.January 21, 2007
Next weekend I am going on what I call my 'first real winter hikes'. I've done a couple warm-ups. Through the Appalachian Mountain Club I found a beginners group. Winter hiking is new to me, so before I go too deep into the woods I want to get some experience. So next Saturday and Sunday I will be rehiking a couple section of the Appalachian Trail. I kind of hate to rehike sections of the AT when there is still half of the AT that I haven't hiked yet, but my new AT hikes will have to wait until the spring. We will be hiking up to Baldpate Mountain on Saturday and then up to Old Speck on Sunday. I want to get a practice hike in with my new crampons, so I am heading up to Streaked Mountain today. It's a short hike but very steep, and I figure it will be a great place to try out my crampons. Here's a picture of one of my 10 point crampons. As you can see from the teeth, they can bite into just about anything.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail was mostly snow covered, but a did find a few icy spots to try them out. They worked great. Madison came with me today. She looks calm in this photo, but she's been running up and down the mountain getting in 3 times the milage as myself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Here's the view from the top with the Presidential Range to the right of the center.
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I've tried out all my winter gear, and I'm ready for this coming weekend.
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