Message just in from my friend Dan. Confusingly, he refers to another friend also named Dan! I've replied saying I'd like to go. If there's a reader out there who'd be sincerely interested, get in touch.
Hi everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. FYI, Dan D and I have been discussing doing a hike down the west side of the Somerset Reservoir mid-week next week. Such a hike could be a logical extension of the hike up the east side that we all did in August, which is when the two of us started discussing the prospect. We can call it our equinox hike. I have purposely kept the cc list for this one short, including only those who might be most interested in a strenuous all day hike. At approximately 11 miles over disused or non-existent, and poorly mapped trails, this hike will be challenging to say the least. Dan scouted a bit of this one for us a couple of weeks ago and has confirmed what I had expected about the current status of the trail. We are very unlikely to see any other hikers for the trail appears to be a mere shadow of what is depicted on the power company maps that we all saw posted down at the dam. It will not be the walk in the park for us that was our August hike. Thus the hike got the two of us thinking that it must be done in the name of active nude recreation!
Dan, if your schedule next week is still flexible, I would like to suggest that we try to do this hike on Thursday the 22nd. The two of us would love to have your company, if any of you care to join us on some serious nude bushwacking that day, Ironically, my work schedule could very well have me [farther up in Vermont] Wed the 21st and [again on] Fri the 23. Thus I will be free and in the area with a day to kill, on the 22nd. Could that day work for us for the hike? We would have to trust that the weather will cooperate.
If this works out, I will try to snag the drive-up camp site that we saw just off the main access road into the park that overlooks the mountains to the west, and plan to sleep overnight at Grout Pond on Wed night. Dan, you or anyone else is welcome to join me there that night or meet us Thursday morning at the Grout Pond loop trail head parking lot around 9:30am. Following our hike, I plan to again sleep again that night at Grout, [before heading up north again]. My van could comfortably sleep two, possibly three, and there is sufficient room at that site for an additional tent. Alternatively, if there is enough interest, I might have luck snagging site 11 or 12 for us to hike into and tent camp. I will be bringing my tarp tent for myself, should we decide as a group on this option.
Please let me or Dan know what your thoughts are on this. I'm sorry about the short notice. Business has picked up for the company this month, and I was not certain till this week whether I would be able to lead such a hike. I am hoping that this fine but painfully dry weather pattern will remain with us for one more week. This one will be interesting!
-Dan
PS, Milt or John, please feel free to forward this to anyone else that I may have overlooked who might like to know about this hike.
