Posts Tagged ‘ Trail ’

First Night Alone – Shoal Pond Trail – Impossible to Put in Words

2017/12/03
By
Modified: 2017/11/05
Shoal-Pond-Trail-Alone

    Completely alone in the woods.  For many miles around.  I didn’t see a single person on the entire wilderness portion of the trail.  And now, as planned, it is my first night in the White Mountains is closing in around me. Even now it seems strange to remember all the nervous mental preparation inside.  It started around 3PM that day.  I suddenly realized that for the next 12-15 hours I will not meet another person, and I would have to rely completely and entirely on my own. The sun was on and off behind disturbing dark clouds. The bugs were intense and preferred to ignore the spray.  And of…

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Crossing Pemigewasset Wilderness through Twin Brook Trail

2017/11/04
By
Modified: 2017/09/16
Stone-Profile

Crossing a huge body of wilderness often involves a question of returning back to your car.  This itinerary suggests such a crossing, if you have one car, one bike and 3 nights to spend in the woods.  At no point you are required to carry your tent and your sleeping bag on your back.  Instead, you will stay two nights in a campground and one night in the hut, where they have beds and blankets. New Hampshire White Mountains are only 2 hours from Boston (140 miles to Lincoln, NH).  They are close enough and large enough to explore several times a year. Here is a bird-eye view of your itinerary:…

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How to Cross Pemigewasset Wilderness?

2017/07/11
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Modified: 2017/06/25
Pemigewasset Wilderness - 2010-09-05

I always looked at a vast green area on the New Hampshire White Mountain map and wondered, what is it in there?  It must be like a jungle in there.  No people, just quietness and tranquility and calm.  But I  could never come up with an itinerary to actually cross it.  By the time you reach it, it is already time to turn back to the car.  It was always calling for me to experience the loneliness and mystery of Pemigewasset Wilderness.  Finally, in September of 2010 I’ve answered the call of the wild. I am describing here one possible scenario to cross Pemigewasset Wilderness in White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA.  You…

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Thursday, May 25 – Drive, Search, Camp and Rain – Perfect!

2017/05/22
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Modified: 2017/06/23
05-25 04 04;58 First miles on the road

04:06 Wake up without an alarm – new record.  Last record was 04:39 AM several years ago.   04:46 Depart from home. No breakfast, no bath. Just 4 operations: print latest weather forecast, attach bike to car, pickup plastic connectors and tubes for water filter, load tarps, extra blanket, hot tea.  It was still dark outside. I took route 95/128 to 95 North to NH route 4 towards Conway.  I was listening French audio lessons while driving. +12.5°C = 55°F   07:30 Arrive to Glen Junction restaurant, but there is no appetite for breakfast yet.  Continue on route 16. 08:00 Morning routine, first taste of bugs.  They are menacing.   08:20…

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03 Second day – 2014-05-24 SAT – Into the wild with a plan

2017/05/12
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Modified: 2017/04/30
2014-05-24 SA 07;37 Basin Pond

I never carried the “full house” on my shoulders before.  This time, with introduction of an old professional-grade KELTY backpack I would carry a tent, and sleeping bag, and warm clothes, and food, and tarp, and poncho and dozens of other small, but very necessary things. I woke up around 6AM, and I was folding the tent and gathering my things until I was finally ready.  At 07:38, I started to walk on Basin Trail.  First thought was that no way on earth I can carry this beast of a backpack.  On the second thought, how other people carry all their hiking possessions and do not complain? Almost immediately off the parking…

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01 Crossing Wild River Wilderness – Planning and preparations

2017/05/04
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Modified: 2017/04/30
Potable Aqua PA Plus Iodine Water Purification Tablets

Everything is ready for the trip to Wild River wilderness.  This time I am planning to stay in the wild 2 nights from Friday to Sunday and return to the car on my bike on Sunday.  Monday as usual would be a “freelance” day for light exploration and contemplation. I will carry a large KELTY backpack that I inherited from my former boss – Gary Welsh.  He most likely took this vintage backpack to his trips to Nepal (before 1996).  All this time this backpack was gathering dust in my basement, and only this year it finally dawned on me that I do not have scramble for space and eliminate either…

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