follow that qar!

I wanted to activate the last of the close summits before the end of 2020 so I would be eligible to go again in the new year. I don't see long drives to high peaks on the horizon and aim to make the most of the 1-pointers that will fit into a 6-hour trip. I'd been up Parker Mountain once before, 10 years ago on a letterboxing jaunt for Kollaps's 12-carve series with moongazer. I found one of those boxes again today, tucked under a small slab beside a short pine, a glaring lock n lock that needed a good rehiding. I also found a geocache and made a trade. The way up was mostly clear, with stretches of trampled snow, stony drainages filled with beech and oak leaves, and. some. steep. parts. Rocks and ledges had an icy sheen. I placed no foot there. Except for a few chickadees, nuthatches, and a creeper, the woods were quiet. Above them I heard only occasional squawks from ravens. My goal was to make my first contact by 14 zulu