We had a great turn out for our memorial hike up South Twin via the North Twin and North Twin spur trails. Some of us stayed at my house the night before [Jeffrey, Brian Rick, Jon and Mike] in Waterville Valley, NH while the remainder met us at the trailhead.
After 15 minutes waiting for the other two guys we left. We skipped two out of the three river crossings by using the herd path. The third crossing had easy footing. All of us took turns carrying our extention pole up and down the mountain. As we climbed up higher we met up with the North Twin group who all belonged to my gym in Meredith! Stephen, a member of our group, was with them. He had a tough time finding the trailhead which delayed him.
A special thanks to Jeffrey for his endless comic relief. We first stopped on the summit of North Twin for the peak baggers in our group. We arrived to the summit in the clouds in time to assemble and raise Old Glory in appreciation of our fallen heroes from 9/11.
The summit remained in the clouds throughout the day so we were unable to see the flags from the other peaks. We then had lunch, naps and greeted over 30 other people including a couple of thru-hikers.
At 2pm we lowered the flag and headed down the North Twin trail.
We arrived at the trailhead safe and sound and enjoyed some cold beverages. We all went back to my house for some beer and a cookout.
A special thanks to all of you who participated in this memorial hike up South Twin. What a great event to share with such special people. Please keep in touch – and hope to see you all next year!
