Home » Outdoor & Recreation » Mountain Backpacking » Hitting it big on the Bigelows

Hitting it big on the Bigelows

© Lisa Marie Pane

As I made my way down Avery toward West Peak, I ran into three hikers, all of whom appeared to be in their 70s. I overheard one of them describe Flagstaff Lake, just off to the north, and how a town used to be there, until it was taken over by the government and flooded to create a reservoir.

I marveled at his knowledge of the place _ but also that they were hiking, and hiking strong. I sometimes wonder how long I can be at this hobby, and seeing them left me inspired. I was particularly impressed with the woman in the group who looked dolled up in an outfit straight out of Talbot's: a nice gray cardigan, white oxford shirt, khakis, tasteful earrings -- and solid hiking boots. Yes, we women can look nice and hike strong at the same time!

It didn't take long to hit West Peak, where I found another woman from the group of 70-somethings. She'd let her friends head to Avery, while she decided to take in the views from West Peak. I hope I can be just as active at that age. Yeah, there's still a lot of life to live, but how many people over X-age get off their duffs to walk around the block, let alone go for a hike?

It was after talking with this woman that I decided that rather than hike back down the Fire Warden's Trail, I'd take advantage of the wonderful weather, and hike over to South Horn before going down the Horns Pond Trail. I am so glad I did.

We don't always get weather this perfect. And although I'm trying to scale back the peakbagging obsession, I figured -- what the heck, South Horn is on the NE 100 highest, might as well go for it. I didn't find it a summit to linger on, so I made my way down the Horns Pond, and found just one person: a surly thru-hiker who didn't even want to acknowledge a hello. Whatever.

But it's tough to remain miffed when you have a view like Horns Pond, where I spent about 15-20 minutes walking around and scouting it out. The two new lean-tos are nicely built with beautiful views of the Horns and the ridgeline. I love the plastic buckets to store food to keep them away from the pesky squirrels.

But the best part was the Horns Pond trail back down. A very nice change of scenery, and much less steep than the Fire Warden's Trail. This was the perfect way to end the day, weaving my way through fern-covered woods filled with clover. As much as I love seeing the views, seeing a new summit, a quiet walk in the woods soothes the soul.