Hiked by: Debi ,Will, Tim and Valerie on August 23, 2009 via Garfield Trail
The weather report wasn't favorable, but somehow we convinced Debi and Will to drive hours north to walk in the rain and clouds.
We started the walk around 9AM. We all commented on what a great trail it is! Not too steep and not too rocky. Today, though, it was already a bit damp and muddy. Watch out for wet corduroy! It's slippery! We got across the brooks with no problems and then through the switchbacks. We stopped a couple times to refuel along the way. Still it hadn't started raining and we considered this a fine hiking day!
As we got closer to the junction with the Garfield Ridge Trail, Tim was on the lookout for the old cut-off to Garfield Pond. He found it and is now hooked on the idea of going there. Not long after that, we got to the junction! 4.8 miles down, only 0.2 to the summit (and then 5 more back to the car). We stopped for a "momentary pause" - which means catch-yer-breath-but-no-big-eating-fest. The final two tenths are steeper than the rest of the trip, and Will went up them like he had rockets on his boots. As you can see, there were some clouds hanging around at this elevation. We *hope* we can see something at the summit!
At the top, a nice young man took a picture of all four of us together, then we sat for some lunch. We got glimpses of Franconia Ridge and Owl's Head as the clouds rolled past us. Will gave us a present - he'd grown a crystal and carried it all the way to the summit to give it to us! It was beautiful!
The trip down involved lots of rain gear and significant mud! We didn't have the waterproof camera with us (poor planning) so we have no pictures of the descent. It poured for at least a solid hour during our hike down, but finally turned to drizzle and then seemed to stop. It started up again just as we reached the car - around 4:15PM. We were all glad to get out of our very muddy boots and (some of our) clothes before climbing into the car. CONGRATULATIONS to DEBI and WILL for putting a checkmark next to "Mt Garfield" on their list!!