An amazing adventure was had by our "Take A Hike!" crew once again! We revisited Hogback knowing there was slim chance of getting caught in a thunderstorm this time! Instead, we hiked to the summit in a blizzard!
As we approached our lot,we discovered that they were not plowing our usual parking area as they have in past winters.
Plan B... We parked at the lot about .25 miles past the Wetmore Pond parking area and hoped to be able to pick up and follow the North Country Trail that would lead us up the backside of Hogback. New adventure for us all, as I hadn't hiked this side of Hogback in 18 years!
It was a perfect time for our hikers to learn about the importance of making cairns on a questionable trail where ongoing snow could potentially hide your tracks upon your return. We also wanted to make sure we didn't confuse our trail with the many deer trails intersecting it in various places on our return trip. With the help of some creative cairns, one including an animal skull, we were on our way and confident we'd have no trouble navigating back to our starting point. Eventually we picked up the trail of blue blazes painted on the trees showing we were on our intended path of the North Country Trail!
It was a beautiful day for a hike... overcast, a bit of wind, about 9 degrees, and snowing... but in the woods we were plenty warm as we made our way in hopes of finding the summit! As we started climbing upward, we knew we were headed in the right direction and were going to make our goal despite the unexpected change in route!
Once again, we made the Hogback summit in less than picture-perfect weather... but that is how we roll... we love the adventure. I guess this means our club may need to hike here a third time in the summer months again in hopes of better view and photos... third time's a charm, right?
Our return from the summit was fast... EVERYONE had fun using our God-given sleds (aka rear-ends) on the hike back down! Once again . . .a great hike with great friends and family! Life is great . . . on sunny (or not so sunny) days . . .
http://youtu.be/iw7P8PZ9KPc So... get out there and TAKE A HIKE!!!!
As we approached our lot,we discovered that they were not plowing our usual parking area as they have in past winters.
Plan B... We parked at the lot about .25 miles past the Wetmore Pond parking area and hoped to be able to pick up and follow the North Country Trail that would lead us up the backside of Hogback. New adventure for us all, as I hadn't hiked this side of Hogback in 18 years!
It was a perfect time for our hikers to learn about the importance of making cairns on a questionable trail where ongoing snow could potentially hide your tracks upon your return. We also wanted to make sure we didn't confuse our trail with the many deer trails intersecting it in various places on our return trip. With the help of some creative cairns, one including an animal skull, we were on our way and confident we'd have no trouble navigating back to our starting point. Eventually we picked up the trail of blue blazes painted on the trees showing we were on our intended path of the North Country Trail!
It was a beautiful day for a hike... overcast, a bit of wind, about 9 degrees, and snowing... but in the woods we were plenty warm as we made our way in hopes of finding the summit! As we started climbing upward, we knew we were headed in the right direction and were going to make our goal despite the unexpected change in route!
Once again, we made the Hogback summit in less than picture-perfect weather... but that is how we roll... we love the adventure. I guess this means our club may need to hike here a third time in the summer months again in hopes of better view and photos... third time's a charm, right?
Our return from the summit was fast... EVERYONE had fun using our God-given sleds (aka rear-ends) on the hike back down! Once again . . .a great hike with great friends and family! Life is great . . . on sunny (or not so sunny) days . . .
http://youtu.be/iw7P8PZ9KPc So... get out there and TAKE A HIKE!!!!