Dates - October 25 through 27, 2013
Peaks - Sandwich Dome (44/100)
Trails - Flat Mountain Pond Trail; Bennett Street Trail
Companions - Kenny, Brandon, Chris & Sonsie
Kenny, Brandon and I had gone up to Ethan Pond (w/ Zealand, Wiley & Tom) about a year and a half ago but they're not camping regulars so we hadn't done anything since. Kenny just moved back to Boston so we used it as an excuse to revisit the Whites, this time with Chris in tow. Originally we were planning on a Green Mountain hike since Chris was coming from NYC, but ultimately there just weren't any hikes that had all the right ingredients, so we settled on Sandwich Dome. Not a 4k footer, but that's actually preferred because I'm hoping to check off the rest with Ted as we go. Notwithstanding, I would argue that I likely made it to 4,000 foot on this hike since the mountain is 3,993 and I'm 6'7" and jumped up at the top.
Headed up Friday evening/afternoon. We were able to cut out of work a little early and we made our food/gear stop quick, but with the short days and Friday traffic coming out of Boston, there's just no avoiding the night hike. I realize night hiking such a distance is not advisable, but the desire to spend both Friday and Saturday night at Flat Mountain Pond shelter made it worth it. No cars at the trailhead at the very end of Bennett Street was the good sign I was looking for so we chanced it and proceeded sans tent. Off we went ...
Went 0.3 in and cut right on Bennett Street Trail, just a little ways beyond a private bridge. Walked up along the stream for somewhere around 1.0 to 1.25 miles without any real incident, but around that point we dipped along the stream and lost the trail at some point. Very difficult to tell when with the dried out tributaries, darkness, and leaf cover. That being the case, and knowing that Bennett Street Trail cuts left before the junction with Flat Mountain Pond Trail, we decide to bushwhack the gap, probably cutting off 0.2 or so in the process. Again, night bushwhacking likely not advisable, but I knew our heading and it wasn't ultimately that bad, just a little steep. All the same, true relief upon re-finding the trail. Headed east/north from there up the trail to the shelter, easy and flat, as all before me have described.
Got to the shelter to find it all for ourselves. Toes were quite cold at this point from a couple mud dips but admired the beautiful stars above for a moment before starting up dinner. 1 lb ground beef cooked in a little olive oil, added some chopped onion, cooked until tender, drained, then added 1 can tomato soup, 1 can diced tomatoes, and 2 cans bean. Warmed through then served topped with cheese with chips for dipping. This might be the most legitimate back country meal that I've done that actually worked, and I will definitely be doing it again. Very delicious and easy. Got to bed late.
Woke up early but the others were slow to rise so cooked up the instant coffee, eggs, remaining ground beef and another onion. The pond was as beautiful as I've seen in others' pictures, with an added bonus of light snowfall. No fish jumping, though, and unfortunately no beavers or moose. Left most of our gear and packed one bag between us and headed back the way we came to go tag Sandwich Dome.
Came upon a large group of hikers heading toward the pond as we were heading away from it. Quite a few of them. No issues whatsoever for the entirety of the trip. A few very minor blow downs but only one that I recall having to step over significantly. No real color in the trees anymore, but beautiful to be crunching through the thick covering of dead leaves. About halfway up light snow coverings appeared and by the time we reached the top I would say it was a 1/2 inch covering all around. Not great views from the top, but not the worst I've seen. Ran into two other ladies while we were there. Decided to have our obligatory sandwich a bit down from the peak, though, where we saw a solo hiker heading up at a good clip.
After our break, headed back down the way we came. We had intended to come up Bennett Street Trail and head down the same, rather than Gleason, just to save a couple fractions of a mile. I believe we were on it, but ultimately I'm not sure because I was watching for the Gleason/Bennett trail split 0.5 from the summit and did not see it. Then again, I could have just missed it. In any event, slowly but surely we made our way all the way back down and eventually made it back to the pond around 5:15. With the little daylight we had left we decided to scope out a bit more of the lake and cast a few lines to see if anything was biting. Not a sign of fish anywhere, sadly. Maybe I should blame Sonsie and her splashing.
That night we had grilled cheeses with ramen noodles and a little Jack with Honey to cure what ailed us. I had been a little anxious about sharing the area with such a large group but they were very nice and we ended up getting into our game of Racko so much that we didn't even really notice them. They too had a dog but there were no issues there. Slept snugly that night.
Woke up Sunday morning to another beautiful morning over the pond. Took our time getting to it, had some oatmeal and coffee, and eventually said farewell to the site and our neighbors. Stopped on the far end of the lake to try again with the fishing but, again, no luck. Still a beautiful lake though. Saw a couple others with a dog along the way. Flat and easy going out. Was going without incident until, soon after the McCrillis Trail split we lost the trail along the river right near a makeshift picnic table someone had thrown together with some boards and a fire pit nearby. After a quick sandwich we wandered around but seemed to just get more and more lost as we went until, eventually we were just bushwhacking parallel to Whiteface River. Kept that up for a while, seeing trees marked for cutting (I assume) along the way, until eventually we came upon a path. Thought it was our path so we followed it but then ultimately came out on an old farmhouse's property. Skirted the edge along to Chase Road and then back to Bennett Street junction. Then we ditched the packs and I jogged the 2.2 miles with Sonsie back to the car, stopping at a point to hold her still while she growled suspiciously at a passing horse. Could have been much, much worse in my book.
Peaks - Sandwich Dome (44/100)
Trails - Flat Mountain Pond Trail; Bennett Street Trail
Companions - Kenny, Brandon, Chris & Sonsie
Kenny, Brandon and I had gone up to Ethan Pond (w/ Zealand, Wiley & Tom) about a year and a half ago but they're not camping regulars so we hadn't done anything since. Kenny just moved back to Boston so we used it as an excuse to revisit the Whites, this time with Chris in tow. Originally we were planning on a Green Mountain hike since Chris was coming from NYC, but ultimately there just weren't any hikes that had all the right ingredients, so we settled on Sandwich Dome. Not a 4k footer, but that's actually preferred because I'm hoping to check off the rest with Ted as we go. Notwithstanding, I would argue that I likely made it to 4,000 foot on this hike since the mountain is 3,993 and I'm 6'7" and jumped up at the top.
Headed up Friday evening/afternoon. We were able to cut out of work a little early and we made our food/gear stop quick, but with the short days and Friday traffic coming out of Boston, there's just no avoiding the night hike. I realize night hiking such a distance is not advisable, but the desire to spend both Friday and Saturday night at Flat Mountain Pond shelter made it worth it. No cars at the trailhead at the very end of Bennett Street was the good sign I was looking for so we chanced it and proceeded sans tent. Off we went ...
Went 0.3 in and cut right on Bennett Street Trail, just a little ways beyond a private bridge. Walked up along the stream for somewhere around 1.0 to 1.25 miles without any real incident, but around that point we dipped along the stream and lost the trail at some point. Very difficult to tell when with the dried out tributaries, darkness, and leaf cover. That being the case, and knowing that Bennett Street Trail cuts left before the junction with Flat Mountain Pond Trail, we decide to bushwhack the gap, probably cutting off 0.2 or so in the process. Again, night bushwhacking likely not advisable, but I knew our heading and it wasn't ultimately that bad, just a little steep. All the same, true relief upon re-finding the trail. Headed east/north from there up the trail to the shelter, easy and flat, as all before me have described.
Got to the shelter to find it all for ourselves. Toes were quite cold at this point from a couple mud dips but admired the beautiful stars above for a moment before starting up dinner. 1 lb ground beef cooked in a little olive oil, added some chopped onion, cooked until tender, drained, then added 1 can tomato soup, 1 can diced tomatoes, and 2 cans bean. Warmed through then served topped with cheese with chips for dipping. This might be the most legitimate back country meal that I've done that actually worked, and I will definitely be doing it again. Very delicious and easy. Got to bed late.
Woke up early but the others were slow to rise so cooked up the instant coffee, eggs, remaining ground beef and another onion. The pond was as beautiful as I've seen in others' pictures, with an added bonus of light snowfall. No fish jumping, though, and unfortunately no beavers or moose. Left most of our gear and packed one bag between us and headed back the way we came to go tag Sandwich Dome.
Came upon a large group of hikers heading toward the pond as we were heading away from it. Quite a few of them. No issues whatsoever for the entirety of the trip. A few very minor blow downs but only one that I recall having to step over significantly. No real color in the trees anymore, but beautiful to be crunching through the thick covering of dead leaves. About halfway up light snow coverings appeared and by the time we reached the top I would say it was a 1/2 inch covering all around. Not great views from the top, but not the worst I've seen. Ran into two other ladies while we were there. Decided to have our obligatory sandwich a bit down from the peak, though, where we saw a solo hiker heading up at a good clip.
After our break, headed back down the way we came. We had intended to come up Bennett Street Trail and head down the same, rather than Gleason, just to save a couple fractions of a mile. I believe we were on it, but ultimately I'm not sure because I was watching for the Gleason/Bennett trail split 0.5 from the summit and did not see it. Then again, I could have just missed it. In any event, slowly but surely we made our way all the way back down and eventually made it back to the pond around 5:15. With the little daylight we had left we decided to scope out a bit more of the lake and cast a few lines to see if anything was biting. Not a sign of fish anywhere, sadly. Maybe I should blame Sonsie and her splashing.
That night we had grilled cheeses with ramen noodles and a little Jack with Honey to cure what ailed us. I had been a little anxious about sharing the area with such a large group but they were very nice and we ended up getting into our game of Racko so much that we didn't even really notice them. They too had a dog but there were no issues there. Slept snugly that night.
Woke up Sunday morning to another beautiful morning over the pond. Took our time getting to it, had some oatmeal and coffee, and eventually said farewell to the site and our neighbors. Stopped on the far end of the lake to try again with the fishing but, again, no luck. Still a beautiful lake though. Saw a couple others with a dog along the way. Flat and easy going out. Was going without incident until, soon after the McCrillis Trail split we lost the trail along the river right near a makeshift picnic table someone had thrown together with some boards and a fire pit nearby. After a quick sandwich we wandered around but seemed to just get more and more lost as we went until, eventually we were just bushwhacking parallel to Whiteface River. Kept that up for a while, seeing trees marked for cutting (I assume) along the way, until eventually we came upon a path. Thought it was our path so we followed it but then ultimately came out on an old farmhouse's property. Skirted the edge along to Chase Road and then back to Bennett Street junction. Then we ditched the packs and I jogged the 2.2 miles with Sonsie back to the car, stopping at a point to hold her still while she growled suspiciously at a passing horse. Could have been much, much worse in my book.
What I Didn't Bring But Wish I Did: Full-on Boots; Chair
What I Brought But Didn't Need: Tarp
Reflection: The best of the fall colors were gone but I think I liked it just as much as it was. The crisp, cool temperatures of fall, the dead leaves covering everything, and the bugs and crowds of the summer days mostly passed. Only weather better for hiking is the dead of winter ...
