Date: 2009-09-05
From: Lyme-Dorchester Road

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 16.2

Today started with a fantastic walk up Smarts Mountain. Given that it was something like 2,400ft of vertical it wasn't without effort but it was also not without reward. As ever its not really about the hill itself, which is fairly constant, but rather the way you find it, which can be somewhat variable. How physically tired you are, your mental attitude, the weather; these are the sorts of things that can make any stretch of trail range from complete misery to complete bliss.Today I was well over towards the right of that particular range. I had slept well on soft, flat ground; I woke early, feeling good and stepping out to clear blue skies with the definite feel of a great day to come; I was feeling good and I was raring to go.The bottom half of the climb consisted of slowly gathering a bit of height before hitting a stretch of exposed ledges. The trail would arc round in something resembling a semi circle and from the ledges I could look across the bowl to Smarts Mountain itself and to the hills and ridges beyond. Even this early the sun was bright and warm and it was a joy to sit down and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. I love the feel of the early morning. Knowing that most people are still tucked up in their bed gives me a feeling of privilege. A feeling that all this beauty, the setting, the weather, has all been arranged for no other purpose than my personal enjoyment.I passed Spirit Fingers and another guy who had just cowboy camped on the exposed rock. It looked an idyllic spot but they were well wrapped up and did mention that it had been a little chilly. That said it must have been great to feel those first warming rays of the day to come, to lie there and see the dark turn to dim, and then to see the colours becoming richer and more vivid, to welcome the dawn, to see the sky turn to perfect blue and sun rising above them.The trail continued along the ridge, leaving the ledges for a route though the forest. I was making miles but not not making any particularly significant vertical progress. The majority of the altitude gain, I would soon discover, had been reserved for the final yomp to the top and would provide a notable sting in the tail. However, for the reasons I outlined earlier, on this morning it would turn out to be fun and would bring a smile; when on other days, and in other circumstances, it may have driven me to distraction. The trail began to climb, to climb steeply. Up through the trees, over sections of exposed and crumbly rocks. It would turn a little, offer some hope of flattening out and then, once again, head upwards. The last half mile was tough, lots of false summits, and it was hot when I was clear of the trees. With one false summit after another you start to give up hope of ever reaching the top but, if you keep plodding on, the top is an inevitability and so eventually, weary, somewhat out of breath but also with the warm glow of accomplishment I passed the camp site, the fire tower and the summit cabinThe trail wound on towards South Jacobs Brook, a truly excellent little spot. It seemed to represent the low point between Smarts Mountain (now behind me) and Mt Cube (which lay ahead of me) and as such I would probably have stopped anyway but it was also idyllic. I jumped down onto some large rocks that lay below the trail and made myself comfortable. The sun found its way through the gaps in the forest canopy and the brook ran clear between the large rocks that formed its banks. This is the sort of moments you come out here for. Where else could you ever wish to be. Swift joined me and we both ate and chatted and then when he moved on I settled down to read with only the soundtrack of the river and the forest for company.It turned out to be a day strewn with these moments and these places: the ledges, the brook and then Mt Cube with more exposed rock slabs and great views under a clear sky. The trek up offered many opportunities to stop. Each time I thought it might be the top (or very nearly so) but then onwards, upwards, more exposed rock, another nice rest and so on and so on.Of course, all this dilly dallying did mean that the miles still lay ahead and that the time was ticking on. A small price to pay for all this serenity but a price none the less. Enough to make me glad to finally reach tonight shelter and to be able to call it a day. The camping wasn't great, the water source was pretty poor, if truth be told, and maybe I even felt a little awkward at first but things soon worked themselves out and we had a fine time (Chainsaw, Kiltecky, Swift, a father and his 3 sons) and it was late before Swift and I finally left the last glowing embers of the camp fire behind and retired for the night.