North Percy,South Percy peaks - Percy Tr tr
Buldge,Cabot -
Finally!!! After almost year and a half of trying to get to hike Percy Peaks i managed to do that today. Yesterday night i found out i was not going to work next day and decided to drive to the Whites for a hike. Since it was late during the night already i was not in the mood to plan stuff,so i decided to go for the short hike to the north country since i had it planned so long ago already.
I woke up at 4 am in the morning, got ready and set up for the ride around 4:50. I reached the trailhead just before 9 and i was on the trail minute after 9 am. I need to admit i was a little hesitant to take Mishi with me but hoped that she would be able to manage on the slabs.
The ledges came out unexpected an it looked pretty impressive. I was very happy that right next to it on the right side there was a path going parallel an with easy footing. There was no need to try and tackle the slabs after all. Misha went up on the rocks in few places and i was happy she was ready to do iteven though she didnt have to. There were couple more side rock walls on the way but it was very easy to walk on it.
The approach to the north peak had some more slb ledges to offer but it wasnt anything different than Baldfaces or Welch and Dicky type of climb. We didnt have any trouble. There were a lot of blueberries on the way but we didnt really eat it. I did not bring any water with me for MIsha and she was panting heavily, i decided to share my dring with her, i started worrying a little if she was going to make it, but after all it wasnt big distance, only 0.5 mile from the intersection to the summit. The bare peak offered amazing views and i was happy to finally be able to see it. We didnt stay long though, Misha was tired an there was no shade to hide.
We went back to the merge and started for south peak right away. I like the hike up South Percy a lot. The trail was very pretty and had special feel to it. Summit turned out quick and i founf myself scribbling our names on the little notebook hanging in the jar not too long after we started. I fed Misha lunch and gave her some more of my drink. We were going down fast, i wanted to get her to the brook along the beginning of the hike as fast as possible. Half way down we met two other hikers with their dog. I didnt spend much time talking since i knew Misha did not like the young dog dancing around her.
We got back to the car a little after 11. I was covered in sweat and Misha hot but i knew that could not have been the end of the day for us!
I had two choices. I could have followed the road we were on and try to hike up mt Sugarloaf that was suppose to be not to hard, but i had no map and no real idea where exactly was the trail located, i would have to drive slow looking for it and i was not sure if i wanted to risk getting lost in the woods later on. My other option was to drive back to route 110 and look for Mill Brook road which would bring me to Unknown Pond Trailhead and from there on to Cabot Mt.
Mill Brook Road was not paved and under construction when i got there, it was not a fun 4,5 mile rive. I drove over some big rocks that made unhappy sounds hitting the bottom of my car, i was just hoping nothing was gonna fall out from under the car. I thought the road was never going to end.
When we finally pulled in to the so called "parking lot" it was close to 12. I did not want to spend overly long time on this hike so i set myself a goal to finish it in less than 5 hours. I had 10 miles to go and possibility of summiting 3 peaks. I was going to leave Horn for the last in case i was running late.
I wasnt impressed with the first section of the Unknown Pond trail at all. It was very boring i didnt even bother to take one picture. We got to the first intersection fast and my hopes for fast hike were high. Killkeny ridge trail was in much better shape and after short swim for Misha in the pond we took off . It was suppose to be 2.7 miles to Cabot summit and we were going through Bulge as well. I couldnt wait for the summit.
I loved the trail, it was very quite and the fact that there was nobody else through out the hike beside me made it even more special. I was going fast and i drunk a lot. It turned out that i did not have enough to drink with me. I ran out of of it all 3 miles before the hike was over!!
When we got to the summit, we were both very tired. Misha especially, it was a little to hot for her, even though we were under the cover of the trees all that time. I run around the summit looking for the marker. I found it after two wrong tries. We got some pics and i was ready to go back. After that little break on the summit i was ready to get to the car.'
At the pond we met family looking for camp sites. I couldnt help them i had no idea where any of the sites were located. Those were the only people i saw during this hike. I need to say i was happy it turned out like that. Sometimes it is so nice to be in the woods by yourself.
We got to the car 15 minutes before 4pm. I reached my goal!! We made it in less than 4 hours!!One of the fastest hikes so far.
I drove home happy and satisfied. Misha was zoning off in the back of the car. She looked mega tired. We had great time together again. It was such a nice day.
