Anyone in the White Mountains this weekend?

[Chi Meson]

<cough, cough>

Monday, walking into the crisp air of Mount Carrigain. Heading into a 10-mile hike - though I'm sure it feels like a lot more when it's all wet and yucky, like it was Saturday.
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I'm sure it was a 10 mile hike if you turned around at the top and came back the same path (since the sign at the top says "5.0 Miles" to the trailhead). We went on down the west side, to the left of the tower-shot we have, tremendously steep, and came back through Carrigain Notch. That loop is between 13 and 14 miles.

 

[Redbelly98]

Back at the campsite, I found a message!

Actually, I was going to put a homework help question there, but I thought better of it.

Now that would have been a funny surprise :rofl:

 

[Chi Meson]

Now that would have been a funny surprise :rofl:

We had been at the site for more than an hour before I saw the note. I had to set up our smaller, 4-season tent because it was too cold to be in our luxurious, family-size 3-season tent. So, pitching a second tent in the dark, hungry, after 30 miles in 2 days, joints hurting, starting to feel old, time to eat *oh BOY* ramen noodles, and then...

there's the note! I'm not sure if the world suddenly felt larger or smaller, somehow both. It was really a blast to see it.

 

[Gokul43201]

I'm sure it was a 10 mile hike if you turned around at the top and came back the same path (since the sign at the top says "5.0 Miles" to the trailhead). We went on down the west side, to the left of the tower-shot we have, tremendously steep, and came back through Carrigain Notch. That loop is between 13 and 14 miles.

Yup, 13.5 mi according to the WMG. So much for being a smart-***! How were the views coming down the other side?

 

[Chi Meson]

Yup, 13.5 mi according to the WMG. So much for being a smart-***! How were the views coming down the other side?

not

There was an initial mile of absurdly steep descent (it was quite literally, "class III" rock-climbing at a few points; I am a overly-proud "mountain goat" when it comes to ascents and especially descents. I do NOT use my hands, I do NOT "butt-scrape" on a hiking trail, EVER! Well, I held onto branches, and my butt was scraped by the end of it. Totally demoralizing. No pictures, please.)

...then some nice woods, like the initial approach. Going through the notch, we saw the even steeper north side of Carrigain, but that was it for views the whole time. Mostly a long tree-tunnel.