Welcome Hiking Fans!
Well, Labor Day weekend has come and gone, signaling the last few desperate days of summer. And also another hiking adventure has made it into the record books. Here is how it went.
It was raining during the night and lightly into Saturday morning as we contemplated on what our plans for the day's adventures should be. I knew we were going to get wet out there, but I didn't suspect Rob to suggest that we should wait and hike on a dryer day. Rain has never stopped us before. But we were beginning our three day weekend, and the weather was supposed to be much better very soon. I was a bit surprised that we were not going hiking that morning, but I could also imagine that it was raining in more earnest on the other side of the phone.
After our plans for a Saturday morning hike vanished, Deb and I sat in front of the TV, with our dueling laptops, watching a good old western. We had our breakfast, and talked about what should be done next to complete the kitchen in the first floor apartment. Eventually, my friend Dave (who we hired to help us get that done) drove into our driveway and continued working on just that. Because he was going to finish putting the sub-floor down that day, I really couldn't do much work cause I'd be in the way. And Deb decided to go shopping, I believe for a 34" door. Ultimately, because Deb had mentioned to me that she would be gone for a few hours, I was left at the house with not much to do, and allot of time to do it in. I then decided to go and conquer the rain and hike Lantern Hill.
I arrived shortly thereafter at the intersection of RT2 and RT201, parked my truck across the street from the
trailhead there, and started my stopwatch in anticipation of a quick assent to the top. I rushed across the street, trotted over the bridge traversing the Gallop Pond Dam, and got completely soaked wading through 2 - 3 foot high grass and weeds filled with the rain water from the previous night. I then walked across the wet field after that, lifting my knees up high. My leather boots have never been more soaked, but my feet were fairly dry. At the end of that wet grassy field, I entered into the woods and started my assent up the first hill.
There still were clouds in the sky, and also a little bit of precipitation coming down, but it was mostly very light and misty. And... every single branch that hung across the trail held out it's leaves, straining with an abundance of rain water that had yet fallen all of the way down to the ground. It wasn't long before my clothes had soaked up all they could, from head to toe. But I was not uncomfortable. The temperatures were likely in the high 70's to lower 80's.
I reached the entrance to the North Stonington Dump in 36 minutes and the top of Lantern Hill in 51 minutes. I took a short break there at the top and then snapped a few pictures. I then quickly started back.
At the bottom of Lantern Hill I twisted my left ankle pretty bad. I even heard it crack. I thought I broke it for a minute there, but I was able to put some weight on it, loosen it up a bit, and was able to continue on without much trouble... thank God. I made it back to the truck while my stopwatch read 1 hour and 49 minutes.
I eventually made it back home, enjoyed a good cup of coffee enhanced with a shot or two of Bailey's, and a juicy tomato sandwich made from the tidings of Joy's garden. Deb and I look forward to this time of year, when we can enjoy fresh tomatoes from the garden. The fruits from our labor. Maybe this time of year isn't that desperate after all.
ok, see everyone next week!
Joe
