a perfect time to run up a local mountain and camp--especially in the dark! i was entering data at school and saw an email from sawyer pop up--" i was thinking of sleeping up on xxxxxxxx tonight to see how the gear holds up in a potentially wet and cool environment...any interest in coming along? i could pick you up around 6:30..." sweet; i was all in.
i packed up quickly and pedaled home to cook a 'fast' meal for us. soy pulled in, we ate, we final packed the essentials, and we pulled out. even with all that quick, when we started up the trail it was dark. the head lamps came on when a slip at a rocky creek crossing told us, despite the moon at almost full-bright, it was hard to see potential obstacles at our feet.
hiking in the dark with a headlamp can be problematic for me. after a time, maybe 20 minutes or so, i start losing acuity and depths go haywire. rocks float up and tree branches sink down. things take on new dimensions that fool with my bearings. i reminded soy how our long standing debate about using car high-beams, was the same thing. my eyes must get tired and the brain stops automatically refocusing. my right eye has not worked in sync with my left since i was a child. i had an operation for being cross-eyed and have not had binocular vision that i ever knew about. when it happens hiking, i take the light off my head and hold it below my waste--that helped.
our 'head' lights were turned off totally when we got up above 'turn around rock', the boulder in the middle of the trail just about tree-lien. i coined the nickname in reference to where conditions often deteriorate for skiing. more often than not, the snow--if it exists at all--is scoured and icy making it a sketchy ski at best. we didn't turn back, but stopped and put on a wind layer. soy's new rain jacket made for good contrast in the dark. the rest of the way, we were glad to have protection as it grew more and more blustery the higher we got. guessing at the speed is always interesting. i carry and anemometer along to check and have dialed in my predictions pretty much according to sound and feel. soy had it pegged at 30mph as he had checked mountain weather forecast, a very informative website he found. i always go to the low side, as humans tend to exaggerate. maybe we do that because it feels so different, especially comparing it to what we call normal.
at the top we stopped out of the wind and watched thin clouds scud past the moon at high speed. the moon's brightness dimmed, then re-brightened, and made for an almost eerie effect. almost, as it was really frightening, not even spooky, but definitely strange. we scouted out our possible tent site under moon light and decided to set things up. the wind gave us a bit of a challenge from flapping my fly like crazy to blowing one of soy's poles off. i snapped a shot of the bivy tucked tight to the granite.
i had pangs of regret for not buying myself one when soy got his--the two pole model has been discontinued. it lay low and quiet, while my solo hubba--not all that tall, but maybe 2x higher than the black diamond--whop-whop-whopped a steady beat in the 'breeze'. my room to move inside was the trade off for sawyer's low profile. depending upon the situation there are positives for both. given that i love to go stealth, and get caught in the wind as much as i do in the rain, i still was a bit jealous.
after brewing a cup-pot of tea, with the lid safely back after chasing it down the east side, and some more windspeed testing--i did see-feel one gust over 30mph--we tucked into our respective sleeping quarters. one of the reasons we had come up was to test some gear. soy had just bought a down quilt, an ultra light sleeping cover--not a bag--that promised warmth down to 20°F. it was not going to get that cold tonight, but we could have temps down in the 30's and with windchill it would give us a taste.
after tossing for an hour, i forced myself to get up and go out and pee. i got back in empty and settled. years ago i learned that if you pee you stay warmer as you don't have to keep all that liquid body temp. it works for me. the next time woke, i noticed a pink glow on the eastern horizon--time to rise and prep for the shine. soy had been a bit anxious about getting an early start in order to make it to work on time, so i woke him. his smile seemed a good advertisement for the effectiveness of his new sleeping kit. the flash may have blinded him but he cheerily gave me a starred review of his comfort. he mentioned that the bivy-tent size, seemed to limit the loft his quilt could achieve, but he stayed toasty.
having slept warm in my primaloft 'puffy' and a t-shirt, in my 35°primaloft bag, i was less jealous than over the bivy-tent. one reason i love primaloft is its bombproof water resistance. new england is a wet environment. most of the places i go are wet, potentially, very wet. we are headed to vancouver island. the pacific northwest, especially the coast is home to one of the few remaining strong holds of the temperate rainforest.
i suggested just packing and jumping. soy, still in his quilt, looked puzzled, "without waiting for me?" no, but not hanging around to see the sun actually top the horizon. the quick exit off saved us 15-20 minutes, and got us down to the car in plenty of time to make work for both of us. the descent was uneventful, though i noticed much more in the light than i did going up in the dark. like pam and i saw on our hike a couple of weeks ago, mushrooms were in 'full bloom'. even though some rain helped the decomposers to go wild, the creeks were nearly dry, save for a few puddle-pools fed by the remaining trickles. i also took note of several blowdowns that would have to be cut out before ski season.
soy dropped me off and headed toward dartmouth's media services. i switched backpacks and went to school. soon enough i saw several MOC students that reminded me tonight was the monthly moonrise--sunset hike. i had not forgotten, and after a day supporting all things tech, i got up to the parking lot. when i pulled in, ben j, a MOC grad now in college, was tailgaiting with a can of tuna, cheese and crackers. we waited 10 minutes past the published start hiking time, and picked up one more student, andrew p. we took off hoping to make the top to see the moon pop up and figured any stragglers would make the sunset. we made it as the moon emerged from behind a gauze of haze low in the east.
a group of five more MOCers made it up just before the sunset and we snapped a few pictures. (i am still waiting julia f...) two other mascoma alum came up as well. we went down in two groups, making our way at our own speeds. gathering in the parking lot, i was feeling so good that i made up a riddle for the group: today, i went up the mtn once and came down the same mtn twice...how does that work? olivia s. was equally excited and recruiting folks to go up in the morining to see the opposite of tonight's show, sunrise--moonset. i didn't hear any immediate enthusiasm but figured if anybody could rally the troops it would be olivia.
sure enough, at school on friday, olivia gushed that she and a couple of others had made the trek and gotten an equally great, clear show, horizon to horizon.
no riddle here, go outside and play! it's always good...
i packed up quickly and pedaled home to cook a 'fast' meal for us. soy pulled in, we ate, we final packed the essentials, and we pulled out. even with all that quick, when we started up the trail it was dark. the head lamps came on when a slip at a rocky creek crossing told us, despite the moon at almost full-bright, it was hard to see potential obstacles at our feet.
hiking in the dark with a headlamp can be problematic for me. after a time, maybe 20 minutes or so, i start losing acuity and depths go haywire. rocks float up and tree branches sink down. things take on new dimensions that fool with my bearings. i reminded soy how our long standing debate about using car high-beams, was the same thing. my eyes must get tired and the brain stops automatically refocusing. my right eye has not worked in sync with my left since i was a child. i had an operation for being cross-eyed and have not had binocular vision that i ever knew about. when it happens hiking, i take the light off my head and hold it below my waste--that helped.
our 'head' lights were turned off totally when we got up above 'turn around rock', the boulder in the middle of the trail just about tree-lien. i coined the nickname in reference to where conditions often deteriorate for skiing. more often than not, the snow--if it exists at all--is scoured and icy making it a sketchy ski at best. we didn't turn back, but stopped and put on a wind layer. soy's new rain jacket made for good contrast in the dark. the rest of the way, we were glad to have protection as it grew more and more blustery the higher we got. guessing at the speed is always interesting. i carry and anemometer along to check and have dialed in my predictions pretty much according to sound and feel. soy had it pegged at 30mph as he had checked mountain weather forecast, a very informative website he found. i always go to the low side, as humans tend to exaggerate. maybe we do that because it feels so different, especially comparing it to what we call normal.
at the top we stopped out of the wind and watched thin clouds scud past the moon at high speed. the moon's brightness dimmed, then re-brightened, and made for an almost eerie effect. almost, as it was really frightening, not even spooky, but definitely strange. we scouted out our possible tent site under moon light and decided to set things up. the wind gave us a bit of a challenge from flapping my fly like crazy to blowing one of soy's poles off. i snapped a shot of the bivy tucked tight to the granite.
i had pangs of regret for not buying myself one when soy got his--the two pole model has been discontinued. it lay low and quiet, while my solo hubba--not all that tall, but maybe 2x higher than the black diamond--whop-whop-whopped a steady beat in the 'breeze'. my room to move inside was the trade off for sawyer's low profile. depending upon the situation there are positives for both. given that i love to go stealth, and get caught in the wind as much as i do in the rain, i still was a bit jealous.
after brewing a cup-pot of tea, with the lid safely back after chasing it down the east side, and some more windspeed testing--i did see-feel one gust over 30mph--we tucked into our respective sleeping quarters. one of the reasons we had come up was to test some gear. soy had just bought a down quilt, an ultra light sleeping cover--not a bag--that promised warmth down to 20°F. it was not going to get that cold tonight, but we could have temps down in the 30's and with windchill it would give us a taste.
after tossing for an hour, i forced myself to get up and go out and pee. i got back in empty and settled. years ago i learned that if you pee you stay warmer as you don't have to keep all that liquid body temp. it works for me. the next time woke, i noticed a pink glow on the eastern horizon--time to rise and prep for the shine. soy had been a bit anxious about getting an early start in order to make it to work on time, so i woke him. his smile seemed a good advertisement for the effectiveness of his new sleeping kit. the flash may have blinded him but he cheerily gave me a starred review of his comfort. he mentioned that the bivy-tent size, seemed to limit the loft his quilt could achieve, but he stayed toasty.
having slept warm in my primaloft 'puffy' and a t-shirt, in my 35°primaloft bag, i was less jealous than over the bivy-tent. one reason i love primaloft is its bombproof water resistance. new england is a wet environment. most of the places i go are wet, potentially, very wet. we are headed to vancouver island. the pacific northwest, especially the coast is home to one of the few remaining strong holds of the temperate rainforest.
i suggested just packing and jumping. soy, still in his quilt, looked puzzled, "without waiting for me?" no, but not hanging around to see the sun actually top the horizon. the quick exit off saved us 15-20 minutes, and got us down to the car in plenty of time to make work for both of us. the descent was uneventful, though i noticed much more in the light than i did going up in the dark. like pam and i saw on our hike a couple of weeks ago, mushrooms were in 'full bloom'. even though some rain helped the decomposers to go wild, the creeks were nearly dry, save for a few puddle-pools fed by the remaining trickles. i also took note of several blowdowns that would have to be cut out before ski season.
soy dropped me off and headed toward dartmouth's media services. i switched backpacks and went to school. soon enough i saw several MOC students that reminded me tonight was the monthly moonrise--sunset hike. i had not forgotten, and after a day supporting all things tech, i got up to the parking lot. when i pulled in, ben j, a MOC grad now in college, was tailgaiting with a can of tuna, cheese and crackers. we waited 10 minutes past the published start hiking time, and picked up one more student, andrew p. we took off hoping to make the top to see the moon pop up and figured any stragglers would make the sunset. we made it as the moon emerged from behind a gauze of haze low in the east.
a group of five more MOCers made it up just before the sunset and we snapped a few pictures. (i am still waiting julia f...) two other mascoma alum came up as well. we went down in two groups, making our way at our own speeds. gathering in the parking lot, i was feeling so good that i made up a riddle for the group: today, i went up the mtn once and came down the same mtn twice...how does that work? olivia s. was equally excited and recruiting folks to go up in the morining to see the opposite of tonight's show, sunrise--moonset. i didn't hear any immediate enthusiasm but figured if anybody could rally the troops it would be olivia.
sure enough, at school on friday, olivia gushed that she and a couple of others had made the trek and gotten an equally great, clear show, horizon to horizon.
no riddle here, go outside and play! it's always good...
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