For years I've enjoyed hiking the Ice Beds Trail, in the White Rocks National Recreation Area, and I've spent many hours gazing meditatively up at the collapse slopes. I've always wanted to hike up to the summit and look down, but the trail looked too steep for my knees. However, this week I learned that the trail actually wraps around the back side -- it's part of the Appalachian Trail (the "AT") and the Long Trail (the "LT") and isn't too aggressive. [Grain of Salt moment -- the friend who told me this mountain bikes every week, and snowboards down the Mount Ascutney Summit Road every winter.] Well, today's weather was Autumn perfect, so I took the plunge, so to speak, and decided today that's where I was going to be.
The morning, the trail, and the ascent couldn't have been better! I made the summit overlook in 2h15m, covering 2.82 miles of trail, and climbing 1100 feet from the parking lot! The view back down towards that vista on the Ice Beds Trail was amazing... almost 1000 feet (see photo #6) and the clean break along the fracture was pretty spectacular too (photo #7). I'm tired, achy in the knees, but when they ask me at work, "Where Do You Want to BE?" I was there, today.
The morning, the trail, and the ascent couldn't have been better! I made the summit overlook in 2h15m, covering 2.82 miles of trail, and climbing 1100 feet from the parking lot! The view back down towards that vista on the Ice Beds Trail was amazing... almost 1000 feet (see photo #6) and the clean break along the fracture was pretty spectacular too (photo #7). I'm tired, achy in the knees, but when they ask me at work, "Where Do You Want to BE?" I was there, today.
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