On day 2 of the Cardigan trip, we woke up early at around 6:30 a.m, headed down to the man-made AMC Cardigan lodge, and ate a hearty breakfast. Soon after, we made our way out of the lodge and began hiking to the summit of Cardigan. We passed over the Croo Bridge, which was made by people (interaction with the environment) and continued along the river. About two-thirds of the way up we found a ladder in the woods, which is clear evidence of humans. We continued up the path for a little more and stopped for a water break next to the cabin that the fire warden used to use. This cabin, as Emma told us, was created as a place of refuge (against the harsh weather conditions) for the fire warden that would travel up to the summit every day and watch over the area from the fire tower. Humans interacted with the natural environment and built the watchtower atop the mountain to protect unnecessary interactions with the preserved area such as fires.The winds at the summit forced us to eat underneath the wind-breaking fire tower, because the environment made it intolerable to stay in the windstream. After we reached the summit, we began our descent, ladder and all. We arrived back at the lodge around 4:30 and met next to the man-made pond that housed all sorts of critters. Here, we discussed the day and put the ladder down, removing it from the slope of Cardigan. Finally, we re-entered the lodge and resumed our normal afternoon activities, eventually ate dinner and slept.
Day 2's Map:
This is an image of the Croo Bridge, a bridge built by the AMC Cardigan crew to help create a more hiker friendly path up the peak.
This is an quick sketch of the fire tower at the summit of Cardigan. It was used to spot fires all around the area.
The last picture is a drawing of the Cardigan lodge that housed us. We sketched this during an afternoon and evening activity.
The Homepage: The Exhilarating and Riveting Mt. Cardigan Trip