Rik
06-27-2005, 09:25 AM
Well I couldn't come up with a title for this trip report. Too many to choose from. "Dial up some Heat", "Let this be a lesson to you", "Gravestone adventures"...
The forcast looked insane so we tried to get an early start. That didn't happen. We didn't start until 8:30am. It was already warm and the bugs on the trail past Round Pond were almost enough to turn us around! I actually put on bug dope which I hate doing! Once off the trail and headed up Gravestone Brook the bugs were much more tolerable. The route up Gravestone was nice, mostly open. Charlene was going slow due to the heat. Even Dali the dog who isn't much of a swimmer was in the water several times. Once up on the trail we climbed Dial. We saw one couple headed down and another on the summit. When they left we had the summit to ourselves for nearly an hour. The views up close were awesome but the distant views were very hazy. We considered going back the way we came due to the heat but Charlene was feeling better after a rest and lunch so we decided to follow our original plan. OOoops!
After being in the constant breeze on Dial it felt hot in the woods. We went over Bear Den and met a solo hiker going up to Dial. He looked pretty hot. We filtered some water between Bear Den and Noonmark. We saw two deer there that must have been trying to escape the heat and bugs down low. The climb up the shoulder of Noonmark is hot due to the exposure caused by the burn. The views were great and the breeze felt wonderful on the open rocks. We followed a compass bearing into the woods towards Noonmark. The beginning took some time getting through the edge of the burn where there was plenty of downed trees and debris. The woods were not as open as we expected but not terrible either. Lots of 6 foot pine trees have filled in what must have been very open woods not long ago. It looked like a Christmas tree farm. This is where it got 'interesting'. I started feeling nauseous. A couple hundred feet below Noonmark I vomitted all the water I had been drinking. This made Charlene very nervous as we still had to skirt the cliffs to the top of Noonmark and then hike three and a half miles out. I was able to go a few minutes at a time and then would need to stop and rest. The wind on Noonmark felt great and we sat there for about a half hour. It was 6:30pm and we had the summit to ourselves. I was able to nibble some food and sip some water but was not in good shape. I was amazed at how quickly I went from feeling fine to feeling like I wasn't going to make it out. In all my hiking I've never felt like I might not be able to just push through and get myself out. Charlene offered to go ahead but I thought it best that we stay together and just go slow. Good thing the days are long this time of year! Going down Noonmark was torture. That trail is steep! We would go down about a hundred feet and then rest for several minutes and then repeat this for over a thousand feet. At 7:30pm we reached the junction with the trail to Rt. 73. It had taken an hour to go downhill for a mile! After soaking my head in the stream I was determined to just put my head down and go. I was still sweating so I knew I could keep moving and hadn't reached a heat stroke stage yet. Was actually able to make that last 2.3 miles in an hour! For the first time in 7 years I actually asked Charlene to drive home. I was still sick and wondered whether I would be able to hold fluids. After changing cloths we stopped at the spring near Exit 30 and got water. We then stopped at the rest area on the northway and got some gatorade which I sipped the whole way home. I felt a little better by the time we got home and was able to force myself to eat. Still don't feel 100% now on Monday.
Overall this trip is spectacular just not on a ninety degree day! The views were great, we saw very few people (only other fools) , the burn was cool to see how it is recovering (the saplings are all 5-6 feet tall) and Charlene got #26 on Dial. That said please be careful out there in this heat. I consider myself in very good physical shape and felt fine for much of the hike. Getting sick was sudden and scary (off trail 4 miles from the car). I think our biggest mistake was going out in the first place on a day that hot. Only about 180 days til winter! :cool:
Going to my neice's Christening the next morning in a hot church was torture. When she's old enough I tell how she owes me! ;)
The forcast looked insane so we tried to get an early start. That didn't happen. We didn't start until 8:30am. It was already warm and the bugs on the trail past Round Pond were almost enough to turn us around! I actually put on bug dope which I hate doing! Once off the trail and headed up Gravestone Brook the bugs were much more tolerable. The route up Gravestone was nice, mostly open. Charlene was going slow due to the heat. Even Dali the dog who isn't much of a swimmer was in the water several times. Once up on the trail we climbed Dial. We saw one couple headed down and another on the summit. When they left we had the summit to ourselves for nearly an hour. The views up close were awesome but the distant views were very hazy. We considered going back the way we came due to the heat but Charlene was feeling better after a rest and lunch so we decided to follow our original plan. OOoops!
After being in the constant breeze on Dial it felt hot in the woods. We went over Bear Den and met a solo hiker going up to Dial. He looked pretty hot. We filtered some water between Bear Den and Noonmark. We saw two deer there that must have been trying to escape the heat and bugs down low. The climb up the shoulder of Noonmark is hot due to the exposure caused by the burn. The views were great and the breeze felt wonderful on the open rocks. We followed a compass bearing into the woods towards Noonmark. The beginning took some time getting through the edge of the burn where there was plenty of downed trees and debris. The woods were not as open as we expected but not terrible either. Lots of 6 foot pine trees have filled in what must have been very open woods not long ago. It looked like a Christmas tree farm. This is where it got 'interesting'. I started feeling nauseous. A couple hundred feet below Noonmark I vomitted all the water I had been drinking. This made Charlene very nervous as we still had to skirt the cliffs to the top of Noonmark and then hike three and a half miles out. I was able to go a few minutes at a time and then would need to stop and rest. The wind on Noonmark felt great and we sat there for about a half hour. It was 6:30pm and we had the summit to ourselves. I was able to nibble some food and sip some water but was not in good shape. I was amazed at how quickly I went from feeling fine to feeling like I wasn't going to make it out. In all my hiking I've never felt like I might not be able to just push through and get myself out. Charlene offered to go ahead but I thought it best that we stay together and just go slow. Good thing the days are long this time of year! Going down Noonmark was torture. That trail is steep! We would go down about a hundred feet and then rest for several minutes and then repeat this for over a thousand feet. At 7:30pm we reached the junction with the trail to Rt. 73. It had taken an hour to go downhill for a mile! After soaking my head in the stream I was determined to just put my head down and go. I was still sweating so I knew I could keep moving and hadn't reached a heat stroke stage yet. Was actually able to make that last 2.3 miles in an hour! For the first time in 7 years I actually asked Charlene to drive home. I was still sick and wondered whether I would be able to hold fluids. After changing cloths we stopped at the spring near Exit 30 and got water. We then stopped at the rest area on the northway and got some gatorade which I sipped the whole way home. I felt a little better by the time we got home and was able to force myself to eat. Still don't feel 100% now on Monday.
Overall this trip is spectacular just not on a ninety degree day! The views were great, we saw very few people (only other fools) , the burn was cool to see how it is recovering (the saplings are all 5-6 feet tall) and Charlene got #26 on Dial. That said please be careful out there in this heat. I consider myself in very good physical shape and felt fine for much of the hike. Getting sick was sudden and scary (off trail 4 miles from the car). I think our biggest mistake was going out in the first place on a day that hot. Only about 180 days til winter! :cool:
Going to my neice's Christening the next morning in a hot church was torture. When she's old enough I tell how she owes me! ;)