Mt. Potash
Submitted by Pat
Stats
Mountain: Mt. Potash (2,700)
Date: January 2, 2017
Weather: Sunny, 30s
Miles: 4.4
Elevation Gain: 1,470
Trails: Downes Brook Trail — Potash Mountain Trail
It’s 11° when I wake to my 6:00 am alarm. I enjoy my morning coffee hour, then get ready to head to Dot’s Bread and Butter diner in Ashland, off I93. So good to see Nancy’s smiling face. At breakfast, we talk about feeling overweight, how to lose the extra pounds, throwing out ideas to motivate each other. I need to talk to Theresa about our eating habits. We both need to lose weight but it’s not going to happen if we don’t have a plan that allows us the opportunity for success.
I am anxious that there won’t be parking at the Downes Brook trailhead, but we arrive at the lot and see only a couple of cars. The snow is perfect and the trail well broken. A blue bird sky and squeaky snow. Perfection! No wind and postholing on the trail so my snowshoes wobble and I roll my ankle several times. Both Nancy and I are irritated that people so casually ruin perfectly packed trails.
The trail takes us through a forest of yellow birches, beech trees and maples until we reach the first viewpoint. For a moment I think we are already on the summit, but no, it’s just a viewpoint. Beautiful.
Onward we go and the trail starts zig zagging more steeply up the mountain. We are definitely breathing and sweating. I am down to silks and a light Techwick shirt. We meet two men coming down in microspikes. They are friendly but we aren’t pleased with their postholing. After they pass, Nancy says that she should have said something to them, something like, “With all due respect, since it’s obvious you are experienced hikers and it’s great that you are out here hiking in winter conditions, but barebooting like you guys are doing messes up the trail for other people.” We meet another couple of hikers on the summit who are also barebooting who say they aren’t postholing at all. Their definition of postholing may be different than ours. By just walking on the snow in boots the flatness of the trail is ruined.
With no wind and lots of warm air and sun, we are able to eat lunch on the summit. The walk back to the car, however, is rough. I have on my three season boots and I either need thicker socks or sock liners as my feet are moving around too much. We both retie our boots but it doesn’t help much, so the hike down is painful for me as I develop blisters on both of my little toes. It feels fantastic to get those boots off.
We talk a lot this day, mostly about me. I don’t like talking when it’s all about me, but I obviously need to share, to be seen, heard and understood. I am ecstatic not to feel my guts wrenched by anxiety and depression as I have suffered these past weeks. I am so happy to have a good day, a really good day and I am holding on to it with reverence and joy.