Today’s Hike: 6-28-2009

Today I’ll be hiking Southwest Hunter Mountain.

As I think I’ve mentioned before – Friday, in fact – Scott and I ascended this particular peak one rainy day back in October. But we didn’t find and sign in at the canister. In our defense, this was our first bushwack – the first time we had to go off-trail to find the summit of a mountain. And, in our defense, it was pouring rain – I’m talking cats, dogs, and little children. That particular day was the reason that we now both carry raingear whenever we’re out.

Further in our defense (though at this point, it probably sounds like we’re getting into excuse-territory) the little letters on the map that say “Southwest Hunter Mountain” are located just above (north) of a bunch of big letters that say “HUNTER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST” – aka “wilderness”. Granted, we picked this as our first bushwack because the peak isn’t that far off the trail, and if we somehow got lost or turned-around, we could always walk south or east (and downhill) for about three miles to find the nearest road. Although, that would also mean that we’d have to walk somewhere between 3 and 10 miles along said road to get back to the car.

Either way, being off-trail is pretty scary at first. In fact, once we decided that enough was enough and it was time to head back to the car (sans canister sign-in), the direction in which we thought the car lay was exactly the opposite of where it actually was. We wandered around that peak for a while, getting awfully wet. Did I mention it was October?

The weather machine says that there’s a good chance I’ll see the same cats, dogs, and little children today that Scott and I saw back in October. Oh well, my new hiking boots need breaking in, and I’ll have a reason to wear my new North Face summer rain jacket.

I’ll probably head in from Spruceton. I hope the Mini doesn’t get stuck in the mud on the way in.