Dave's Vermont Journal - Part II
October 1, 2002
Ah, what a day. I feel as though I have accomplished something, and I guess I have. I woke up right on time. I may have snoozed the alarm a few times. This morning was all business. I was at the trailhead and hiking at 9AM after calling Kara. I also signed in at the trailhead. The hike up was extremely strenuous. The trail went straight up at a moderate pitch, and gained a good 1,000 feet right off the bat. When I finally got to the summit, there was a signpost with an arrow to the summit, and one for lookout point. I decided to check out the summit first, and to my surprise, it was about 15 feet away, marked by a cairn and a USGS tag. So I moved on to lookout point. It was gorgeous. There was a stunning view to the South overlooking Island Pond. By this time, it was quite hot, and I rested, drank water and a soda, and had a snack. Then I took some shots from the summit. All that effort, and I only took three photos. On the way down, I started to really feel dehydrated. A bad headache set in, and I ran out of water. I also was worried about sunburn since I had been in direct sunlight for a few hours at the summit.
The trail crosses one stream, and it is here that the blue trail crosses the white trail. I wasn't looking for a blue blaze, and I overshot the end of the trail. I easily retraced my last steps, and got back on track. When I was finished, I drove straight back to the campground, called Kara, and took my rest. My total hiking time was around 6 hours, although half of that was taking photos, some twice due to a minor film mishap. By 5ish, my headache was gone, and I was feeling tired, but I also had a sense of accomplishment. So out I went again, and chased the sun for two hours, but there was no good sunset. I also almost wound up in Newport due to following the highway the wrong way. I did see some spectacular sun action before dusk on Rt. 105 between Island Pond and Charleston. The clouds were all broken up, and huge sunbeams and rays kept streaming through. Each time, I could not find a pullover and set up fast enough. There was always a power line on the wrong side of the road, or no turnoffs, or private property to contend with. I could probably have gotten some really nice shots if I had just picked one location and stayed put.
Here's an interesting thing about photography. When you ask people where they might suggest you take pictures, they tend to repeat a common theme - the peak of this or that mountain. Even before I went up Bluff, I knew that I'd probably be more interested in the trail than the summit. I had someone suggest Bald Mountain because, "it's got a great view, and you can climb a 50 foot fire tower to get above the trees." Clearly, this person has never tried to take a sharp landscape photograph with a long lens, a two-stop penalty polarizer, and slow film from the top of a 50 foot tower being blown around by the wind. I am not even going to try.
Another thought - this place seems far less wild than the Island Pond I remember. I'm sure the passage of time has something to do with that. The location, too. You are just a mile or two from the city center, and even though it is small, it feels less remote. And the weather is so warm. Today was downright hot. I was sweating in the tent before I got up. I make an unrealistic connection between climate and expectation, I realize, thinking that the Kingdom is a cold, remote place. It is not on this trip, although it is very close to those places.
A passage in this book I'm reading by Ilana Katz triggered a sudden, vivid image of Katherine in my mind, her, standing at her crib, with lovie hanging out of her mouth. God I love her.
Ah, what a day. I feel as though I have accomplished something, and I guess I have. I woke up right on time. I may have snoozed the alarm a few times. This morning was all business. I was at the trailhead and hiking at 9AM after calling Kara. I also signed in at the trailhead. The hike up was extremely strenuous. The trail went straight up at a moderate pitch, and gained a good 1,000 feet right off the bat. When I finally got to the summit, there was a signpost with an arrow to the summit, and one for lookout point. I decided to check out the summit first, and to my surprise, it was about 15 feet away, marked by a cairn and a USGS tag. So I moved on to lookout point. It was gorgeous. There was a stunning view to the South overlooking Island Pond. By this time, it was quite hot, and I rested, drank water and a soda, and had a snack. Then I took some shots from the summit. All that effort, and I only took three photos. On the way down, I started to really feel dehydrated. A bad headache set in, and I ran out of water. I also was worried about sunburn since I had been in direct sunlight for a few hours at the summit.
The trail crosses one stream, and it is here that the blue trail crosses the white trail. I wasn't looking for a blue blaze, and I overshot the end of the trail. I easily retraced my last steps, and got back on track. When I was finished, I drove straight back to the campground, called Kara, and took my rest. My total hiking time was around 6 hours, although half of that was taking photos, some twice due to a minor film mishap. By 5ish, my headache was gone, and I was feeling tired, but I also had a sense of accomplishment. So out I went again, and chased the sun for two hours, but there was no good sunset. I also almost wound up in Newport due to following the highway the wrong way. I did see some spectacular sun action before dusk on Rt. 105 between Island Pond and Charleston. The clouds were all broken up, and huge sunbeams and rays kept streaming through. Each time, I could not find a pullover and set up fast enough. There was always a power line on the wrong side of the road, or no turnoffs, or private property to contend with. I could probably have gotten some really nice shots if I had just picked one location and stayed put.
Here's an interesting thing about photography. When you ask people where they might suggest you take pictures, they tend to repeat a common theme - the peak of this or that mountain. Even before I went up Bluff, I knew that I'd probably be more interested in the trail than the summit. I had someone suggest Bald Mountain because, "it's got a great view, and you can climb a 50 foot fire tower to get above the trees." Clearly, this person has never tried to take a sharp landscape photograph with a long lens, a two-stop penalty polarizer, and slow film from the top of a 50 foot tower being blown around by the wind. I am not even going to try.
Another thought - this place seems far less wild than the Island Pond I remember. I'm sure the passage of time has something to do with that. The location, too. You are just a mile or two from the city center, and even though it is small, it feels less remote. And the weather is so warm. Today was downright hot. I was sweating in the tent before I got up. I make an unrealistic connection between climate and expectation, I realize, thinking that the Kingdom is a cold, remote place. It is not on this trip, although it is very close to those places.
A passage in this book I'm reading by Ilana Katz triggered a sudden, vivid image of Katherine in my mind, her, standing at her crib, with lovie hanging out of her mouth. God I love her.
posted by David at
8:49 PM
