Distance: 10.5 miles
Hikers: Dianne, Matthew, Brigid, Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Zealand #47 (4,260 feet), Hale #48 (4,054 feet)
[Guyot Campsite] > Bondcliff Trail > [Guyot] > Twinway > [Zealand] > Twinway > [Zealand Falls Hut] > Twinway > Lend-A-Hand Trail > [Hale] > Hale Brook Trail
Note: The following post details the second part of a two day trek. If you haven't already, you may want to read our post on hiking the Bonds.
Quinn woke up at Guyot Campsite raring to go! When we started this adventure with Flume and Liberty on August, 2 2014, #48 seemed so far way. Keeping this blog has been such a vivid example of how quickly time goes by and how important it is to be intentional about the way we live our lives. Much has happened in the 413 days from Flume to Hale; suffice it to say that we were excited to see what the day would bring.
This picture just doesn't do justice to the gorgeous red orb rising up to say good morning to the mountains. Quinn was beside himself!
Quinn made his way up to the shelter to say good morning!
I think we burned up some calories yesterday. I woke up at 3am starving. By the time we sat down for a hearty breakfast, we were ravenous!
Quinn was pumped to find out that Guyot Campsite had some resident Gray Jays. He's also enjoyed the company of these birds on our Waumbek and Tom, Field and Willey hikes.
Quinn and Matthew playing around in the shelter before we hit the trail for the day:
Our gracious host at Guyot Campsite was also named Quinn (AKA Quinn The Girl). Here's an AMC blog post about her work at Guyot. Every time someone in our hiking party called out for our Quinn, she came out of her tent to see what was needed. She was a good sport!
We made our way out of camp toward the summit of Guyot. It was another glorious day on the trails. Quinn had an extra kick in his step and when I reached the peak, I found him on top of the peak cairn enjoying the outstanding 360 degree views.
Mount Guyot has an elevation of 4580 feet but it's not an official 48 because it doesn't have the required prominence to make the list. That said, it has far better views than many of the 48 and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
On the other hand, Zealand is an official 48 but it has no views at all! Oh well, it does have a pretty cool sign!
Quinn was on a mission for Hale. I caught up to him as he sat pensively and patiently waiting.
After Zealand we had a fairly significant descent toward Zealand Falls Hut. This nifty little ladder helped!
If you've read other blog posts, you'll know that Quinn loves his "boardwalks." They have a range of usefulness depending on what time of year you're passing through a particular section of trail. Clearly, these particular boardwalks were serving their purpose!
We had planned to meet Quinn's mom (Brigid) and younger sister (Isabelle) at Zealand Falls Hut for the final peak. We had specifically planned on finishing on Hale (one of the more approachable 4000 footers) for quite some time so that we could make sure Isabelle could join us. Much to our dismay, Isabelle got sick before the trip and had to stay behind. Fortunately, Brigid greeted us at the hut with big smiles and warm hugs. We were so glad to see her! We hung out at the falls together enjoying the gem of a day.
I don't think Quinn was expecting the rigorous descent from Zealand Mountain. He was pretty exhausted when he reached the hut and he was ready to recharge the batteries! A hot bowl of veggie chili and he was back in business! Look out Quinn, mom's making a move for that spoon!
The boys horsed around outside the hut before we made our final push to Hale.
Quinn gave his mom a tour of the bunks and then we sat down for one last picture at Zealand Falls Hut.
We made our way back up to the Lend-A-Hand Trail junction. Nobody could seem to get the name of the trail right. Of the names I remember hearing, there were Lend-A-Hair, Lend-A-Head and Left-Handed Trail. Whatever the name, Quinn knew there was now only one trail between him and #48!
The Lend-A-Hand Trail turned out to be an unexpected little treasure. There were signs of fall with leaves of red and yellow. It was quite a beautiful little trail.
Wow, could it be? We marched up the rock pile with smiles from ear to ear. We couldn't have asked for a better day!
Brigid made us a nice little #48 out of some sticks and handed out homemade cupcakes to everybody. Dianne so kindly made us a congratulations sign and a Mountain Ninja Warrior shirt for Quinn. Matthew made an awesome camo bracelet for Quinn. Isabelle also sent along a card of congratulations. I'm so thankful for all the kindness. It was a really beautiful time!
Quinn donned his new shirt. Then we got together for a group picture of the raising of the hiking poles ceremony!
After enjoying all the festivities at the summit, it was time to make our way down. We made a rapid descent of the Hale Brook Trail which was relatively short an unremarkable.
Outside of Isabelle not being able to join us, we couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to our New Hampshire 48 4000 footer journey. Our two day trek had all the key ingredients that made for great memories and an excellent expedition. The most important of those ingredients were the people. Dianne, Matthew and Brigid, we sincerely thank you.
Quinn, you did such an incredible job and I'm very proud of you. Over your lifetime, I hope you think back fondly of our time together on this adventure. We did it buddy!
Quinn's Take
We woke up and had a delicious oatmeal breakfast and we fed some gray jays. On our way to Zealand, there was a trail that opened up and when we looked back, the trail looked like pictures I've seen of Ireland. Matthew and I ran to the top of Zealand. There were no views but the wooden sign was awesome. Someone left a fire pit so Matthew and I cleaned it up and it looked much better when we were done. On the way to Zealand Hut to meet my mom, the trail was so steep and I was getting so tired. We finally made it and I gave my mom a great, big hug! We hung out at the falls and ate soup at the hut. We explored the bunks, then started our way to Hale, our LAST 4000 foot peak!! At one point we thought we were at the top, but it turned out to be a false peak... Noooo!! But it was only about 15 minutes to the real peak. We got to the top and there was a gigantic cairn! To celebrate, we had cupcakes and Matthew and his mom gave me some gifts- a Ninja warrior t-shirt and a homemade camo bracelet. I felt so proud to have finished the 48 4000 footers. I was very tired and ready to head back to the car. We made it to the bottom and my dad and I got our picture taken. I had a great experience hiking the 48 4000 footers. I'm so grateful for my dad and I enjoyed our father and son time! Thank you! I love you, Dad! P.S New England 67 here we come!!!!!!
Post-hike Updates
Here's Quinn excitedly mailing out his application to the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club:
No comments:
Post a Comment