- Hexacuba shelter (1984.8) to Route NH 25A (1989.7)
- 1024 feet rise, 2306 feet decrease
Mount Cube has won my mind for half a century. This is the mountain that my hiking partner in New England, Rich, thought it was horrible. I had walked only this section and I had jumped ahead, so I lost it. After we joined, he talked about that more than once. I hoped to rest white shells with giant steps from one place to another.
I don’t know what he did seem so difficult. Maybe it was a rainy day. The segment we made just before the Hexacuba shelter (which was not there in 1975), where there were iron steps to help, would have been quite difficult. Maybe doing that and Mount Cube in one day was a lot. Whatever, the legend I had in my mind was much more problematic than the reality of the day.
Change of weight
Our packages are quite light since we only had 2 days of food. The historian said he was well walking, but wanted to do it as easy as possible for him. I felt good, strong, in fact, so I was happy to take the lion part of the weight. He protested, but when you feel bad, a loving spouse can cancel you quite fast with «take this medicine now.» He quickly gave up and stopped worrying about me for taking much of our load today.
When I did my backpack, it was quite heavy. We had to carry water most of the day and took the stove and the store and all the food. I weighed the package when we arrived at the shelter and it was 32 pounds without water and food, so I suspect I was pushing 38 with food and water. Once I established it, I really did not notice, except that I was still sliding for my butt of now friend. Fortunately, I still had an old woman in the front to hold it! Usually, not so excited to have it, but today it was quite useful.
Northern Boreal Forests
The day could not have been better. The temperatures were not too high, in the mid -70s. It was quite wet, but since the temperatures were lower, it did not have the suffocating sensation of the heat wave of Virginia.
We love him northern Boreal forestsMaybe more than any other ecosystem in the world. We were delight in the views, smells and textures that surround us. Although Boreal forestsalso called taigaThey are the largest land bioma on earth, they are not so known for their locations. They form a ring around the north pole, and are the ecosystem between the tundra and the best known temperate forests that are commonly inhabited in the United States. He taiga It represents 27% of the world’s total forest area.
Although cold and windy climate resistant, forests grow very slowly and are quite fragile for human interaction. We were happy to walk in long rock segments instead of having to trample the delicate vegetation.
Ascending assembly cube
The ascent on Mount Cube began shortly after the lateral path of almost 1/2 mile from the shelter. There were more than many rocks to walk. The march was not difficult, but certainly there was no way to establish a step on foot. This is probably the main reason why the march is so slow in whites. Almost every step requires a trial. Looking from the path of the path is for your danger. Although slow, I adore this type of hiking. The historian, who is not a rock lover, likes more than Tipper’s rocks in Virginia who are scattered along the path. It is good that these rocks rarely move when you step on them.
The ground between the rocks was land with fine rock and perennial leaf needles. Each step was spicy.
There was no ambiguity on the path, it was uphill. In TGE’s preceding photo, if you look at the Bitton Vinter, you can see the historian well below. Although steep, it was not a rise too long of the shelter. Approximately an hour after we left our last nest at night, they treated us with a spectacular view.
Dartmouth Outing Club Trail Builders
We enjoyed the views from the Mount Cube summit and then we headed down for the decrease of 2000 feet from its upper rocky. Shortly after the top, we find a Dartmouth Outing Club path construction team. We had met two of them the night before gathering water. One was a 2025 graduate and the other was a second year student. They had Bèen working on the paths for a while. They told us we would find them today.
When we saw the work they were doing, we could see why they had been working so long on the task. It was one of the best paths of paths we have ever seen. They used native rocks to build stairs and water barriers to help deal with erosion in this boreal forest caused by people who increase this segment of the trail of the Appalaches. His work was a good example of the use of native materials for a built environment.
Unfortunately, there was a look, so the photo is not as good as your work, but we wanted to share your efforts with you.
Note in this photo that your stairs have a built curve using the natural shape of the rocks.
Lunch and snacks
Today’s lunch was sandwiches, none of us wanted to eat our usual beans or salad. Our snacks are quite standard, we eat the same things every day, usually at the same time. From time to time we throw caution in the wind and eat a snack in the afternoon in the morning, but it is usually quite routine.
The morning snack, the second breakfast, so to speak, is a bar of some kind. Most of our bars are organic nut bars of the store store in our region, but we also eat friendly bars. We like them because they have a lower sugar than most power bars. To maintain the weight of the historian, I added a power bar, usually a cliff or builder bar, because we can easily find them and are not too sugary.
In the afternoon, the historian can obtain a second bar, depending on the supplies. We always have an organic meat stick. For the most difficult days, a package of dehydrated fruit at home savings. We have apples, pears, bananas, blueberries and caquis.
We have GORP bags that include dry chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, mixed nuts, raisins, some m & m and any piece of dry fruit that we had of our recent supply boxes. The GORP bag for the historian is a refreshment throughout the day. Every day you will shed two small bags of our largest. He gets twice from Gorp to try to keep some weight on him.
Since some was given by an ATC worker in Laurel Fork Wilderness in Tennessee, we had a lifeguard. They are our decline courage inductors for the climbs of the day hills. We have a group of lifeguard jokes. «This is a climb of two lifeguards.» «Oh, I can’t climb this without a lifeguard (fill the color blank).»
We rarely have one day with more than two each. In fact, we have made two bags the last three months. Too bad the day we accidentally count an unequal number of lifeguard. «You take it.» «No, you take it, I can do it, you need it.»
We tried rubber bears, rubber worms and Jolly Ranchers. None was our liking. I guess we are not used to eating so much sugar.
End -of -day water
Today was another long water transport. We arrive at our main water source at the end of the day. After reviewing our schedule to fulfill the transport service of the hikers, we realized that we could take some time to enjoy the current while filtering water.
Today’s light has been quite bright, but we have never walked in the direct sun since there have been high clouds all day. Filtering by the forest, everything had a greenish cast, even the rocks.
Welcome to hikers
We arrived at our road crossing with enough time and met at the transport service. They needed to pick up a group of people who had left in the local general store. Please, they asked if we would like to buy while the other people charged. We were very grateful for the offer. All day, we had been thinking about wet food. In our haste, I left a little, but we had no trouble eating the food we obtained. I was very tasty.
The historian chose a great cold sandwich and a vanilla ice cream painting by Ben and Jerry. He had raw vegetos salad along with a chicken salad cardboard box. We share chips, sauce and oreos. My was good!
Insects, heat, rain and cold
With his lightened package, both the historian and I had good morning of walking. Errors also had an excellent day. They delighted with us, regardless of the precautions we take to invite them to fly. When I examined my hand at dinner, I was happy to be inside at night. I was quite swollen by insect bites. (My hand was well recovered the next day).
It was very hot inside the shelter, since it had been a warm day in the notch. Shortly after dinner a storm arrived and threw rain buckets. We were doubly happy with our decision to stay tonight, since the camps were limited and the shelter in the area had been demolished due to age. We would have had a wet night.
Behind the rain came a cold front. The temperatures fell at 40. As the night continued, we were both curled up in our beds, happy to be inside. It is not necessary to demonstrate that we can already hack it outside. We can and be inside it was pleasant.
Almost at the end
Mount Cube is crowned. It was not the legend that I had built in my mind. Today we had a good day, enjoying the beautiful boreal forest.
Tomorrow the historian will leave me and I will loosen back to the hikers. This will complete the path of the Apalaches for me to the boundary of the Baxter State Park. I feel a little stunned inside. Or maybe I feel a little nausea when eating too many fries and cookies.
