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8/29/02
11:00 pm Long lake Hamlet: Well its been an interesting day -
yeah I guess that is one way to put it. I left Tirrell pond very refreshed.
My feet were in great shape. Last night, thanks to some cell phone
service, I was able to catch up with some friends at home and at work. It
started to mist but nothing too bad. I set out on a brisk pace, convinced
I would bust out a huge day of hiking in good time. A few hours went by
and I was literally jogging some of the flat trail. Felt great. And
then, just as I was thinking I should be approaching the home stretch on my way
to Long Lake.....I looked up and recognized a trail sign... perfect I thought,
just where I should be. Then as I approached the sign it starts to look
too familiar..... OH MY GOD! It was the trail sign for Tirrell Pond.
Yes, I just went in some big circle. 4 miles out and 4 miles back. I
couldn't believe it. I closed my eyes and really wanted it to be a bad
dream - but no such luck. A hikers worse nightmare had come true for
me. My own personal Blair Witch Project. I contemplated my options
for a few moments. Considered staying at Tirrell for another night,
considered hiking back out to RT 30 and thumbing my way up to Long Lake. Then
a family of 3 turned the bend in the trail up ahead and asked me directions to
the pond. I pointed and mumbled something. I must have looked
totally out of it. I was.
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The mistake I made was
actually an easy one to make. Some years back a beaver dam, and the
ensuing pond, made part of this trail impassable. This area is
represented in the graphic above by the green. The trail
was re-routed around this pond in what essentially ends up being a jug
handle type detour that leaves the original trail before the pond
(indicated by the letter A) and rejoined the original trail north
of the pond (indicated by the letter B). Unfortunately for
me, the beaver pond was no longer there, and the original trail was
still very obvious. So I continued straight on the original
trail, passing the southern part of the jug handle detour (A),
without noticing it, and found myself at the northern end of the old
pond where I was faced with a split in the trail. The split I saw
was not a split at all, it was simply the correct northward trail and
the northern part of the detour (B) coming together. I
looked for trail markers and the only ones I saw were ones heading down
the detour so I mistakenly assumed that was the way to go, and I ended
up walking the detour in reverse, emerged in the southern point of the
detour (A) and continued south, 4 miles, in the direction I had
just come from.
You would be surprised how
easy it is to walk by the same area without noticing it, especially when
approaching it from a different direction, and especially when your mind
is on busting out miles and not on your surroundings. This experience
really points to the fact that a hiker must keep his eye and his
concentration on the trail, because although the initial mistake, of
jumping onto the northern part of the detour, was really a combination
of an outdated guide book, poor trail markers and misfortune - I should
have discovered my error long before trekking my way back down to
Tirrell Pond. Guide books can never be completely up to date, and
trail markers are there to help the hiker along - they are not the end
all, be all of trail navigation.
*Trail Tip:
Stop and smell the pine needles from time to time, do not get so caught
up in busting out mileage that you forget you are in the woods.
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In the end I did all that I could do, all that I
was becoming accustomed to
do. I started walking. This time realizing my earlier mistake and
cursing my misfortune. The mist turned into rain and the rain turned into
a downpour - and I went up and over the only real ascent of the trip... the same
ascent I should have realized I didn't go over earlier. Oh well. I
reached the trail's end soaked to the bone and decided to walk the pavement down
into the Hamlet of Long Lake. I needed to re-supply one important piece of
equip I had forgotten at Blue Mt. - Toilet Paper. And well, to be honest
with you I am kind of enjoying my little trips into town. Besides the
comforts they provide I really enjoy chatting with the town folk. Not
something I get much of in the city. I was soaked so I headed to a motel
and picked up another room and cleaned up - then headed to the local watering
hole and got to know some of the people. Nice little Irish Pub, so 4
pints, a meal, a Yankees game and some real good conversation later I headed
here and plan on hitting the sack.
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Photographs
(Click on thumbnail to view a larger picture)
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| An old shack on the way
into Long Lake |
Some wet lands |
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