First Tower Trip of the Year

Since today was a beautiful sunny day (and a weekend, to boot), I decided to play hookey from my Camp duties and take a little run/walk/hike up to the Black Mountain overlook, across to the tower, and back down across the rock slide.  I apologize that all of these photos are from last year; since this was my first time doing the hike with my Vibrams (those funny toe shoes) and I wanted to run a little, I didn't take my camera.

The Conservation Corps has done a great job with creating the trail (two or three years ago now) and putting up signage (which I believe went in late last fall or this summer).  The first part of the trail, three-quarters of a mile or so, utilizes the old road up to the cluster of Black Ponds.  After that, it crosses over a feeder stream and starts going up.  And it goes up really well.  It's not as steep as the old Deboullie trail was, but it's pretty darn close.  It's worth it, though.  At the top, you're treated to this:

(This is where I wish I'd carried my camera today.  The sky was crystal clear and oh-so-blue.)  From the overlook, you can also see Island Pond (right in the center of the next photo) and a trio of mountains that I think include Katahdin and Traveler in Baxter State Park.  This is one of those things that I Should Know^TM, but I'll admit that I had to make my best guess based on where they lie in relation to Island Pond and the overlook, and then where they were from the Four Ponds overlook a little farther down the trail.

The next two (or so) miles over to the tower feel like ten.  (One of our guests carried a GPS when he made the loop yesterday, though, and he said the signage was pretty close to spot-on.  Who am I to argue?)  The trail is nice and stops at some pretty views, but for some reason, the Conservation Corps cut all of the small trees off about three inches above the ground, rather than flush.  I assume there's a reason for that, but a section of the trail on the back side of the ridge felt like running through a minefield, and I found myself walking good portions of it. 

The tower, of course, is always a fun destination.  It's still solid, and the cab is in pretty good shape, but the keeper's cabin beneath it is in need of some serious care.  (Possibly more news to come on that later in the summer...  Stay tuned.)

My Vibrams were great the entire day.  I actually found myself coming down the mountain on the balls of my feet, rather than my heels, and I think it did wonders for my knees.  (Before I get asked, no, I didn't run down the mountain.  I'm foolish but not crazy.)  I capped off the day with a quick jump into Deboullie Pond, and I'm happy to report that it's still cold.  Island Pond, at least the top few feet, is warmer this year than normal, probably because of all the rain and runoff we've had.

My mom once told me that she does regret not getting out more during her time at Camp.  I don't want to have that same regret later in my life, so as long as Gloria doesn't mind me disappearing for a couple of hours at a time, I'm going to make the most of as many nice days as I can.  Hopefully, unlike today, I'll come back with lots of pictures to share.