DreamFarmer
Active member
And there it was.
Bathed in sunlight, overlooking the Great Range with a few bare rock areas for comfortable seating. Big Slide had allowed me passage to my 46th summit at 9:15 AM on Saturday, March 20, 2010.
This trip began the day before when I lugged my camping gear from the Garden (where I bumped into Randomscooter & his wife) to the Wolfjaw L/T.
I was going for 3 nights of camping with as many W’s as I could muster energy for, and getting my “regular #46” along the way.
By 7:30 Friday night, I was in my bag and drifting off to sleep. My down bag was plenty warm but it was restless sleep. I just couldn’t stay comfortable for very long.
About 1:30 AM, I had the pleasure of meeting MudRat and seeing WWBF again (hardcore legends in the making) as they came off the Lower Range. They were going to hike through the night but changed their plan and stayed in the L/T with me. I was up and gone Saturday morning by 5:30 heading for Big Slide. I was hungry and wanted a Big breakfast. I didn’t want to disturb my company any more than I already had so I took my stove and all the food that I wanted and headed out..
I was determined to stay as dry and comfortable as I could which meant slow down, stop often, stay cool.
At the Interior Outpost, I sat in one of the big wooden chairs and cooked some ramen noodles. I had Canadian bacon, cheese, hot Tang, and pretzels and a “sweet and salty” bar. The Canadian bacon was a new treat for me. They had nice little shrink-wrapped packs at the grocery store in Keene Valley-it was really nice. I melted some snow for drinking water (repeated all weekend) and headed towards #46 as daylight became noticeable.
I was immersed in recollection and euphoria as I worked my way up the mountain.
I had no sense of the passage of time or the effort needed for the climb.
The day was turning out to be clear and sunny. I was going to get some views for #46 !
When I came to the little landing on the left, showing the beautiful views, I cried tears of joy and appreciation. What a wonderful journey this had been.
In a short time I was at the summit and realized I had no film left in the camera ( I had a 2nd one at the L/T). So I made a video on my cell phone and ,noticing there was good cell phone reception, sent it to my 2 youngest kids and their mother, who I thanked for putting up with my hiking affliction while we were married.
It was sunny and quite warm so I removed some layers and spread them out to dry. Two couples showed up who had just come in from the Garden and it was all I could do to contain myself about getting #46. I kept it to myself and they left after about 30 minutes. Then I headed back to the L/T for lunch and a nap.
About 2:30, a group of 3 guys and a little dog showed up at the L/T to take a break.
They were going to go do LWJ, same as me ! By 3PM I figured I better take off so I bid a farewell and we’d meet again on the trail. On my return, I ran in to these guys again below the junction to UWJ and they were still headed for LWJ. It was about 5PM and they swore they had headlamps. They said they would stop for a break at the L/T on their way down, but I never saw them again.
Saturday night was another lousy nights sleep and I decided it would be my last night in the L/T. I hit the trail for UWJ about 7, uncertain what to expect for the weather. It felt much colder than the previous morning and the crunching of the MSR’s on the snow was annoyingly loud. The trails offered solid footing with only a few places where it was solid ice. I’m very sure it was easier hiking in the winter with sno-shoes than it was in the summer through this section. And the “tele-vators” were addicting. I went from thinking of them as a silly, faddish, accessory to an absolute necessity. Without shame, I fussed over my tele-vators…put them up…put them down…up…down. Gosh, they were great !
By the time I got to Armstrong, it was plain to see there were clouds and intermittent views. I was pelted with soft hail which switched to cold rain then snow. Gothics was not visible from Armstrong when I first arrived, then it opened up and I could see a lone hiker swaying in the wind blasts as he came towards me across the Gothics Ridge.
I was getting concerned about crossing Gothics until I saw him. Now I felt there would be some fresh tracks to follow if I couldn’t see very far. He assured me there was no problem finding the way as we passed in the col.
I crossed the Gothics Ridge with good visibility of the ground and some occasional views of the surrounding mountains. The wind was driving the snow hard. It was too windy to stop and get out my camera and frankly, I wanted to get off the mountain ASAP. I saw a couple skiers and about 6 people on their way up as I worked my way down the Ore Bed Brook trail. There was some great butt-sliding moments once I was down into the woods. I wouldn’t take that chance at the very top where it was so steep and open. I could imagine getting going too fast to stop !
By 1 PM, I was back at the L/T and changed into my last dry clothes. I had a warm lunch while a couple guys from Albany stopped for a break. When they left, I packed up and headed for the Garden , I dreamt of the Keene Valley Hostel, a shower, and the Noonmark Diner. I was not disappointed.
Bathed in sunlight, overlooking the Great Range with a few bare rock areas for comfortable seating. Big Slide had allowed me passage to my 46th summit at 9:15 AM on Saturday, March 20, 2010.
This trip began the day before when I lugged my camping gear from the Garden (where I bumped into Randomscooter & his wife) to the Wolfjaw L/T.
I was going for 3 nights of camping with as many W’s as I could muster energy for, and getting my “regular #46” along the way.
By 7:30 Friday night, I was in my bag and drifting off to sleep. My down bag was plenty warm but it was restless sleep. I just couldn’t stay comfortable for very long.
About 1:30 AM, I had the pleasure of meeting MudRat and seeing WWBF again (hardcore legends in the making) as they came off the Lower Range. They were going to hike through the night but changed their plan and stayed in the L/T with me. I was up and gone Saturday morning by 5:30 heading for Big Slide. I was hungry and wanted a Big breakfast. I didn’t want to disturb my company any more than I already had so I took my stove and all the food that I wanted and headed out..
I was determined to stay as dry and comfortable as I could which meant slow down, stop often, stay cool.
At the Interior Outpost, I sat in one of the big wooden chairs and cooked some ramen noodles. I had Canadian bacon, cheese, hot Tang, and pretzels and a “sweet and salty” bar. The Canadian bacon was a new treat for me. They had nice little shrink-wrapped packs at the grocery store in Keene Valley-it was really nice. I melted some snow for drinking water (repeated all weekend) and headed towards #46 as daylight became noticeable.
I was immersed in recollection and euphoria as I worked my way up the mountain.
I had no sense of the passage of time or the effort needed for the climb.
The day was turning out to be clear and sunny. I was going to get some views for #46 !
When I came to the little landing on the left, showing the beautiful views, I cried tears of joy and appreciation. What a wonderful journey this had been.
In a short time I was at the summit and realized I had no film left in the camera ( I had a 2nd one at the L/T). So I made a video on my cell phone and ,noticing there was good cell phone reception, sent it to my 2 youngest kids and their mother, who I thanked for putting up with my hiking affliction while we were married.
It was sunny and quite warm so I removed some layers and spread them out to dry. Two couples showed up who had just come in from the Garden and it was all I could do to contain myself about getting #46. I kept it to myself and they left after about 30 minutes. Then I headed back to the L/T for lunch and a nap.
About 2:30, a group of 3 guys and a little dog showed up at the L/T to take a break.
They were going to go do LWJ, same as me ! By 3PM I figured I better take off so I bid a farewell and we’d meet again on the trail. On my return, I ran in to these guys again below the junction to UWJ and they were still headed for LWJ. It was about 5PM and they swore they had headlamps. They said they would stop for a break at the L/T on their way down, but I never saw them again.
Saturday night was another lousy nights sleep and I decided it would be my last night in the L/T. I hit the trail for UWJ about 7, uncertain what to expect for the weather. It felt much colder than the previous morning and the crunching of the MSR’s on the snow was annoyingly loud. The trails offered solid footing with only a few places where it was solid ice. I’m very sure it was easier hiking in the winter with sno-shoes than it was in the summer through this section. And the “tele-vators” were addicting. I went from thinking of them as a silly, faddish, accessory to an absolute necessity. Without shame, I fussed over my tele-vators…put them up…put them down…up…down. Gosh, they were great !
By the time I got to Armstrong, it was plain to see there were clouds and intermittent views. I was pelted with soft hail which switched to cold rain then snow. Gothics was not visible from Armstrong when I first arrived, then it opened up and I could see a lone hiker swaying in the wind blasts as he came towards me across the Gothics Ridge.
I was getting concerned about crossing Gothics until I saw him. Now I felt there would be some fresh tracks to follow if I couldn’t see very far. He assured me there was no problem finding the way as we passed in the col.
I crossed the Gothics Ridge with good visibility of the ground and some occasional views of the surrounding mountains. The wind was driving the snow hard. It was too windy to stop and get out my camera and frankly, I wanted to get off the mountain ASAP. I saw a couple skiers and about 6 people on their way up as I worked my way down the Ore Bed Brook trail. There was some great butt-sliding moments once I was down into the woods. I wouldn’t take that chance at the very top where it was so steep and open. I could imagine getting going too fast to stop !
By 1 PM, I was back at the L/T and changed into my last dry clothes. I had a warm lunch while a couple guys from Albany stopped for a break. When they left, I packed up and headed for the Garden , I dreamt of the Keene Valley Hostel, a shower, and the Noonmark Diner. I was not disappointed.
