Freaking Amazing Kilkenny Ridge Traverse -- July 3 - Views From The Top

dr_wu002 · 07-06-2009, 09:16 PM

The hike: Kilkenny Ridge Traverse S-N

Hikers: Little Sister, Mookie, LRiz, MEB (to Waumbek), Dr. Wu

Objective: Get wet, have fun, make love to Mookie

Success/Failure? Success!!

We said F the Pemi Loop b/c of high chance of Thundershowers... secretly I was psyched to do another long and new (for me) traverse instead of a boring Pemi Loop. I had a secret woody as well when Eric warned me of the possibility of floating bog bridges or something on the trail. Sounded like fun. Didn't tell my colleagues about that part, I don't think. Hell, I was even psyched about the freakin' car spot

We started at 8am, heading into light rain and clouds... up around Starr King, the woods remind me of some kind of Tolkien-ish Fangorn woods, dark, old, mysterious, shrouded in mist. The old man's beard in the spruce trees is particularly beautiful in the higher elevations all along this ridge.

By the time we hit Waumbek we were pretty well soaked but also wicked stoked to be there! For me, the next 20.6 miles (as the sign said) would all be new ground... same with Mookie; Larisa had done Cabot and Rachel had done Cabot and maybe the Weeks. MEB had to turn around at Waumbek. But it all seemed new to us regardless and we were in great spirits as we pushed on at a good clip over the mossy Weeks. Already I realized that although the views weren't much on this ridge, the remoteness and the quiet, beautiful solitude would more than make up for it. Add to that the muddy, gnarly conditions and there would be an added element of challenge as well!

The trail through the Weeks was at times obscure, lightly blazed and felt more like the Wilderness than many other places in the Whites. This definitely gave me a better appreciation of this treed-in ridge. We dropped down to Willard Notch, up Terrace, over some bumps, back down to Bunnell Notch and up to Cabot where I enjoyed a quick beer before blazing over to the freakin' Horn which has an awesome 360 view -- didn't expect this view point to be so incredible. Also, by now the sun had basically come out -- we had already warmed up on Bunnell Ledge or whatever it's called and now chilled for a few more minutes on the Horn...

Wouldn't last -- by the time we hit Unknown Pond the skies opened up: heavy, cold rain, hail, thunder, lightning, flooding, mud, you name it! I thought it was pretty freakin' cool... not sure how my colleagues felt but it was wicked pissah to be in the mix. I liked the challenge and the people I was with seemed to enjoy it as well. Somewhat at least.

Finally we reached this section that Barbarossa had mentioned... seems like beavers had turned a bog into a pond and the puncheons were freakin' floating in 3 or 4 feet of murky water! Definitely a "you've gotta be F'n kidding me" moment. Only solutions is to walk across the bog bridges, floating or not... no pictures, sorry. One of the biggest regrets was not photographing this scene of the 4 of us crossing a pond on floating planks. Maybe I thought it wouldn't even show up on the memory card because it was so unbelievable!

It would rain on us a few more times but never dampen our spirits. I even took two nasty falls... the second time I thought for a second that I shattered my knee but I fortunately had not. We kept moving, enjoying the woods although Larisa somewhat indiscriminately did not like Roger's Ledge and ran away from it once we got to the top. A few more miles and we were done... finished the 25 or so miles in 11 hours, not bad.

This turned out to be the best hike of the season for me and I'm not going to speak for Mookie, LRiz or Rachel but I think they really dug this hike too. Definitely better than a Pemi Loop on this day. There's something to really be said about the remoteness and the hidden challenges of this range that really made for an awesome day. It didn't hurt to have 3 awesome hiking partners (plus MEB for the first part!) to burn through the hike with. Great day!

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...8&l=2b36281c77

-Dr. Wu

Jay H · 07-07-2009, 05:47 AM

You mean, I missed real mud bogs? damm.. Mookie mentioned it to me that you guys were going to be on that trail, but I thought you guys were going southbound until I ran into MEB on our way up to Starr King/Waumbek. We had a late start, like 10:30 or something like that so we did Waumbek and then we hiked out and then a friend and I did Tecumseh as we were camped at Osceola. Missed the rain too!

Jay

Dr. Dasypodidae · 07-07-2009, 05:57 AM

Nice report; congrats.

I think that the KRT is one of the most under-rated hikes in the Whites.

This traverse also really makes you think about drinking water management on days other than the one you had for yourselves.

If you think that those blazes across the Weeks are faint in summer, try to find them in the winter.

dr_wu002 · 07-07-2009, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Dasypodidae

Nice report; congrats.

I think that the KRT is one of the most under-rated hikes in the Whites.

This traverse also really makes you think about drinking water management on days other than the one you had for yourselves.

If you think that those blazes across the Weeks are faint in summer, try to find them in the winter.

I did the whole hike on about 2.5 L water + 1 can of beer. I think the rest filled up in Bunnell Notch.

Yeah, I can see how the majority of the KyRT would be extremely difficult to follow in winter. It's easy to follow the footpath through the vegetation in summer. Doubtful in winter.

-Dr. Wu

dr_wu002 · 07-07-2009, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay H

You mean, I missed real mud bogs? damm.. Mookie mentioned it to me that you guys were going to be on that trail, but I thought you guys were going southbound until I ran into MEB on our way up to Starr King/Waumbek. We had a late start, like 10:30 or something like that so we did Waumbek and then we hiked out and then a friend and I did Tecumseh as we were camped at Osceola. Missed the rain too!

Jay

This was the first time that I actually encountered bog bridges just floating around. They were still lined up, somehow, so one could basically cross them. However, once you stepped on them they sank down about 2 feet.... luckily none of them cantilevered when we were walking on them!!

Quite possibly the coolest part of the day and I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures or video.

-Dr. Wu

Jay H · 07-07-2009, 07:06 AM

You should check out the ADK trails around feldspar Leanto which is sort of on the way to Four Corners and Lake tear of the Clouds. The beavers there have also made a swamp bog out of the trail and they too, have floating log things generally in the summer time.

Feldspar is a great leanto also...

Jay

mookie · 07-07-2009, 07:11 AM

glad to see two of your objectives were met!
guess you will have to try harder on that third objective!

it was a fun day in the woods. glad we got caught in that storm, meant we didnt have to try and keep our feet dry any longer.

i also learned a new word, that is always awesome!

LRiz · 07-07-2009, 08:13 AM

What an amazing, very underappreciated traverse. In all honesty, I really wasn't that psyched about it initially, and was seriously bumming about the fact that we needed to back out of the Pemi Loop. However, now that I’ve experienced the rugged, wild beauty of this trail, and all of the challenges that it presented… I can’t wait to get back out there and bang this hike out again.

Mud, slimy roots, floating puncheon bridges, hail, thunderstorms, more mud, and GREAT company… an awesome, awesome day.

The only non-awesome part was Roger’s Ledge. I hate Roger's Ledge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookie

i also learned a new word, that is always awesome!

Oh yeah, what would that be?

mookie · 07-07-2009, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LRiz

What an amazing, very underappreciated traverse. In all honesty, I really wasn't that psyched about it initially, and was seriously bumming about the fact that we needed to back out of the Pemi Loop. However, now that I’ve experienced the rugged, wild beauty of this trail, and all of the challenges that it presented… I can’t wait to get back out there and bang this hike out again.

Mud, slimy roots, floating puncheon bridges, hail, thunderstorms, more mud, and GREAT company… an awesome, awesome day.

The only non-awesome part was Roger’s Ledge. I hate Roger's Ledge.

Oh yeah, what would that be?

thats is because you blew right by rogers ledge. think you were going for a speed record or something. it wasnt that bad, at least wu and i got to bond for a brief moment!

puncheon is the new word that has been added to my vocab!

grouseking · 07-07-2009, 08:17 AM

Nice report on an area I've only had a taste of. I hiked Waumbek in Nov of '06 and remember how green it was above 3000 feet. Someday I will backpack this stretch. Nice job!

grouseking

dr_wu002 · 07-07-2009, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LRiz

The only non-awesome part was Roger’s Ledge. I hate Roger's Ledge.

What is your psyche-thing going on with Roger's Ledge? Skeered? It was a podunk with a great view! Actually, that ledge was wicked cool! It had a hole in it for.... a Glory Hole!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by LRiz

Mud, slimy roots, floating puncheon bridges, hail, thunderstorms, more mud, and GREAT company… an awesome, awesome day.

Best-Group-EVER! Definitely a great crew for this one.

Also, too bad nobody had video of me and the other puncheons that we ran into later on in the hike. Nice!

-Dr. Wu

bikehikeskifish · 07-07-2009, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LRiz

The only non-awesome part was Roger’s Ledge. I hate Roger's Ledge.

Yes, you spoke of your fondness for Roger's Ledge many times on Sunday. Right up there with your love of the Jackson branch of the Webster-Jackson trail

Tim

mookie · 07-07-2009, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_wu002

Also, too bad nobody had video of me and the other puncheons that we ran into later on in the hike. Nice!

-Dr. Wu

You mean the puncheons you made love to? OR did you just fall on top of them by mistake?

dr_wu002 · 07-07-2009, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookie

You mean the puncheons you made love to? OR did you just fall on top of them by mistake?

I think we had to explain what a Glory Hole was to Larisa the night before...

-Dr. Wu

HighHorse · 07-07-2009, 09:31 AM

Awesome TR Wu-Banga. My crew punked on this trip, otherwise we would have passed you going the other direction. Maybe we could have had a choreographed rumble "Beat It" style in honor of MJ. But alas, we ended up on the Carters instead. I definitely had no idea about the bog bridges though! Ha! That would have been interesting...

07-06-2009, 09:16 PM	#1
dr_wu002 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Boontaka, MA Posts: 2,628	Freaking Amazing Kilkenny Ridge Traverse -- July 3 The hike: Kilkenny Ridge Traverse S-N Hikers: Little Sister, Mookie, LRiz, MEB (to Waumbek), Dr. Wu Objective: Get wet, have fun, make love to Mookie Success/Failure? Success!! We said F the Pemi Loop b/c of high chance of Thundershowers... secretly I was psyched to do another long and new (for me) traverse instead of a boring Pemi Loop. I had a secret woody as well when Eric warned me of the possibility of floating bog bridges or something on the trail. Sounded like fun. Didn't tell my colleagues about that part, I don't think. Hell, I was even psyched about the freakin' car spot We started at 8am, heading into light rain and clouds... up around Starr King, the woods remind me of some kind of Tolkien-ish Fangorn woods, dark, old, mysterious, shrouded in mist. The old man's beard in the spruce trees is particularly beautiful in the higher elevations all along this ridge. By the time we hit Waumbek we were pretty well soaked but also wicked stoked to be there! For me, the next 20.6 miles (as the sign said) would all be new ground... same with Mookie; Larisa had done Cabot and Rachel had done Cabot and maybe the Weeks. MEB had to turn around at Waumbek. But it all seemed new to us regardless and we were in great spirits as we pushed on at a good clip over the mossy Weeks. Already I realized that although the views weren't much on this ridge, the remoteness and the quiet, beautiful solitude would more than make up for it. Add to that the muddy, gnarly conditions and there would be an added element of challenge as well! The trail through the Weeks was at times obscure, lightly blazed and felt more like the Wilderness than many other places in the Whites. This definitely gave me a better appreciation of this treed-in ridge. We dropped down to Willard Notch, up Terrace, over some bumps, back down to Bunnell Notch and up to Cabot where I enjoyed a quick beer before blazing over to the freakin' Horn which has an awesome 360 view -- didn't expect this view point to be so incredible. Also, by now the sun had basically come out -- we had already warmed up on Bunnell Ledge or whatever it's called and now chilled for a few more minutes on the Horn... Wouldn't last -- by the time we hit Unknown Pond the skies opened up: heavy, cold rain, hail, thunder, lightning, flooding, mud, you name it! I thought it was pretty freakin' cool... not sure how my colleagues felt but it was wicked pissah to be in the mix. I liked the challenge and the people I was with seemed to enjoy it as well. Somewhat at least. Finally we reached this section that Barbarossa had mentioned... seems like beavers had turned a bog into a pond and the puncheons were freakin' floating in 3 or 4 feet of murky water! Definitely a "you've gotta be F'n kidding me" moment. Only solutions is to walk across the bog bridges, floating or not... no pictures, sorry. One of the biggest regrets was not photographing this scene of the 4 of us crossing a pond on floating planks. Maybe I thought it wouldn't even show up on the memory card because it was so unbelievable! It would rain on us a few more times but never dampen our spirits. I even took two nasty falls... the second time I thought for a second that I shattered my knee but I fortunately had not. We kept moving, enjoying the woods although Larisa somewhat indiscriminately did not like Roger's Ledge and ran away from it once we got to the top. A few more miles and we were done... finished the 25 or so miles in 11 hours, not bad. This turned out to be the best hike of the season for me and I'm not going to speak for Mookie, LRiz or Rachel but I think they really dug this hike too. Definitely better than a Pemi Loop on this day. There's something to really be said about the remoteness and the hidden challenges of this range that really made for an awesome day. It didn't hurt to have 3 awesome hiking partners (plus MEB for the first part!) to burn through the hike with. Great day! Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...8&l=2b36281c77 -Dr. Wu __________________ To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. -Thomas Paine

07-07-2009, 05:47 AM	#2
Jay H Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: A:Evil lurks... Posts: 4,550	You mean, I missed real mud bogs? damm.. Mookie mentioned it to me that you guys were going to be on that trail, but I thought you guys were going southbound until I ran into MEB on our way up to Starr King/Waumbek. We had a late start, like 10:30 or something like that so we did Waumbek and then we hiked out and then a friend and I did Tecumseh as we were camped at Osceola. Missed the rain too! Jay __________________ You must go and you must ramble Through every briar and bramble Till your life is in a shambles Maybe then you will know -"You Must Go" - John Hiatt

07-07-2009, 07:06 AM	#6
Jay H Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: A:Evil lurks... Posts: 4,550	You should check out the ADK trails around feldspar Leanto which is sort of on the way to Four Corners and Lake tear of the Clouds. The beavers there have also made a swamp bog out of the trail and they too, have floating log things generally in the summer time. Feldspar is a great leanto also... Jay __________________ You must go and you must ramble Through every briar and bramble Till your life is in a shambles Maybe then you will know -"You Must Go" - John Hiatt

07-07-2009, 08:17 AM	#10
grouseking Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chester, NH Avatar: Philosopher? Posts: 1,566	Nice report on an area I've only had a taste of. I hiked Waumbek in Nov of '06 and remember how green it was above 3000 feet. Someday I will backpack this stretch. Nice job! grouseking __________________ Back to Webshots

07-07-2009, 09:31 AM	#15
HighHorse Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Codman Square Posts: 157	Awesome TR Wu-Banga. My crew punked on this trip, otherwise we would have passed you going the other direction. Maybe we could have had a choreographed rumble "Beat It" style in honor of MJ. But alas, we ended up on the Carters instead. I definitely had no idea about the bog bridges though! Ha! That would have been interesting... __________________ Things outside you are projections of what's inside you, and what's inside you is a projection of what's outside. So when you step into the labyrinth outside you, at the same time you're stepping into the labyrinth inside. Most definitely a risky business. -Murakami

07-07-2009, 05:57 AM	#3
Dr. Dasypodidae Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Thornton, NH Posts: 1,944	Nice report; congrats. I think that the KRT is one of the most under-rated hikes in the Whites. This traverse also really makes you think about drinking water management on days other than the one you had for yourselves. If you think that those blazes across the Weeks are faint in summer, try to find them in the winter.

07-07-2009, 07:11 AM	#7
mookie Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: south burlington, VT Posts: 848	glad to see two of your objectives were met! guess you will have to try harder on that third objective! it was a fun day in the woods. glad we got caught in that storm, meant we didnt have to try and keep our feet dry any longer. i also learned a new word, that is always awesome!

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