BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 12, 2009: Carrigain
Trails: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Summits: Carrigain
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Fitz, and me
The National Weather Service, and others, were forecasting a very low temperature and very high winds for the day. Based on posted information it looked like we were probably going to see a temperature ~5 degrees and a wind from the west-northwest of 60+mph. Brisk! The planned hike was expected to be relatively sheltered from the wind until we hit Signal Ridge and the summit. It turned out that we were the first hikers in after the recent storm.
Since Sawyer River Road is closed we used the trailhead lot on Route 302. The first really good news came when we arrived at the entrance to the trailhead lot. Sawyer River Road had seen quite a bit of snowmobile traffic and we would be able to bare boot the two mile road walk to the actual trailhead. While we were preparing to get started HikerBob pulled in and told us there were others expected to start up the same hike in roughly an hour. Knowing the people he was talking about – Marc Howes, Lriz, and Arm – I expected they would fly past us early and take over the trail breaking – more good news!
Together with HikerBob (on skis) we set off on Sawyer River Road. The road was packed well and we had no trouble bare booting the two miles to the actual trailhead. Here we split up, HikerBob returned to the trailhead and we went with our snowshoes for the hike to Carrigain. The first move was a short bushwhack to avoid a couple crossings of Whiteface Brook. Fitz was in the lead and did a great job on selecting the bushwhack route. We hit Signal Ridge Trail, made the turn and set off through fresh snow with Fitz still leading the way. In roughly a quarter mile Sue pulled into the lead and we continued. As we hiked we tried to alternate foot placement as much as possible to leave a smooth snowshoe track. A short distance before the Carrigain Notch – Signal Ridge trails junction I noticed Marc Howes closing in on us. Somewhere behind him were Lriz, Arm, and more. After a short visit Marc was off. We saw him again at the crossing near the trail junction and then again near the summit headed down as we were still climbing. Marc saved the day with his trail breaking.
We continued to work on leaving a smooth snowshoe track as we climbed. We were getting hit with a small amount of wind but the terrain was doing a great job of blocking for us. The only real concern was due to the limited snow cover and the rocks, stumps, and similar things that stick up from the trail. It’s easy to catch a snowshoe on this stuff and go down. Another couple feet of snow will take care of this problem and it shouldn’t be long before we have it.
The climb to Signal Ridge was generally uneventful. We plodded along making the usual stops along the way. At roughly 2600 feet Lriz came through in her new blue pants. Very stylish! In another couple hundred feet a couple more in their group passed and soon Arm went by. Everybody is on snowshoes and we’re sure to leave a nice trail surface by the end of the day. We hit the top of the brook at 3000 feet and started the long traverse then finally came to the sharp left and started the final climb to Signal Ridge. A couple hundred feet below Signal Ridge we stopped to add layers for warmth and protection from the expected wind. Slowly we made our way up. The final approach to Signal Ridge is actually on the ridge line below the trees but should be windy if the forecast was correct. All we had was a light breeze. It seems the weather guys were a little off in their estimates for the day (wrong in the right direction). We reached the open area on Signal Ridge and it was cold enough and windy enough to make face protection a good idea but certainly nothing like we expected. We had thought once we reached the ridge it would be an effort to get across and back into the shelter as fast as possible. In fact, we stopped to enjoy the views and get some pictures along the way. The conditions weren’t that bad.
Back into the shelter of the trees for the final climb to the summit. We passed the site of the Fire Warden’s cabin and started into the short sections of climb to the summit area. On the way we first passed Marc Howes and Lriz, and not long after the others came through. We made the final climb to the ridge area below the summit and then to the tower. There, the wind was actually low enough to allow us to climb the tower for more very nice views but high enough to keep us moving.
Soon we were on the hike out. We made our way back across Signal Ridge and a few hundred feet below the treeline where we de-layered. The hike back out was generally uneventful. I think we all nearly went down at least a couple times due to stuff in the trail catching snowshoes. Other than these few trips and stumbles it was clear sailing. Eight sets of snowshoes doing the round trip left the trail with a very nice snowshoe track – I really hope the bare booters that prefer carrying snowshoes stick to the snowmobile trails, but that’s not going to happen.
We hit Sawyer River Road, retired the snowshoes, and made the final two miles back to the trailhead. In planning the hike I expected the time to come in at roughly 25% over book time, which is where we ended.
At the trailhead were a couple and a flat tire. They were having some problems because they rounded off one of the lug nuts probably from not using the lug wrench properly (just a guess). One of them decided to get into the back of my truck to see if there was anything useful there to help get them on their way. I was a little upset to see they had no respect for the property of others. Initially I was willing to help until I learned they had decided to view my truck as public property. After I cooled off I dug out a wrench and got the problem lug nut taken care of.
With the Good Samaritan duty out of the way we were off for the Highland Center and then the highway south. Thanks Sue and Fitz for a very enjoyable hike to Carrigain. Thanks to Marc too!
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Summits: Carrigain
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Fitz, and me
The National Weather Service, and others, were forecasting a very low temperature and very high winds for the day. Based on posted information it looked like we were probably going to see a temperature ~5 degrees and a wind from the west-northwest of 60+mph. Brisk! The planned hike was expected to be relatively sheltered from the wind until we hit Signal Ridge and the summit. It turned out that we were the first hikers in after the recent storm.
Since Sawyer River Road is closed we used the trailhead lot on Route 302. The first really good news came when we arrived at the entrance to the trailhead lot. Sawyer River Road had seen quite a bit of snowmobile traffic and we would be able to bare boot the two mile road walk to the actual trailhead. While we were preparing to get started HikerBob pulled in and told us there were others expected to start up the same hike in roughly an hour. Knowing the people he was talking about – Marc Howes, Lriz, and Arm – I expected they would fly past us early and take over the trail breaking – more good news!
Together with HikerBob (on skis) we set off on Sawyer River Road. The road was packed well and we had no trouble bare booting the two miles to the actual trailhead. Here we split up, HikerBob returned to the trailhead and we went with our snowshoes for the hike to Carrigain. The first move was a short bushwhack to avoid a couple crossings of Whiteface Brook. Fitz was in the lead and did a great job on selecting the bushwhack route. We hit Signal Ridge Trail, made the turn and set off through fresh snow with Fitz still leading the way. In roughly a quarter mile Sue pulled into the lead and we continued. As we hiked we tried to alternate foot placement as much as possible to leave a smooth snowshoe track. A short distance before the Carrigain Notch – Signal Ridge trails junction I noticed Marc Howes closing in on us. Somewhere behind him were Lriz, Arm, and more. After a short visit Marc was off. We saw him again at the crossing near the trail junction and then again near the summit headed down as we were still climbing. Marc saved the day with his trail breaking.
We continued to work on leaving a smooth snowshoe track as we climbed. We were getting hit with a small amount of wind but the terrain was doing a great job of blocking for us. The only real concern was due to the limited snow cover and the rocks, stumps, and similar things that stick up from the trail. It’s easy to catch a snowshoe on this stuff and go down. Another couple feet of snow will take care of this problem and it shouldn’t be long before we have it.
The climb to Signal Ridge was generally uneventful. We plodded along making the usual stops along the way. At roughly 2600 feet Lriz came through in her new blue pants. Very stylish! In another couple hundred feet a couple more in their group passed and soon Arm went by. Everybody is on snowshoes and we’re sure to leave a nice trail surface by the end of the day. We hit the top of the brook at 3000 feet and started the long traverse then finally came to the sharp left and started the final climb to Signal Ridge. A couple hundred feet below Signal Ridge we stopped to add layers for warmth and protection from the expected wind. Slowly we made our way up. The final approach to Signal Ridge is actually on the ridge line below the trees but should be windy if the forecast was correct. All we had was a light breeze. It seems the weather guys were a little off in their estimates for the day (wrong in the right direction). We reached the open area on Signal Ridge and it was cold enough and windy enough to make face protection a good idea but certainly nothing like we expected. We had thought once we reached the ridge it would be an effort to get across and back into the shelter as fast as possible. In fact, we stopped to enjoy the views and get some pictures along the way. The conditions weren’t that bad.
Back into the shelter of the trees for the final climb to the summit. We passed the site of the Fire Warden’s cabin and started into the short sections of climb to the summit area. On the way we first passed Marc Howes and Lriz, and not long after the others came through. We made the final climb to the ridge area below the summit and then to the tower. There, the wind was actually low enough to allow us to climb the tower for more very nice views but high enough to keep us moving.
Soon we were on the hike out. We made our way back across Signal Ridge and a few hundred feet below the treeline where we de-layered. The hike back out was generally uneventful. I think we all nearly went down at least a couple times due to stuff in the trail catching snowshoes. Other than these few trips and stumbles it was clear sailing. Eight sets of snowshoes doing the round trip left the trail with a very nice snowshoe track – I really hope the bare booters that prefer carrying snowshoes stick to the snowmobile trails, but that’s not going to happen.
We hit Sawyer River Road, retired the snowshoes, and made the final two miles back to the trailhead. In planning the hike I expected the time to come in at roughly 25% over book time, which is where we ended.
At the trailhead were a couple and a flat tire. They were having some problems because they rounded off one of the lug nuts probably from not using the lug wrench properly (just a guess). One of them decided to get into the back of my truck to see if there was anything useful there to help get them on their way. I was a little upset to see they had no respect for the property of others. Initially I was willing to help until I learned they had decided to view my truck as public property. After I cooled off I dug out a wrench and got the problem lug nut taken care of.
With the Good Samaritan duty out of the way we were off for the Highland Center and then the highway south. Thanks Sue and Fitz for a very enjoyable hike to Carrigain. Thanks to Marc too!
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Last edited:
