[at-l] My New Year's on the AT (long)

[Debbie_Smith@Millipore.com]

Hey All,

I was off the list for New Years because my company shut down internet access
for Y2K so I figured I'd just sign off and on again, instead of causing all
those rejection messages.  BUT I spent the New Year on the AT, as I have for the
past 2 years.  Since I missed everyone else's New Year hike reports, I thought
I'd just post mine.

In 1997/98 I spent NYE on Mt. Webster in NH, in 1998/99 it was on Springer Mtn.
in GA and this year it was in CT at one of my favorite places that I didn't stay
on my thruhike; Silver Hill Campsite.   I drove down to CT to meet up with
Kampfire, one of the coolest people I've ever known in my life (I'm sure some of
you know him, so you know that).  We geared up appropriately, including a full
bottle of Moet, and headed out in the early afternoon on Friday.  We took the
4.5 mile walk along the river before heading about mile more up the hill to the
campsite.

What a glorious day!  It was sunny but cool and crisp.  We drove down the dirt
River Road to the first place where the AT crosses it, just north of St. Johns
Ledges.  I was flooded with memories of the last time I was here in '98 on my
hike.  Then it had been hot and muggy.  Now the river was fairly frozen.  Where
the ice had broken and refrozen jagged edges jutted a couple feet into the air
like fingers pointing to the sky.  In the center of the river the water was
flowing noisily, small white-caps forming where water flowed over chunks of ice.
As we hiked along, the river opened up and we saw large pieces floating down the
river as we went, sometimes hurrying along on the current, sometimes spinning
slowly in the shallows near the edges.  Flocks of Canada geese lazed on the
other side of the river.  We hiked on and passed through the old red spruce
stand which is now completely dead.  I was amazed at the number of trees that
lay both across the trail and in among their still-standing brothers.  They lay
like bones bleached an unnatural white by the sun and scattered like some wild
animal had picked them clean and left them.  The trail follows the river's edge
for a couple miles before it reaches the Stewart Hollow Brook lean-to.

Fairly soon after that the Trail breaks away from the edge of the river for a
while, travelling through old hay fields.  I remembered this part of my hike
well because I'd found a 4-leaf clover right in the Trail here.  We passed some
old rolled hay-bales and wondered whether the farmers had left intentionally
them for the deer.  They were pushed into the brush at the edge of the Trail, so
it didn't seem likely that they were mistakenly left behind.  At the rear of one
of the fields is an old stone silo.  You can still see the place where the
foundation of the barn stood, and foundation for the house not far away.  Here
the realities of nature are clear; Man makes his mark, lives in a place for a
while, the abandons it and moves on to another place but nature is steadfast,
waiting to reclaim it's territory when man tires of it.

The sun was starting to slip behind the hills now, and we crossed the river road
again and started the climb up the hill.  It was exhilarating to be out in the
woods on this fine day!  The sun was pale and watery in the sky providing only
light, not warmth.  We saw distant farms on the opposite side of the river as we
climbed.  Several small streams were bubbling down the hillside among the fallen
leaves, and the woods smelled like fall instead of winter. There were frozen
waterfalls where the ground-water had leaked over the rocks and frozen into
blue-white icicles.  Gradually up we climbed though birch and ash and oak, with
some fantastic stone walls from time to time marking old boundaries where people
thought it important to mark their space.  Finally it was up to the rocks, and
we crested a knob and headed back away from sight of the river and reached the
side-trail to the campsite.

The campsite used to be a shelter, but it burned down in '91 and wasn't rebuilt.
Now there's a deck, a swing, a covered cooking area, a privy and a water pump -
the only one on the AT that was marked as approved for public consumption
(without treating).  We set up camp as the sun slid behind the horizon.  The sky
lit up a deep orange and we could see down to the valley and the river from the
clearing.  It was a beautiful, crystal sky where stars began winking into view
as soon as the sun set.

Kampfire lived up to his name, making a wonderful fire in the fire pit (only 1
match) and we ate dinner by the glow of the firelight.  I was pampered and
loving it!  We sat up by the fire all night, looking at the stars in the dark
blanket above.  The moon was below the horizon until the wee hours.  I love
fires because they seem to enclose you in a secret place and you can sit and
watch the light play on your immediate surroundings.  When you step away, it's
like you cross a barrier into another world.  Occasionally Kampfire would wander
off to gather more wood and we'd play with the coals but mostly we sat looking
at the fire, losing ourselves in the mystery of nature and fire and the night.
We heard coyotes singing, calling back and forth to each other with stories we
couldn't understand.  Sirius, the Dog Star, was glittering unbelievably as it
came over the horizon, flashing shades of green and white in the dark sky.
Everywhere were the small noises of the woods; branches falling, leaves
rustling,  wind soughing through the tree trunks, maybe even a couple footsteps?
Finally it began to feel really cold.  It was about 20*, which is pretty cold
for just sitting still, so we climbed into the tent at 11:30 and waited until
midnight to toast the New Year.  We had our toast, drank to the year, and each
other, and lots more times like this.  We listened to over 30 minutes of distant
explosions too numerous to count as fireworks were set off somewhere.  The next
day we determined it had to be NY City because no surrounding area had that many
fireworks.

Finally we fell asleep snuggled cozily in our bags.  In the morning there was
frost inside the top of the tent from condensation.  The champagne stood
outside, almost full because it had been too cold to drink.  So after a quick
cleanup and camp breakdown we decided we simply could not carry out an almost
full champagne bottle, so we sat down after our nutrigrain bars with coffee and
proceeded to welcome the New Year drinking the rest of the bottle for breakfast!
(Where was the OJ when we needed it?)  What a way to start the year.  We spent a
little more time lingering in the warming sun, enjoying the peace and the woods
and each other.  Finally around noon we decided to hit the trail.  The previous
day we saw no-one.  This day we saw about 30 people!  It was amazing.  The day
was again bright and clear but warmer.   Lots of folks were out doing the river
walk, or taking their dogs out for a stroll in the new day.  It was fabulous.
Great hiking, great company, warm fire under a spectacular night sky and the AT.
What more could anyone ask for to begin a New Year?

Sorry this is so long, but I had a great time.  I hope you all got out to do
some hiking too.

Twilight
GA>ME '98


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