set up my camp. Its Thursday a weekday. There is no way that I need to be "worried" about being run across by any other person. No one around for miles. I am not in camp more than 30 minutes when this young guy pops into my camp, but he isn't staying. He is traveling fast and light. We talk for a couple of minutes and I find out he is doing virtually the same hike as I am but he is taking the fast and light option. He was also astounded to see my tracks as he knows how isolated this area is as well. We talk a little more and discover that we are both on another hiking forum and we have read each others comments.
Reasons to be thankful:
While it was shorter and much less adventure than I had planned I was thankful for the things I had seen. The snakes, a couple of hopeful frogs in a small shrinking puddle, the Painted Trillium's and being close to the Captain with better views than my lousy photography show.
Things of common interest:
One of the gadgets I have been interesting in trying is SPOT. I read about the original SPOT but then some of the reviews I had read were less than flattering. I had decided to wait until the release of the second rev. It is smaller, lighter and more reliable. Upon release it immediately had power issues and had a recall. I waited until the recall was over and purchased one making sure the serial number was above the recall problems. I had done some minor testing of the unit around home. It seemed fairly reliable but the canopies are not as thick at home as they are in the Whites. So I sent several OK messages that made it through. Then I tried a track on the way out which should beacon a location every 10 minutes. Most of those got thorough but those were all sent while on the forest road so that wasnt real thick canopy either.
Regards,
KR
Thanks for making me aware of it.:thumbup:
He did say it was more open than I thought it would be though so that is good news.