The Hat and Gotta Have (right) do some last minute crammin' for a one-nighter. It had been some time since Gotta Have had donned hiking boots. Apparently, his lovely wife cut his shoestrings after Larry's last sojourn into hotel heaven when the Boys traveled to Rocky Mt Natl Park in '03.

Iron Al was almost as
skeptical about packin' with the Boys as his wife. The last time he used his gear was 7-years ago when he camped in Alaska. With bulbous gear, Iron Al begged for adventure with the Boys. his first and only association with the group was a snowshoeing trek up Dial Mt. with "g". It was exhausting and challenging because there was just enough ice to require technical foot wear,
but not enough to make trekking in snowshoes painless.

Above:

Not realizing they had reached the faux summit of Gothic, the Boys rested for lunch. They were exhausted. Feeling mildly nauseous and wondering if he had entered an early stage of hyponytremia, his filets of trout in sardine oil, which looked so inviting at the grocery store, had a rather revolting effect on "g" at lunch time. He nibbled and hoped to eat more at summit #2 on Armstrong.

Climbing Gothic (continued):

Getting hurt was not an option as the Boys climbed Gothic. Traveling with two other parties boosted
their hiking morale because it made them feel less vulnerable, stupid and foolish. There was a guy whose
dog barely survived the cable section, and a father and son who let the Boys lead the way once
they reached the trail's first icy impasse.

But, that darn cable section at the top! It was terrifying because of it's ice patches, the physical
strength required to pull one's self up the incline, and the extreme exposure behind them which boasted fatality if one slipped or fell. As "g" reached the end of the last section of cable, he realized it was 3-feet
too short for his liking... there was another 8-feet of vertical rock to traverse which offered plenty
of opportunity for calamity. As "g" trudged upward, from above he heard the unthinkable...
an out-of-view and painful cry from AXE. Tired and distressed, "g" rounded a turn
to find AXE sitting in the snow, right boot discarded, knee brace tossed, and massaging a severe
cramp in his calf; he worried he had pulled a muscle. 15-minutes after AXE reached the
faux-summit, Iron Al arrived with stories of leg cramping on the cables and a need to stop as well.

As the Boys sat for lunch they thanked their lucky stars for making it to the top. They
reminisced about the treacherous nature of their first 3-hours of hiking and a concern about
losing day light on the trail if they dawdled too long. Starved for energy, AXE reached for his
bread and (long awaited) mouth watering roast beef... only to realize he had mistakenly
packed their greasy breakfast bacon instead. Mmmmmmm... such is life on the trail.

View from the Summits:

It wasn't until the Boys finished lunch and hiked 0.1 miles to the geological marker, did they realized lunch was served on Gothic's faux summit. But, alas... they had finally arrived at the real thing!

With endless visibility, views from the summits of Armstrong (left) and Upper Wolfjaw
(middle) were spectacular. (Gee... they look like the same pictures?) For the remaining 2/3 of the
hike, the trail up and over Armstrong and Upper Wolfjaw had (only) the illusion of being less
hazardous then the stretch of trail up Gothic. The saddles between both summits offered obstacle-course-like hiking because the north side of each mountain protected it's icy slopes from the sun (right). Using rudimentary and elementary boldering techniques (basically, "hand over hand climbing" and "butt sliding"), the Boys struggled for the next 3.5 hours as they negotiated muddy, snowy and icy rock terrain. The challenge never let up.

And... there was comic relief. At the summit on Armstrong, relieved to make it unscathed
with injury, AXE dropped his day pack to the ground. Blooooop! It bounced off his foot and rolled
off the summit! It was absolutely tragic that the immediate look on all three faces could not be captured
and digitized for review over a few pints down the road. As their good Karma would dictate, AXE's pack landed on an accessible ledge 20 feet below them. Who would have thunk!

One of the trail's easiest obstacles (above left).
Heading home (middle/right).

The Boys arrived back to camp around 1830 hours... but not before traversing one final obstacle... a closed bridge. Before "g" could finish reading aloud the posted warning, AXE had already climbed over the barrier and was well on his way across the wooded suspension bridge with its missing and rotted foot boards. He was tired and wanted home!

After the welcome relief of dry clothes and socks, the Boys hunkered down to the basics of fine dining. They sat on bear proof food canisters as AXE served appetizers: vino, cheese and crackers. With the temperature gradually dropping and daylight fading away, "g" started the hydration process for his home made split pea soup - to which freshly cured, smoked ham cubes would be added to. And, yes... there would be freshly cooked corn bread! Soon... dinner would be served, dishes washed, and the combination of freezing temperature on wet cold boots drove the Boys into down sleeping bags and deep sleep at about 2000 hours... to which they emerged from some 12 hours later.

Although somewhat warmer then the morning before, "g's" Suunto Vector indicated the temperature to be a balmy 25-degrees. AXE was on Chef-Patrol, had water boiling for coffee, and the fixin's for fresh blueberry pancakes with the remaining bacon he had not eaten for lunch atop Gothic.

The entire weekend was an absolute treat for Iron Al who for years had hoped to be included in one of these adventures with the Boys. For the first time he witnessed and experienced an exceptional trekking adventure full of surprises, questionable map reading, backcountry gourmet dining, and good natured banter between men acting like little kids at camp.

Packing up occurred quickly after breakfast... and, off they went. The 3-mile hike to the parking lot was delightful. AXE and Iron Al wore dry socks and wet boots lined with plastic grocery bags... they all talked gear, the real facts about Gore-Tex the company won't tell you, and headed off to their car and the village of Keene for lunch.

Oh... P.S. When the Boys returned to camp after day hiking, they learned the trail up Gothic was later closed due to the dangerous nature of it being iced-over! Good grief.