From Sunrise to Moon Rise
November 29, 2009
It was a 10 miles trip with a lot of up and downhill in the morning. The climb to Ramapo Torne was not easy and the viewpoints might attract hikers to stay long. I announced we should start as early as 9 am and hopefully we could finish before 4 pm. I had 17 serious hikers who all prepared to hike long hours or fast pace. They were: Guidun, Xiao Mai, Max, Harry, Feng, Jing, Dawn, Chung Kwong, Helen, Qiang, Rose, Esther, Joe, Philip, John and Moon.
The meeting time at the city was 7 am so Rose and Chung Kwong had to leave home before 5 am. This was the time before sunrise. All cars were at Visitors Center of Seven Lakes Drive around 8:45 am but we couldn’t start before 9:15 am. We started from Red Trail and connected to Blue Trail with a few slopes. The fast team arrived at the junction of Blue and Orange Trail quick. Rose had found a problem on her foot because she wore new shopping boots yesterday. I felt bad and worried about her possibility of completion of 8 more miles. Feet care was so important for a hiker not only during but before the hiking event. I led the group on Orange Trail and climbed to the Torne after a section of rock climbing. They were interesting to see the natural shelter. We took 2 group pictures at the Torne based on genders. It turned out this was the only chance we could be together before lunch. We spent time for taking photos at the Torne because we had to compensate for the foggy condition of our last visit. They all knew now what scenery was under this hill.
I planned to take lunch at the Russian Bear which was another viewpoint and matched with the time frame even we were quite behind the schedule. We had finished only 3.5 miles by lunch time. Moon took a very relax picture with her lunch box by leaning on a tree. I consulted Rose and Xiao Mai if they could continue with the rest of the trip. Both ladies had troubles on their feet and legs but both were so determined to continue. Luckily, I had Feng in the team so I prepared to split. We connected to Black Trail for a mile and then White Kakiat Trail. After 1 mile on White Trail, Feng announced we were close to Yellow Trail. Everyone was so happy except me because I remembered we were still far from Grandma and Grandpa Rocks.
I caught the front team at Grandma and Grandpa Rocks and brought them to Yellow Trail. Here was the last spot that I could see the whole team because there was at least 30 minutes difference. After clear explanation about the order of coming trails which were Yellow, White and Red Trail, I let Feng brought the fast team proceed. Moon and I would wait for Bai’s couples. There were still a lot of ups and downs on Yellow Trail. This probably the most difficult trip of Xiao Mai because her knees were not strong enough for so many slopes. Since Feng called me from time to time to tell me their location, while we were waiting at the White Trail for Bai’s, I knew Feng had finished the Red Trail that next to Pine Meadow Lake. They were taking pictures and waiting for Rose. We were 45 minutes apart.
The section on White and Red Trail was mostly flat but it was still a torture for a tired hiker. We saw pretty sunset scenery when we reached Pine Meadow Lake. That matched perfectly with Moon’s stamp. Feng reported to me that the super fast team had reached parking lot at 3:30 pm but Chung Kwong and Rose were out of his sight. I didn’t worry about it because they must be in between the team and Rose was not by herself. I called Philip to wait at the parking lot for me so in case I could get help. The last 2.5 miles on Red Trail was boring until I got the phone call from Chung Kwong. The story was: Chung Kwong ran back to search for Rose while Rose was confused about the direction and turned around between the trails of Pine Meadow Lake. Pine Meadow Lake was renamed as Rose Missing Lake after this trip.
Once they knew my team was behind them, they spent more time on photo taking of the evening scenery of the mountain. The trail was still full of rolling stones and getting dark. Xiao Mai took out her headlight but fell so bad on a slippery spot that she could hardly stand up again. Luckily, Guidan was right there to help. Chung Kwong and Rose reached the parking around 4:15 pm and Bai’s couples reached at 4:45 pm. The mountain was so dark and we were happy to see the big clear full Moon rising behind trees. Moon watching was finally delivered which I had owed them in an October trip. We had set a record of spending 7 hours to finish 10 miles.
