Date: 2007-10-08
To: A weekend in the Bigelows..
Miles today: 0.0

Wow this weekend was perfect. I was able to get out and finally hike. I decided to head to the Bigelows once again. I really love it up there. I headed out rather late on Saturday, left the parking lot around 1pm. It was a great beginning, and then BAM. I literally fell on my face. I am not even sure what I tripped on (to be honest there was nothing there.) I got up looked myself over and shook out my legs. Instantly there was a huge goose egg just below my knee, it also was turning black and blue. My knee was gushing blood.. My first thought was oh crap; maybe this isn¢t a good day to be hiking... I wiped up the blood and checked my leg again. It wasn't in a lot of pain or anything and I could move it just fine. By the time everything was said and done the lump was gone and the leg seemed fine. I really am a klutz! I will be the first to tell you that. So I continued on. The trees were beautiful in color. I had to stop every now and then to look around at the beauty and take in the smells of fall. Just before 2 miles to the top it started to sprinkle a little bit. It sure did feel good. It kept me quite cool and I needed that. Once I reached the pond area I could hear some kids yelling. I was worried the site might be full, but it was just a family out enjoying time together. I had made it to Horns Pond. (I was not sure of the time as I thought I left my watch at home)I was able to find a great tenting site that was very private. I could see the very huge looking South Peak from my site! Tomorrow was going to be a great climb. I set up my tent and got everything ready for dinner. A gourmet meal of Chicken Ramen with a side of canned chicken breast. YUM! My Pepsi can stove worked great. I was unable to find my stand for the pot that my dad made for me before I left. So I used two rocks to keep my pot off of the stove. It worked much better using Heet than it had with the denatured alcohol. The meal was delicious.         I found out a friend of mine was also doing a weekend solo trip, and I got to talk to him as he was hanging out in the lean-to. There was also this great group from Canada who take a trip together every Columbus Day weekend. They were a riot and fun to listen to, even though they were speaking French. You could tell they were having a great time.    I curled up into my tent early, but again I couldn't tell the time as I was missing my watch. Just as I started to read my book it started to rain pretty hard. Through out the night we got hit with a bunch of rain as well as some fierce wind. It made it a very cozy night for me in my sleeping bag. I awoke rather late as I had no real time limit for anything. I got up to find it really very cold. I kept most of my warm clothing on as I broke camp and made breakfast. Yummy granola and pow moo! I didn't actually take off from Horns Pond till 10:30. It was still rather windy but I was able to get away with wearing my shorts and a polypro long sleeve shirt.         There were some tricky spots for me to get over today, I thought of everything as preparation for things to come. Sometimes I got down on my bum to get off of large rocks and other times I hucked my poles ahead of me so I could use my hands as much as my legs. It was challenging but really fun. I made it to the South Horn around 11:30 and then to the much higher West Peak around 1. West peak was beautiful but very chilly. I decided to wait for lunch till I got to Avery Campsite.   I decided to head down the Fire Wardens trail. I had read that it was a very steep decent from the campsite. .7 of a mile of stairs! Yikes my knees painfully enjoyed every bit as my mind worked to find the best footing. It was a very fun challenge to get down, but I was very grateful the stairs were there. It would have been very rough with out them. I got to my campsite Moose Falls around 3; it was way too early to be at camp, so I decided to push on back to the car. It was a great trip down. The leaves were wonderful and the woods were so peaceful.         What a beautiful weekend! It got me really geared up for hiking in the spring. I also came up with a few things... like I really love my pack, it¢s a bit heavy but it fits me well. I need to decide if I want to keep using it or go for the Osprey Ariel like I have been planning. Also my current tent is old, and it weighs a lot... 7 pounds to be exact so I was thinking that the extra 5 pounds it took up will undoubtedly be filled with other things when my bags are all set, so the weight thing really isn¢t an issue. I just need to order the Rainbow Tarp tent soon... and then foot wear. I still need to figure out what I am going to want on my feet. Boots have good ankle support but are big and bulky, and always (no matter how long I wear them or break them in) give me blisters. I need perhaps a hiking shoe or a good trail running shoe that will work well on wet rock. I am very good at hydroplaning... oh and finally my camera. I have a huge camera, but it truly is a part of me. I am currently thinking of bringing it along on my adventure. If for nothing else, to add extra weight to my pack... haha!Sorry this was a random entry. I had a lot spinning around up in my head, but it was a great trip and it made me very excited to get going in March.