July 28, 2008
Well this is it. Today I will complete the New England 100 Highest List. Why did I choose Equinox to end on? Most completers of this list seem to end on a nasty bushwhack with no views. I wanted a mountain with a view. Most importantly, I wanted Lynn to be there. She has been such an encouragement and has offered nothing but her full support while I pursued this goal. This mountain is one of three on the N.E. 100 highest list that has a road to the top. (The other two are Mansfield and Washington). Lynn will drive to the top to meet us.
Ed sent out an email that I was finishing today, but since I wasn't finishing on a weekend, I wasn't expecting a big crowd. There are two trailheads you can leave from. We parked near the athletic field. Ed, Alex, Lynn, Madison, and I started off together at just after 10:00 am. Lynn and Madison turned around within a few minutes. They would meet us at the top. We took the Blue Summit Trai (Burr & Burton Trail). It was a wide trail and must have been an ATV trail or road at somepoint. There's a lot of elevation gain on this mountain. We made it to the approximate halfway point where there was a split in the trail leading to a spring. We took a break before heading up.
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As we neared the summit there was another split in the trail. There was an arrow pointing to the right which we took. It became clear that it was leading us to Lookout Rock so we cut back to the left.
We went by this memorial to Mr. Barbo, a dog who had been shot by a malicious hunter. Sad :(
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Just before noon, we reached the 3850' summit. I don't know the exact minute we reached the summit because the top of this mountain is very flat. During our stay on the top I walked around touching everything that might look like the highpoint. We came out behind the defunct hotel. On the other side of the hotel Lynn and Madison were waiting for us. FYI - It's $12 to drive up the road. Ouch!! Ed congratulated me and gave me a 100 Highest Patch. Of course I still need to get down under my own power and mail in my application, but it was nice to receive the patch while summiting #100.
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The best part of finishing was that Lynn was there to congratulate me.
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And of course Madison too. (FYI - Maddie is not wearing a muzzle, it's a gentle leader that keeps her from pulling)
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The defunct hotel
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We all walked down to Lookout Rock together. There's an excellent view overlooking Manchester, but it was very hazy today.
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We walked most of the way back to the summit. Lynn and Maddie continued back to the top while the rest of us headed down. We stopped once on the way day to check out the spring. We finished the hike about 3:00 pm. Here's today's track.
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This peak was #100 for me on the New England 100 Highest. On a lesser note, it was peak #27 on New England's 50 finest. So what's next. Oh, I have plenty to do. I have 48 A.T. miles in Maine to finish this summer, continue working on New England's 50 finest, New Hampshire 100 highest, more 3000 footers, the White Mountain 4000 footer grid. There is no end! That's why I like hiking so much!
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