The gang of Maggie, Dawn, Sara, Christina, Emily, and I met at Lincoln Woods around 0630, fully fed and ready for their trek into the Pemi. The weather, which had been wet all week, turned perfect for this trip to one of the most beautiful mountains in the Whites.
We ventured up the Lincoln Woods Trail to the Wilderness Trail, and finally to the Bondcliff Trail. The group made good time all the way to the dreaded ‘stairs’ approach. Step by step, we ventured on. Dawn was using a GPS for the first time which apparently was about a mile behind our actual distance. At roughly 1115, I decided to forge ahead to make sure the flag was up and ready by 1200.
I made the final push up to the peak. Christina came up a bit later and helped me tie down our flag. The rest of the group arrived about five minutes before noon. We had a brief moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11 as well as a second moment of silence for SilentCal and his family.
With the flag up, we enjoyed a beautiful day at the summit of the most gorgeous place in the Northeast. It was the rest of the group’s first time on Bondcliff, and they appreciated the unique views and gorgeous cliff.
The girls decided to take out their emergency blankets and enjoy a nap at the summit. We were joined by other groups of people, including six folks (three groups of two) who were finishing their 48. Congrats to them!
From the summit, we could clearly see the flags on Bond and West Bond. :flag: With the use of Dawn’s binoculars, I could see the flag on Carrigain. I also saw, for the first time (I believe) a flag peaking out over the tree line of Owl’s Head. Very cool! By binoculars, I thought I saw something on Flume, but I might have just been convincing myself I did. 😮 Either way, seeing all the flags, and meeting hikers who had been to Bond and West Bond brought a lot of pride for what we were doing.
At 1400, we took down our flag, took some last minute pictures, and headed back down and out. As always, conversations flowed to what we’d eat and drink afterwards. :beer: We came off the mountain and back to Lincoln Woods around 1845.
Thank you again to the group that hiked with me. Also, thank you to the committee that put this together again this year. And again, my condolences for SilentCal and his family.
– LenDawg
Some pictures up, more to come.
