Friday, July 2, 2010

Toads, Mushrooms, & Rainbows

My brother, dad, and I hiked the Baldface Circle Trail, an extensive 9.8 mile hike with a 3600 foot elevation gain. It was a fairly rigorous hike, a lot of fun, and absolutely worth every step. We left the house at 7:30 and got to the trail head at 10:30.



There were many streams, brooks, and rivers, all lined with moss and other plant life. We ran into our first of many toads only 0.9 miles in, we saw at least 5 or 6 today.



We continued up the trail listening to the birds.



I began to notice some mushrooms, definitely not the kind you want to eat. Magical only in looks.






Once we began to break tree line, nearing our first peak, delicious low bush blueberries emerged from hiding.



Once we could see over the trees we discovered the reasoning behind the naming process of Baldface, lots of exposed ledge.



As we continued the wind wind picked up and it would rain or mist off and on again.




Little did we know there is a holy man at the top of the mountain.




We got past the first peak and head to the second (of three) for lunch. Oliver claimed the wind was so fast that when he would jump vertically he would land somewhere new. We ate lunch and met another hiker from Bath. I picked up a 9 lbs. rock and carried it to the car- evidence at the end of the post.






We eventually got to the third peak, and then headed down the most exposed part of the trail.



There are massive slabs of rock that are breaking away and sliding down the hill, often sliding over each other, creating tunnels and caves. Oliver and I found a cave 35+ feet deep, at least thats how far we got, it kept going, some areas we squeezed through were less 5 inches wide.




We continued down, but I like climbing up much more.


All of the sudden a massive rainbow in the valley below formed.



The last 3 miles are always the hardest, but we got back. My backpack gave birth to my healthy 9 lbs. baby.


And on the way home, I slept, hard. Thanks dad.


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