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I
had to be careful on the way back down. The temperature had warmed up a bit,
and the hard-packed ridge of snow had softened, making postholing even more of a problem. And,
being tired, I was more prone to making careless mistakes, and tripping
and hurting myself. There were more than one sharply-pointed broken
branches poking out of the trees around the trail waiting to impale me.
I
helped Muffin down the ladder, and we passed the spot where I had to dig
myself out of a stubborn posthole. When we reached the spur trail to Zeacliff Pond,
I was elated, as I knew the going would get easier beyond this spot. But I was
still too drained and in too much of a rush wanting to avoid the storm
that I passed up the chance to see the pond.
After
going by Zeacliff and descending a steep section, we once again dropped
below the snowline where we could really sail along. Finally, back at the
crossing of Whitewall Brook, we had to stop. The waters had risen a bit
during the day. They had washed away one of the branches I had dragged
there, and the remaining branch was partially under water. I managed to find
another branch to replace it, but when I tried to cross, it snapped and I had
to back up quickly to avoid a spill in the brook. To be safe, I found
three more branches, all of them slightly rotten, and crawled across
without incident.
Back
at the hut, the hospital group had long since left and hut was empty. Only the caretaker was
still around, working outside stacking wood. While we rested for a few minutes, I told him about the
trail conditions so he could advise others, then said goodbye and
headed back down to the tent to take down camp and hike back to the car.
After
resting at the tent for a few more minutes, I quickly took it down and
packed up. Some of my things were slightly damp, and my pack had gained a
few pounds. On the way back down the Zealand Trail, we passed several
groups of hikers headed for the hut. A couple of people in the first group were
very tired, and not too thrilled when I told them they still had about
twenty minutes to go. I was afraid to mention the 200-ft rocky climb just before the hut.
Partway
back, we stopped so I could take a picture of Mt Zealand and Zeacliff and
its connecting ridge.
From down here, you'd never know about all the snow still up high. Thunder
began booming as we neared the end of the trail. Then, as we were coming out of
the woods, a few drops began to fall. Just after we opened the car
door and got in, the rain came pouring down. We had made it just in time!
After
stopping in Lincoln to pick up some fish and chips for me, and a hamburger
for Muffin, we drove home carefully on the rain-slicked highway, getting
home tired but safely around 7:30.
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Zealand
ridge from the Zealand Trail. The rounded "peak" to the left is
Zeacliff. The peak in the middle is Mt Zealand. |
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