South Bessemer Road 11.24.10

After monitoring the weather all week I was excited to see the predicted dry day for Tuesday. I was hoping for a hike merely for conditioning and wasn't swayed by the fact that I had already summited the peak. I received a PM from Bad Dog showing some interest in tagging along. Liketothruhike signed on as well so the plans were laid. I had some concern regarding having Bad Dog taking her dog, not because I was concerned about her dog's behavior but because I am never sure how my dogs will react to anything. Later in the week she let me know that she was going to bring all three of her dogs. Being unsure how this would play out we made contingency plans. When I left the house it was very warm and was raining. This was the worst combo for the hike I had planned. Starting at 900' meant a long walk in the rain. What happened to the dry forecast? After meeting up in Preston we were off for the bump fest that is the Middle Fork Road. We parked and attempted to let the dogs socialize which wasn't as bad as I feared but wasn't good enough to warrant continuing. I do wish to pass on my apologies for my dogs aggressive behavior. It seems to only happen when he is confronted with very submissive dogs. I do believe things would have been sorted out but Bad Dog decided to air on the side of caution and make her way towards Granite Lakes instead. After gearing up LTTH and I were off. From the onset I think motivation was difficult for both of us and yet we plugged on. After finally reaching snow around the 3.5 mile mark the rain seemed to intensify. It was apparent to me that the snow level was much higher than our intended goal and we would be trudging in the rain for quite some time. At around 2700' we stopped and both looked at each other and decided that this did indeed kinda suck. We made quick work of the descent and thankfully had dry clothes in the car. It always is refreshing to me that the day didn't have one aspect went as planned and yet I had a great time, just not enough to warrant continuing. Thankfully there is always next week.




Approx 8 miles 1800' of climb