Hiked July 22, 2006 by Tim and Valerie
Conditions: This trail was a bit of a dichotomy. The trail conditions (surface, dryness, boulders) made it one of the nicest walks we've done all year. No bad water crossings either. Just two miles in each direction with very nice open views of the Sandwich Range and north. We saw lots of frogs and toads, and even a small snake.
Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy, hazy, humid day without a breath of wind. Perfect weather for all the bugs of New Hampshire. The blackflies, mosquitoes, deerflies and horseflies were all swarming around our heads, causing quite a "din" of buzzing. It made the trip a lot more mentally challenging rather than physically. It was still necessary to concentrate on your footsteps - don't let the bugs distract you or you could trip/fall and hurt yourself! So, Tim had "Mr Stick" - a small branch with about 15 little fingers on it (see his picture below) - that he used to keep the bugs from landing on his head/shoulders. Val used a bandana which she swished around like a horse whipping its tail.
There were no bugs to speak of at the summit, and for once we stretched out on the rocks, ate our snack, and "lingered". We very rarely "linger" on a summit. I think we were both just putting off the inevitable trip back down. :-)
Due to the great terrain, we came down very quickly (almost jogging at parts) and made it back to the car about 20 minutes before the rain started.
On the way home, we stopped at the General Store in Center Sandwich and had deli sandwiches and chips. We *wished* we were eating the fresh blueberry scones and chocolate chip/coconut cookies, but we hadn't walked hard enough or long enough to earn those. They smelled delicious.