A Nice Hike

2010-09-18 16:06:21.000 – Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer

Cairn and Cloud

With high pressure in place and a capping inversion, things have been quite remarkable on the summit the past couple days. Last night was no exception as an undercast hung out around 5600 feet. With light winds and a waxing moon on the rise, Brian and I set off on a short hike around the summit. We had hardly left the building when we stopped to take a picture of a cool optical phenomenon. Clouds hovered over the Carter-Moriah Range and an array of colors, like a rainbow-meets-iridescence-meets-a glory, we cast onto its surface. We hiked down towards Mt. Clay, waiting for the sun to sink beneath the clouds so it would stop blinding us. Looking back towards our home on the hill, we could see the moon rising over the Obs. Turning back to face the northern Presidentials, we saw the sun beginning to first illuminate the tops of the cumulus resting on the mountains and a bit later the higher cirrus clouds in the distance. Reaching the Westside Trail, we hiked around the summit cone, narrowly avoiding the fog as we traversed. Last time I hiked this section of trail with Becca and Ryane, it took much longer as we were in the fog that time and even finding parts of the trail were challenging. Before long, we reached the Crawford Path for the last 0.6 miles up to the summit. As we hiked the moon cast shadows on the ground in front of us in its soft, blue light. Reaching the top, we stopped for a bit to gaze over towards Tucks and the southern Presidentials before heading in for dinner, which was also wonderful!

Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer