Two expressions of interest earlier in the week fell through, so on Saturday morning David loaded Bailey in the car and started from Underhill Center at 6:30 AM. The forecast was for 50% chance of rain, with amounts of less than 0.10 inches, mostly between 11 and 2, but by the time we got to the Upper Works parking area it was already raining. The rain was light and let up after about an hour, but it remained overcast with low clouds and intermittent rain throughout the day. The first 5 miles were on trails and went very quickly, so by 11 we were ready to start bushwhacking up from the Duck Hole trail. Even though it wasn’t raining much, all the rain that had fallen was on the brush we were pushing through, so we were soaked pretty quickly after starting up.

The guide book said to stay to the SE bank of a stream, but for much of the route it was easier to walk up the stream bed. Near the top the stream bed disappeared (fortunately we were above the worst of the blowdowns) and we continued following occasional traces (or imaginings) of herd paths to the summit ridge, reaching the summit around 2. We then turned around and, after losing a compass out of an unzipped pocket somewhere on the upper reaches of MacNaughton, got back to the trail around 4, back to the car around 6, and back home by 8:30.

Participants – David Hathaway, Bailey Greene (dog)