back to parking lot

back to parking lot
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

After I hit Old Mast Road, I only had one mishap. There's also a dirt road that diverges from Old Mast Road, and I managed to wander onto that. No harm, I wound up at the parking lot just the same. The dirt road is not described well in the AMC Guide, but you can see it on the map (Map #3, which comes with the Guide).

Speeding along, I was surprised when I suddenly saw my car up ahead. From looking at the trail map, I thought that I would need to do some walking along Ferncroft Rd to get from the Old Mast Road back to the Dicey's Mill trailhead. But it turns out that the two trailheads are at opposite ends of the Ferncroft Rd parking lot.

It was a pleasant surprise to make it back out at 4:30 pm, just around sunset. This photo actually makes it look a lot darker than it was.

I cut things close by taking an alternate route, but I'm still glad I did it. It's just more fun doing a loop and seeing different things on the way back. Too bad there's so little daylight this time of the year!

I discovered when I got home that I'd lost some skin on my heel, where the blister cushions had rubbed off - haven't had that happen before. I'm still feeling pretty sore today, but incredibly good nevertheless. There should be more days like this!

Entire Mt Passaconaway Trip Report