| Summary | |
| Owner | MITOC Gallery Administrator |
| Creation Date | 2005-07-04 12:17:04 UTC-0400 |
| Description |
Intro to Backpacking Trip Hiking to Bondcliff through the Pemigewassett Wilderness June 11-12, 2005 Christiaan Adams, Polina Anikeeva, Alexi Arango, LeeAnn Kim, Lidiya V., Atanas "Nasko" Pavlov, Mike Mangini, Kapil Dev Singh We were a mixed group of some experienced backpackers and some first-time hikers, making this intro level hike a great learning experience for everyone. On the previous Thursday (June 9th), Brenden Epps had given us a lecture on basic backpacking, and shared the photos of his AT thru-hike. , This gave everyone the starting info they needed to get out in the woods and practice some skills. We drove up to NH on Saturday morning, leaving MIT around 7am. After a stop in Lincoln for Bagels, we made our way up the Kancamagus Highway to the Lincoln Woods Vistor Center. There we did our final packing and headed off into the woods, waving good-bye to Kevin and his group of backpackers. We hiked the long, flat Lincoln Woods and Wilderness Trails, along the Pemigewasset River, making good time and starting to smack bugs. After giving in to the blood-sucking hoards and applying lots of DEET, we stopped for lunch along the river, just past the junction with the Bondcliff Trail. Sitting with our feet in the icy cold river, we listened as a thunderstorm made its way down the valley, and ducked under an old railroad bridge when the downpour suddenly arrived. Finally starting to climb a little, we made our way up the Bondcliff Trail, to one of the major stream crossings, right before things started to get steep. We found an area with relatively good tent sites, a ways off the trail and the stream. We had wanted to run up to Bondcliff after setting up camp, but reports from other hikers of a 2-3 hour time one-way made us realize that we couldn't do it by dark, so we relaxed along the stream instead. A nice dinner of pasta, rice and all sorts of goodies raised everyone's spirits. After a good night's sleep... the first in a tent for some of us... we packed up camp and stashed our packs in the woods, taking only what we needed for the climb up to Bondcliff. Once there, we took plenty of "Hiker on a cliff" photos, and enjoyed the sund and breeze. Christiaan, Polly, Lidiya, Nasko, and Kapil made the quick hike up to Mt Bond and back. We headed down as threatening clouds brought sprinkles down on our heads. Grabbing our packs at the camp site, we continued down to the river. The hike back was long and straight along the river, but was made much more challenging by the clouds of mosquitoes that bombarded us. It was really maddening, and required application of much DEET to ward them off. We were very glad to get out just after dark. Dinner at the Common Man in Lincoln was strange... dead quiet compared to the crowds of ski-season in the winter. A quick drive home, and our mosquitoe-bitten bunch was happy to be home again. What an introduction to bugs, sweat and rain... all the joys of summer hiking! Despite all that we had a great time, and I hear we have some new fans of backpacking!! Christiaan Adams July 4, 2005 |