Outdoor Diversion: Humid Hike to Hale

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Humid Hike to Hale

Summit: Mount Hale
Trail route: Hale Brook Trail
Trail conditions: Mostly dry trail with some wet sections of trail
Weather: Very humid and warm
Total miles: 4.4 RT
Total time: 2:43

After a spectacular hike to Mount Jackson yesterday I was ready for another short hike this morning. My son had an afternoon hockey game that I was going to and I wanted to be out by noon. This morning's hike would be to the summit of Mount Hale (4,054') via the Hale Brook Trail. I was getting a later than normal start and I would pay the price for that.

I arrived at the trailhead and found some available parking. That was surprising given the late start I thought I would be parking along the road. I was out of the car, ready to go and on my way up the trail.

It wasn't long before I realized that this was going to be a very humid hike. I have always had a very low tolerance for heat and humidity. After about a mile it was really hitting me. I soaked my head at each water crossing to cool myself down. I had plenty of water and Gatorade but was still feeling very hot.

I arrived at the summit and there was a couple there ahead of me. Once I got into the full sunshine I was not feeling well at all. The sun was really beating me down and I was sweating profusely. There was very little wind and not much relief. I stayed for only a couple of minutes and started my descent back down into the shade of the woods.

Before I went any further I had something to eat and more to drink. I determined that I had a mild case of heat exhaustion. I took it slow and easy. I soaked my head again at the water crossings and it felt great! More than once I could hear hikers talking before I could see them and they were talking about how humid it was. The mushrooms were enjoying the warm, humid air as there were many along the trail.

I was very glad when the parking lot came into view. This had to be one of the toughest short hikes that I've ever done because of the humidity. An early start would have been better but I was still back before noon. It seems that many of my hikes to Mount Hale have either been warm and humid or very cold. It's not such a short hike in the Winter as the road walk adds 5 miles to the 4.4 miles.

This was not an enjoyable hike today, the humidity took all the fun out of it and I just wanted to get through it. I'm looking forward to the arrival of cool Autumn air!