Hiked June 1, 2008 by Debi, Tim and Valerie via Old Bridle Path and Greenleaf trails
This is Debi's first 4000-footer, so we tried to make it a good one!
We arrived at the trailhead about 9AM. The weather was iffy - gray with spotty drizzle - but we got our starting pictures taken and headed up the trail.
The first two miles flew by. We stopped to look at plants and birds along the way. We didn't get too many good pictures though. Bad lighting and not great photographers made for some blurry flowers and far-away birds that look like black dots. Just for the record, we saw hobblebush, azalea, and trillium. We also saw Blackpoll warblers, an unidentified thrush, white-throated sparrows and the ever-present juncos.
We took a pause at the ledges overlooking Walker Ravine to eat a snack.
Tim looked down at the next ledge to our right, and who is sitting there but Lee and Christine, whom we met on the Bonds last summer. We chatted with them for a few minutes and then headed up over the Agonies.
The next mile, though steep and rough and somewhat wet, went very quickly. Soon we were sitting at Greenleaf Hut. It was around 11:30AM. Debi and Valerie made some tea. We were disappointed to see that the hut wasn't open yet for full service. Valerie had promised hot soup and cookies to Debi. BUMMER. Thankfully, we had all packed lots of food so weren't relying on the hut to provide our calories.
Valerie asked Debi if she wanted to stop here or continue. After all, the hut is a great destination, and the elevation gain/mileage is similar to climbing Grand Monadnock near her hometown. Debi was all for continuing, so we bundled up and started out. From the hut, it's 1.1 miles and 1100 feet of elevation gain to the summit. It appeared clear all the way up, as we left the hut.
Once we got about half-way from the hut to the summit, the winds picked up and the clouds blew in. We got to the top and took a rest behind some big rocks, out of the wind. YEAH!! CONGRATULATIONS DEBI!!
We took some summit pictures and ate a little snack. We tried to enjoy the view - haha - about 30 feet of visibility. We teased and pointed out where Owl's Head, the Bonds, the Twins and Garfield should be.
We did get some nice views on the way back down to the hut. As soon as we got below the cloud deck, it was fairly nice weather again.
On the way back to the house, we got a great opportunity to watch a fox family play in the grass. This was less than a mile from home. They were adorable. There were at least four of them.
