Hiking

[emily_in_nc]

I finally posted the full report from our Rabbit Ears Peak hike two weeks ago, for any who are interested!

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...bbit-ears-peak

[Crankin]

Great pictures, Emily! I am not sure if I could have gone up to 10K feet. When we hiked at Mt. Baldy, we started at 5K and ended up at 7. It made me feel very slow. Two days later, we drove just north of that trail to find another hike my son had described. Right after we passed the turn off for where we hiked the first day, I started getting the high altitude headache. We couldn't find the trailhead, and I was actually kind of happy. We ended up doing a hike that looks very similar to Rabbit Ears; fire road, some loose dirt, and very steep as we progressed, despite being within the city limits.
The colors are gorgeous. We are just starting are foliage season, so it makes me look forward to the next 2 weeks.

[Catrin]

Just beautiful! It would be difficult to find a more beautiful place to hike in the fall, I'm sure. Pity you didn't have your poles but you still did it!

[emily_in_nc]

Crankin, I am sure I would have suffered more had we not already been at elevation for weeks before -- in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, among other areas. We had a good long time to acclimate. So really, the elevation was not that big a deal. I noticed it more during bike rides, since those really get your heart pounding and respiration going! I am quite sure I would have suffered mightily if we had flown there. I have never gotten a headache from high elevation, but I definitely pant more than in the lowlands on any sort of climbs, even minor ones.

[emily_in_nc]

One more from a couple of weeks ago:

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...mountain-trail

[Crankin]

It was beautiful today, but wind gusting to 35, so no riding here. I had the day off, so we did a 3 mile hike in Spring Hill conservation land in Acton, which is the first time in 10 years we have done it, without our friend leading. The one time we did, we ended up up getting lost, it was getting dark, and we ended up walking almost 7 miles out, through housing developments, and on busy roads, with no lights, to get back to where our car was at the trailhead! It is quite confusing, and most of the time we are there snowshoeing, and it just looks different with no leaves on the trees. But, we now have an All Trails subscription, so we downloaded the basic route. We did about 3 miles, not the usual 5, we have done, but it was fine. No fall color in there, at all. Then, we came home, showered, and went into Harvard/Porter Square and walked another 3 miles, which included a stop for wine and cheese.

[Crankin]

So, I work on Friday mornings, now; still leaves plenty of time to hike or ride. When I got home, DH was there, and I suggested a hike in Estabrook Woods, including the big climb. He was thinking more of a walk into town. It was cool out, but gorgeous, a bit windy. I relented, kind of being grumpy. I just put my sneakers on, with my regulaar clothes. When we got to the village, there was some commotion, with 3 fire trucks, police, so we stood around for a bit, but never figured out what. Then, we headed back. We always do a loop of the center, and head back to Main St. a different way. We cut through a playground, and then as we were heading up that street, we saw a trail! One we have never seen. There was a trail map, and it did end up in the direction we needed to go, albeit, in a longer way. Off we went. There was a fork in the trail (we knew it was coming) and we took the fork that the map had shown with lots of elevation markings. So, I got my climb in, and actually felt like I exercised. The trail was pristine, with no roots or rocks, and the climb was good. And I walked down a street that I have only ridden or driven on.
I guess we walked about 5 miles, more than I had planned on.

[Pax]

That sounds so fun, Crankin!

Emily, I can't wait to get back out West again, so much gorgeous scenery just waiting to be discovered.

Catrin, we are getting our new truck all set up to get back to camping!! Having a topper put on in the next month and I'm going to try to fab a couple of hangers to hold our poles along the sides... so we're ready to go, wherever we are.

[Catrin]

Crankin, that sounds like fun, glad you enjoyed!

Pax, that sounds like fun as well. I love that you're able to set your truck up like that, it makes life much easier that way - looking forward to seeing what it looks like next year!

[Catrin]

Today was my birthday hike, and I....may have, ahem, over done things a bit

I've never been in Morgan Monroe State Forest before, and a friend and I had decided some time ago to do one of the 10-mile "loops". Loops SHOULD end where they stop, shouldn't they" Otherwise we should call them....I don't know...Horseshoe trails? Almost-loop trails?

First of all, the trails were great! Wide variety of terrain, LOTS of "up and down", many switchbacks, and thankfully very little of that one trail feature that I can't do. The ONE place where that existed required some creativity from me but I made it. I've pictures that I will post tomorrow, I am just too tired to play with the photos tonight.

11.3 miles in total with over 37K steps. The trails were beautiful, but the maps were awful, the trail-head initially hard to find and while we were never actually lost, we were sweating the possibility of losing the daylight in the woods. None of the signs had the actual trail names, and we had no connection to online mapping services. I will go back, but I will have some other mapping system on my phone or some other device.

Beautiful day for a hike! Afterwards, I started getting terrible ramps in feet, shins, and even thighs. After my hiking partner dropped me back at my car I spent an agonizing 30 minute drive home in my manual transmission car with terrible feet/shin cramps. I've seen this before, but never on the way home. I'm sure it will wake me up tonight - when I normally experience it. I was taking salt-stick capsules throughout the hike, drank over a liter, munched on my favorite trail mix during, and had a good dinner. It could be dehydration, or just plain over-doing things. I've never done THAT before...

Pictures tomorrow, I've a couple beautiful ones!

[rebeccaC]

happy early birthday catrin!!!!...i like celebrating the month but a week will do too hoping you can sleep uninterrupted tonight!!!!!

[Catrin]

Birthday is next weekend, but yesterday was a good way to celebrate my upcoming 57th. Broken "bits" aside, I think I can't complain if I can hike 11 miles So what if I had hours of foot/shin cramps last night - I really need to figure THAT out. Obviously something is lacking. At least I learned I CAN drive when both lower appendages are in agony - I drive a manual. Probably shouldn't have but I saw no other way to get home.

Onto the pictures:

I love this upwards shot, the trails were quite empty. We did meet people from time to time but not that many. These trails are quite remote.


These diamonds were our friends. Maps were horrible. No real internet phone connectivity. Not one trail sign that actually had a trail name or number. AND, drum roll, neither of the two 10 mile loops actually end at the location from which they start. I don't mean they end across the street, but down the street, around the corner, and (literally) through the woods 1/4 mile or so. Did I mention the lack of signage? So regardless of which trail-head one enters the system, you do NOT finish at your car and there is no information to tell you how to get back to it. That's how we hiked 11 miles on a 10-mile trail. No wonder we were sweating daylight THANKFULLY the two 10-mile trails do NOT intersect.



Very calm/peaceful lake that our trail took us around.



Overlooking the same lake as we made our way down/through the ridges to the bottom lands.


The trails themselves were quite diverse. Lots of up and down - mitigated in the steeper areas by switchbacks. They DID reinforce some of the steep areas to help prevent erosion. Other areas were quite flat and another section appears to have been an access road at one time leading to a long line of telephone poles that cut through the state forest. Much of the trail, thankfully, was quite "mountain-bike-trail-like", which fits my limitations well. Both 10-mile looks in this forest is classified as rugged, probably due to the MANY creek crossings. Most of those were dry, but I can see how it could quickly become impassable after a lot of rain.

I will return at some point - but not solo. Also with printed or downloaded maps on my phone or other device. And, unless I can figure out this cramping thing, not the full route.

[Crankin]

Glad you figured the way out! This is the part of hiking I don't like at all. I have a good sense of direction, but once I get in the woods, it seems to leave me. Your pictures look awesome.
We leave for Acadia NP on Friday morning, after I finish my Woman's Group. It just started 2 weeks ago, and I didn't have the heart to cancel on them. DH is going to drop me at work, go sit in a café, and then come back to get me and we will be off. It's a 4.5-5 hour drive, and we want to be there for dinner with the group. I am still quite nervous about descending rocky trails, but it looks like we won't have rain, so that is good.
I think I'd like to not announce I am an AMC leader, but unfortunately, my fleece vest prominently displays the AMC logo with the words "Boston Chapter Leader." Guess I'll just laugh and emphasize the fact that I am a cyclist, trying to be a hiker.

[Pax]

That looks like a fantastic hike, so glad you managed to make it all the way. We did a poorly mapped hike in NM one time, it was supposed to be a 3 mile loop... that went on for 7. Adventure!

I had leg and foot cramps after walking for hours at a convention last summer, guess it's our bodies way of telling us we overdid it?

[Catrin]

3-7 miles is rather worse than 10-11! Yikes!

The cramping thing is quite new - at least to that degree. I had something similar a week ago after a 3 mile hike. As fatigued as my legs are today and the level of feet-tenderness it may well be more over-doing things than anything. I've been doing 6ish mile walks/hikes, that's rather different than 11...