Question for a friend: is the Edmunds Path trailhead accessible? I believe that the Mt. Clinton Road is used as a snowmobile trail this year, but have not been in the region this winter.
Thanks!!
Thanks!!
Parking at Jefferson Notch Rd used to be recommended on MEs website although I have seen large No Parking signs thereThere have been trip reports / trail conditions stating access from the cog / ammo parking area walking/skiing up Mt. Clinton Road.
"No problem" apart from the road walk... and road walked Clinton Rd. back to our cars with no problem.
A group of us did Ike from Crawford and hiked down the Edmands Path and road walked Clinton Rd. back to our cars with no problem.
Was the Clinton Road trailhead the one to use (rather than parking at the Highland Center)?
Streams do run in winter, but you may have to dig though ice to get to them. Fooling around at the edge of a stream can be risky. Be prepared to melt water. (Once prepared to melt water, you no longer need to camp near streams.)Did I hear that Mizpah Spring runs even in winter? Other than heating it to keep from freezing, would one need to filter it (or boil it extensively) at this time of year? I know this is largely a matter of debate, but such a high spring in such a season?
Stomp out a platform, wait a while (up to an hour) and it will harden--possibly enough that you can walk on it without snowshoes. You will still need snow stakes.When tenting on a platform covered in snow, is stomping it down with snowshoes the play? Or clearing it off entirely? Tent stakes (or even "snow stakes") are unnecessary given a platform, yes?
I don't use compression stuff sacks--I don't like risking damaging the down. Stuffing your bag a day or two before the trip should be fine. (Just don't store it stuffed.)How long before you need it do you think you can stuff a sleeping bag into it's tiniest compression bag?
No. During the summer, the Crawford Depot station has showers that run until 5pm. After that, you're out of luck. (I came out after a full day of trailwork, at 5:15, and wasn't allowed a shower.)Pinkham Notch Visitor Center has showers in the basement; does the Highland Center have showers for warming & cleaning after two frozen days in the tundra?
The sleeping bag (an EMS "Mountain Light" forty-below bag) worked great, no consequences from its 24-hour squishing. There is now a LOT of condensation on it as it airs out at home. I hesitate to ask, but what's the scoop on "damaging the down"?
--M.
Ceramic filters can crack from freezing and be permanently damaged. If you carry one, you will need to keep it from freezing.Mizpah Spring is there, all right, but who wants to hunt it down under three-plus feet of snow and then boil it (not bringing a ceramic filter out there; doesn't work in the cold anyway: doesn't generate a seal), when there's all the snow you want for the melting? How's that for a run-on?
Even "free standing" tents need stakes and guys if it gets windy. I also stick a peg or two around the base to make sure the tent doesn't slide around (even without wind).but they agreed with my nagging suspicion that a free-standing tent on a platform wouldn't need them.
We usually stomp out the platform and have dinner while the platform is setting up. The tent can be set up as soon as the platform is ready and someone is available to set it up. (In bad weather, you may wish to do the tent first.)Stomping out the platform works beautifully, but it's difficult waiting for what is usually a quick first job. Especially at dusk when cold & hungry (and maybe a little sore & tired).
As sardog1 said, just spread it out, let it air out and dry, and store loosely. That bag comes with a large cotton storage sack (I have one too). Properly treated, it can last many years--I have a 25+ year old down bag that is as good as new and a 35 year old semi-rectangular down bag that I use as a winter quilt (2000-3000 nights of use). It needs a new zipper and the down in the two tubes at the head end have lost some loft (probably from face and hair oil), but should be useful for a while longer.The sleeping bag (an EMS "Mountain Light" forty-below bag) worked great, no consequences from its 24-hour squishing. There is now a LOT of condensation on it as it airs out at home. I hesitate to ask, but what's the scoop on "damaging the down"?
I don't use compression stuff sacks--I don't like risking damaging the down.
Storing a bag stuffed for long periods can decrease the loft of the down. What is the exact time threshold between OK and possibly damaging*? I don't know. I simply keep the bag unstuffed unless there is a good reason for it to be stuffed.Thanks for all the commentary on airing out the bag afterward, but I was referring specifically to this comment about compression's effect per se. Squishing down causes feather spinal injury? This was the source of my query.