| The gang at the beggining of the hike. Back row from right to left: Ralph, Jerry, A friend of Jerry, and Tim (Skijay). Front row from right to left: David Metsky, Betsy, and Jeremy. |
|
Pico Hike July 31st
NELSAP had its first 2004 hike up Pico Mountain on July 31st. We had 8 hikers attend, a good size considering the warm, humid conditions and chance for rain.
The hike up Pico began at the top of Sherburne Pass on Route 4. The hike up Pico is 1800 vertical feet and 3 miles, certainly a decent hike.
| The gang at the beggining of the hike. Back row from right to left: Ralph, Jerry, A friend of Jerry, and Tim (Skijay). Front row from right to left: David Metsky, Betsy, and Jeremy. |
|
| After hiking up the Long Trail for under a mile and about 500 vertical feet, you come to the top of Little Pico. Here's the top of the slide with a view of the summit in the background. Photo by David Metsky. |
|
|
|
About 2/3 - 3/4 of the way up is the rustic Pico Camp, where you can stay the night if you wish. There are 8 bunks. We just stopped here for a few minutes to take a break. Photo by David Metsky. |
| Continuing the hike, we came across this trail. No its not lost, but a future trail! Its the failed Pico-Killington Interconnect, all cut and ready to go! Pretty neat to see! |
|
|
|
We arrived to the summit, where it was windy and humid, but no rain, thankfully. Here's a shot taken from the summit looking down the now abandoned Pico Poma liftline. All the towers are gone but the foundations remain. Also, it appears as if the base of the lift is still standing. Looked like a very steep ride! |
| At the summit, we found this interesting writing on the door to the summit control room for the High Speed Quad. Rather unusual don't you think? They must have moved the control room, or at least the door, from Attitash, but didn't scratch off the old name. |
|
|
|
After lingering at the summit for about an hour, we descended. We decided not to take the same trail down, but rather negotiate down ski trails. Here's a view of the summit HSQ from about 1/2 way down. We eventually made our way back to the top of Little Pico, and hiked down the rest of the Long Trail. |
It was a great hike, good exercise, and great company! We hope to have another in the fall!
