Derek and Camden and I are scheduled to do a midnight hike 8/12 on the Change Creek Trail, to the Olallie Knob, to watch the Perseids meteor shower. So far, no huge problem with wildfire smoke so we should be good to be able to see lots of meteors streaking through the sky.
I went up the Change Creek Trail today to check the situation out in daylight. In particular, I wanted to put flagging tape up to show the correct way to get onto the Olallie Knob side-trail. A couple of winters ago a big tree fell right at the junction of the side trail and the Change Creek Trail and it made getting up to the knob a bit difficult. The tree has been hacked up and you can get by now, but two distinct trails now intersect the Change Creek Trail. The first one you encounter is the way up; the second one is the way down, because it is not quite so steep.
Along this side trail is a scrambly area. It pays to be careful there and I was wondering how easy it would be for Camden, who is 7 and has relatively short legs, to navigate. See below:
After looking it over I think if his dad goes first and extends something for Cam to hold onto (dad’s hand, a hiking pole, whatever) it should be fine. Once you get past the scramble area it is nice and safe and the knob itself is wide and flat and will be a perfect view point for the meteors.
After checking this out I continued up and went as far as you can go on this trail, which is the intersection of the Olallie Trail via the Pond Trail. I took Olallie to the Great Wall Connector Trail, to the Mt. Washington Trail, and down to the PTC and back via the Hall Creek Connector. 9.3 miles, close to 3K elevation gain. A good workout.
On a side note, the Mt. Washington Trail is getting worse and worse every year. Long sections are obnoxiously rocky. This trail was always a bit harsh but it is almost un-hikeable for a fairly long section. It is so rocky it feels like it is a lot longer than it is.
One area on the Olallie Trail, at about 3,500 feet, has a great field of wildflowers:
None of the normal views were very exciting, as it was cloudy. In fact, the clouds were so low I was walking through them.
On the way back via PTC I came across what has to be a summer school or camp for rock-climbing juniors. I counted three different groups, roped up, learning how to climb. Here is one of them:
All in all a great morning, looking forward to Friday.
Track below.
