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Judy Shiloh and I headed up North on Saturday--We had planned on 'packing in to Bushnell Falls and then doing some hiking on Sunday and Monday. Unfortumately when we arrived at the Garden the lot was full--bummer --We discussed some options and decided because it was getting late we would hit the Ark and get an early start in on Sunday. We got up early-had breakfast and were at the TH at 7:00--It was hot and humid--factors that would greatly affect me later that day. We loaded up and headed off to Bushnells Falls, passing all of the weekenders coming out along the way. We made good time and dropped our packs at the lower BF LT--grabbed some gear- and our day packs--filtered water and headed off to Haystack. On the way I was struggling--I'm sure now it was the H&H. I drank almost 80oz of water before we got to the Marcy/Haystack jct and I filtered another 80oz there--The streams were full of water so there was plenty to go around--I soaked my bandana often to try to cool off. Now I know why peolple love Haystack--The climb up was great and the views are fantastic as you climb--The first glimpse of Little Haystack w/ Haystack beyond takes your breath away--We made it up where a nice strong breeze greeted us--There were 2 other groups there--We ate some and marveled at the views. On the way down towards Basin we discussed our options--I wasn't feeling any better so when we hit the Basin jct,we pulled the plug and headed back up the Shorey and back to camp--It was a hard decision w/ Basin sooo close but I had to be honest w/ myself--I just didn't have another climb in me. The Shorey was nasty going down--roots, boulders mud and running water. We made it back to camp--set up the tent to get away from the bugs (the black flies were pretty bad all day) and had dinner. We were awakened just before first light by and brief but powerful thunderstorm--very cool. Up soon after we had our coffee and packed out. A nice trip all in all--had a great time despite not feeling well and we're already planning on our next trip back for Basin
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