Pierce & Eisenhower Trip Report

It was great day out! Rain, hail, lightning, thunder and good company: tMail, Westie, Mutha, Spanky and new to the group, Helen representing the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club). Mutha's & the DOC's pics are here and they pretty much say it all... except the hail and lightning.

The hail came suddenly and frequently and abundantly enough to accumulate in patches. At Eisenhower, The DOC, Spanky and I headed back to the car while Westie and tMail continued on. About 20 minutes later the dynamic duo came up from behind. Things were getting a little bit more dramatic for all parties as the clouds, wind and rain picked up and we polished off (or nearly polished off) the DOC's chocolate chip cookies.

But it really was an extraordinarily beautiful day.

[Update 8/17] I edited the original post and re-uploaded my pics at a higher resolution to do justice to the cloud color variations and uploaded some pics from The DOC. All pics are here.

And tMail has uploaded his pics. He even captured Cog Doom!

[Update 8/18] tMail has added captions to key photos, and added some additional 'special' photos for the mega-Doom crowd - sure signs of the apocalypse.

tMail's Gear Test and Trip Reports

Well it was a nice day to get back into the grove of mountain life and get the legs going up again. It was nice to go for a hike at a relaxed pace and just enjoy being out...I also got to test some gear...

Results of Gear Test:

• Darn Tough are Darn Tough...if you don't notice them on the feet then you know they are good
• Brooks Trail runners great shoe for flat sandy trails ok on the rocky stuff...super lite and drain extremely well...
• Marmot precip unbeatable...
  

Trip Report:

1. Hail is great
2. Lighting is even better
3. The Weather is fascinating when you see 3 separate storms forming on you now you are in trouble
4. Cotton t-shirts and trash bags is a great look especially when you are walking directly into a storm.
5. I can't seem to find a dry trail to hike on o well...
6. Just walking on a trail that has water running down it is a welcome sight vs running through mud up to your crotch and having a gravel bank in your shoes
7. Presi Traverse is going to be exciting
8. Great to meet DOC
9. Great to get the Yellow Comet out.
10. I am ready for the 4 summit attempt in the Dacks on 8/22/2008