Bicycles, Boots and Parachutes: A trail less traveled...

By now, anyone who has read my blog knows that I am an avid hiker. Nothing thrills me more than to be in the woods, on a mountain trail, all alone. In fact, I seek out the trails less traveled to experience the solitude and serenity of the wilderness. This past Sunday was no different. I had decided to hike Mt Lafayette, the sixth tallest mountain in New Hampshire at 5,248 feet.

I generally hike alone, and like most hikers, have suffered minor trail inconveniences like blisters, rolled ankles and scrapes. Thankfully, I had never suffered a major injury on the trail. That is, until last Sunday when I severely sprained my ankle and was still three miles from the car...but I jump ahead of myself...

Mt Lafayette is also located right off I93 in New Hampshire, so is a favorite of tourist hikers, and therefore can become quite crowded. Knowing this, I decided to hike the less used Skookumchuck Trail. This decision proved to be the right choice because I had the trail all to myself all day.

The Skookumchuck Trail approaches the mountain from a northerly direction. It is also one of the longest ways to access the summit with a total hike (one way) of 5.1 miles. This alone dissuades many hikers, who want the shortest distance to the summit. I on the other hand, will search out these trails to avoid the crowds. I am usually never disappointed.

The Skookumchuck Trail ascends at a gentle slope for the first 2+ miles through wonderful hardwood forest. The forest is more open than most because there was some extensive logging there in the not too distance past. While you can see much father through the trees, I am not sure I like this practice because it takes away from the original nature of the woods.

This hike started out, like most of my hikes seem to do, in the early morning from an empty parking lot in the mountains. The temperature was about 32 degrees and there was very little wind. The gentle sound of song birds filled the air, with the occasional screech form a couple of crows. I donned my pack and gloves, set the Hiking Tracker on my phone, and off I went.

The blazes are frequent and full of color, although the trail is so evident that you could find your way without them. As I mentioned, The Skookumchuck Trail is rather an easy grade at first.

For much of the trail, the gentle and soothing sound of a brook serenades you for the first couple of miles. I am always on the search for woodland critters near the streams. With the loud water sounds, they sometimes don't hear you. I did not see any this day unfortunately.

Although this was early Spring, after the first two miles I ran into the snow. Much of the snow had turned to ice, making difficult to maintain good traction, even with Hillsound micro spikes. Thankfully, there were lots of handholds on the trees to help navigate through the ice.

The icy conditions of the trail continued unabated until nearly the summit. This necessitated focus and concentration on each step to ensure safety. Eventually, after much work, I began to break out of the trees into the Alpine Zone.

Quite frequently, the summit can be covered in clouds. Thankfully, this day was not like that. It was a rare early Spring exception. This day was a pleasure. Bluebird Sky, light winds and ground fog to give the pictures character. It was much different when I hiked this trail the previous December. The wind chills were below zero and the visibility was non-existent.

At this point, I had traveled 4.2 miles, mostly in the trees, and the last half of the hike over ice. Here above tree line, where the sun has unfetted access to the mountain, the ice and snow were minimal. I took off the Hillsound micro spikes for the summit push, which according to the trail sign was .8 miles away.

Shortly after removing the spikes, I hit a section of trail that looked like snow, but was solid ice. On went the spikes once again. This was a tricky section right below the summit. If you lost traction here, there was a good chance you would get hurt. As tricky as it was going up, it was much worse descending this section.

However, with grit and determination, and a bit of confidence, I soon cleared this section and was able to reach the summit. There was a couple just leaving as I arrived, so I had the summit to myself until I left.

I have climbed this mountain on five separate occasions and all but two of them were good days. The winds and clouds usually obscure the views from the ridge, but today was one of those that makes everything worth while!

The summit had bright sunshine, low winds and unlimited views in all directions. I was truly in my happy place. (I didn't know what was in store for me later on the way down).

I found a place to relax and eat my breakfast. The view I had while eating was spectacular. I could have sat there for hours contemplating the view of the Pemigewasset Wilderness below me.

All too soon, it was time to descend. "You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. Rene Daumal"

The descent started easily enough. I just retraced the same route back that I took to the summit.While descending, I was treated to wonderful views until the trail led back into the trees.

Once in the trees, I was forced to deal with the icy conditions and place each step with care, to avoid injury. All went well until I was well into the descent, but still 3 miles from the car.

On a steep section of the trail, I thought I was stepping on a stone, when in fact it was a slippery, rotting log. This is something I try to avoid at all cost. Sadly, as soon as I stepped on the log, my left leg shot out from me, while my body pitched the other direction. My right foot remained planted and took the brunt of the fall. I immediately felt a white hot pain shoot through my lower leg as I landed on top of a rock. I screamed in pain, but quickly regained composure. Although my leg was very painful, I did not see that I had any other injuries other than a scrape that was bleeding slightly. I decided to stand up, but when I put weight on my right foot, down I went again with a lot of pain.

This time I screamed in frustration at my predicament. Here I was, on a trail seldom used by hikers, 3 miles from my car, and I possibly had broken my ankle. This was not an ideal time to be solo hiking. The last thing I wanted to do was to call in Search and Rescue (SAR). Not only did I think they had more important things to do then come for me, I did not want to be a news story splashed across local TV and Facebook!

I sat on a a rock and drank some Gatorade and ate a granola bar. and took stock of my situation. I had plenty of daylight left, which was good. It was relatively warm and sunny, which was even better. I had 3 miles to go, which thankfully wasn't 5 or more, but still a long way considering my problem.

I decided to sit for awhile to give my foot & ankle a chance to rest. I then got out my adjustable hiking poles (which I only carry for emergencies) and adjusted them to the proper height. My plan was to use the two poles, in conjunction with my good leg, to keep as much pressure of the right as possible. When I finally stood up again, I found that I could put a little pressure on the foot, although it was quite painful.

Although the trail was relatively smooth, the going was considerably slower than I would normally hike. Every bump, or little jolt to my right foot sent waves of pain. I know for a fact that I sounded like an old man with all the grunts, grimaces of pain and swearing I did while trying to navigate the trail. Eventually, after much effort, I successfully rescued myself and made back to my car.

The next day at the orthopedic clinic it was confirmed. A severe high ankle sprain. I was issued a temporary cast and told to stay off it as much as possible and no hiking for at least two weeks. I'll probably go stir crazy waiting for the time to pass until I can hit the trails again.

Enjoy some more photos from an otherwise spectacular day, all things considered! Happy trails.
Thanks for reading!