wardsgirl
Active member
Since the weather report for Sunday made my plans to snowshoe the length of the Dry River Trail unmanageable, we decided to take a stab at a previously aborted trip to Mt. Clay. Last winter, we had reached the upper Jewell Trail, only to turn back when the s*it hit the fan. It was the same day that two hikers wandered into Oakes Gulf and had to be rescued with the use of a helicopter SAR team. Since today’s forecast promised clear skies and light wind, we set our sights on the Jewell Trail again.
We were sure many hikers would be out today. “Hey, look, there’s a guy in a kilt!” my BF exclaimed as we passed the Sawyer River Road parking lot. It was, undoubtedly, MadRiver and pals, getting ready to hike up to Carrigain. We pulled into the Marshfield Station parking lot which was already packed with cars. Several groups headed up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail while we geared up for Jewell. Yesterday, I had responded to Bikehikeskifish’s query to let him know we were heading up Jewell, in case he wanted to incorporate it into his plans. We put on our snowshoes and started down the trail alone.
Jewell Trail was deep and unbroken. Obviously, no one had ventured this way since the past few snowstorms. We hiked over the bridge and began to break trail up the winding hill. Snowshoeing on this trail was reminiscent of our early hikes of the 1980s, when few hikers ventured out in winter. Often, it would take all day to break out a trail for a mile or so, after which we would return on a later day to continue our trail-breaking efforts in order to bag a peak. Other times, the day’s destination would be determined only when seeing the glow of other hiker’s headlights in a trailside parking lot. My BF and I both looked forward to breaking Jewell Trail out, but after a half mile or so of knee deep unconsolidated fluff, we looked longingly at the blue skies overhead. It seemed that we would never make it above treeline to enjoy this bluebird day.
I secretly wished that Bikehikeskifish was on his way up the trail with a gang of other snowshoers. I repeatedly looked back down the trail behind us…
Bike?
Hike?
Ski?
Fish?
… nothing...
We continued to flounder through the mashed potatoes awhile further. After an hour, we discussed our situation. All the trail breaking ahead was weighing heavily on my BF’s mind. As some of you know, he shattered his pelvis only six months ago and likely still has a bit of healing to do before he is back to his hardcore hiking maniac self. We decided that we would cancel our plans for Clay and head up the broken-in Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. Back to the parking lot we went!
The Ammo was a joy! We wore snowshoes to avoid postholing, and then switched to crampons at the Gem Pool. In a short while, we ran into our first descending hikers of the day. We stopped and chatted with a few people on our way up to treeline. Although the Ammo is steep, there was no steep ice to negotiate. We reached Lakes of the Clouds Hut under a brilliant blue sky. The sun warmed us up nicely. We ate a late lunch and geared up for an ascent of Monroe. The winds were reported to be much worse on Monroe than Washington, but there was certainly not enough daylight left to head up the rockpile. The wind on our way up Monroe was pretty stiff. Unfortunately, it was too windy to expose any skin or take out the camera for a summit shot. Although it wasn’t the worst wind we had ever experienced, it was still pretty tough.
Back at the hut, we decided to check out the surrounding area. We left our packs in the dungeon, and set off to explore the head of Oakes Gulf, the lakes, and the Crawford Path. The calmness of the wind in the flat areas was a stark contrast to the high winds on Monroe. We made a long range plan to hike down the Dry River Trail, AKA the Bermuda Triangle of the Whites. We also made sure to take notice of just how utterly undefined the Ammo trail is at the hut and contemplated an escape line if we ever were caught in the same predicament as some of the lost people who find themselves unable to get down the trail in a whiteout. I wonder why there are no cairns at the top of this trail?
We eventually gathered our belongings from the dungeon and were joined by a group of 4 backpackers who planned to spend the night. The group was unsure of whether they were going to dig a snow cave or stay in the dungeon itself. We descended a short distance from the hut and sat on a big flat rock to drink hot cocoa and enjoy the beautiful sunset. The profile of the Presies was awesome against the darkening sky. My BF spent a long time taking pictures of the sunset using the various settings available to him on his camera.
When darkness fell, we broke out our headlamps and began our descent. It is amazing at how easy it is to follow a broken-in trail in the dark with only the help of a tiny sliver of moon. We only turned our lamps on to avoid the possibility of accidentally stepping into an occasional posthole. In what seemed like no time at all, we reached the parking lot, where our car was the last vehicle left. In the dark, we couldn’t determine whether anyone had descended via the Jewell Trail today. If they did, I’m sure they found their last mile, easier than the first few!
We were sure many hikers would be out today. “Hey, look, there’s a guy in a kilt!” my BF exclaimed as we passed the Sawyer River Road parking lot. It was, undoubtedly, MadRiver and pals, getting ready to hike up to Carrigain. We pulled into the Marshfield Station parking lot which was already packed with cars. Several groups headed up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail while we geared up for Jewell. Yesterday, I had responded to Bikehikeskifish’s query to let him know we were heading up Jewell, in case he wanted to incorporate it into his plans. We put on our snowshoes and started down the trail alone.
Jewell Trail was deep and unbroken. Obviously, no one had ventured this way since the past few snowstorms. We hiked over the bridge and began to break trail up the winding hill. Snowshoeing on this trail was reminiscent of our early hikes of the 1980s, when few hikers ventured out in winter. Often, it would take all day to break out a trail for a mile or so, after which we would return on a later day to continue our trail-breaking efforts in order to bag a peak. Other times, the day’s destination would be determined only when seeing the glow of other hiker’s headlights in a trailside parking lot. My BF and I both looked forward to breaking Jewell Trail out, but after a half mile or so of knee deep unconsolidated fluff, we looked longingly at the blue skies overhead. It seemed that we would never make it above treeline to enjoy this bluebird day.
I secretly wished that Bikehikeskifish was on his way up the trail with a gang of other snowshoers. I repeatedly looked back down the trail behind us…
Bike?
Hike?
Ski?
Fish?
… nothing...
We continued to flounder through the mashed potatoes awhile further. After an hour, we discussed our situation. All the trail breaking ahead was weighing heavily on my BF’s mind. As some of you know, he shattered his pelvis only six months ago and likely still has a bit of healing to do before he is back to his hardcore hiking maniac self. We decided that we would cancel our plans for Clay and head up the broken-in Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. Back to the parking lot we went!
The Ammo was a joy! We wore snowshoes to avoid postholing, and then switched to crampons at the Gem Pool. In a short while, we ran into our first descending hikers of the day. We stopped and chatted with a few people on our way up to treeline. Although the Ammo is steep, there was no steep ice to negotiate. We reached Lakes of the Clouds Hut under a brilliant blue sky. The sun warmed us up nicely. We ate a late lunch and geared up for an ascent of Monroe. The winds were reported to be much worse on Monroe than Washington, but there was certainly not enough daylight left to head up the rockpile. The wind on our way up Monroe was pretty stiff. Unfortunately, it was too windy to expose any skin or take out the camera for a summit shot. Although it wasn’t the worst wind we had ever experienced, it was still pretty tough.
Back at the hut, we decided to check out the surrounding area. We left our packs in the dungeon, and set off to explore the head of Oakes Gulf, the lakes, and the Crawford Path. The calmness of the wind in the flat areas was a stark contrast to the high winds on Monroe. We made a long range plan to hike down the Dry River Trail, AKA the Bermuda Triangle of the Whites. We also made sure to take notice of just how utterly undefined the Ammo trail is at the hut and contemplated an escape line if we ever were caught in the same predicament as some of the lost people who find themselves unable to get down the trail in a whiteout. I wonder why there are no cairns at the top of this trail?
We eventually gathered our belongings from the dungeon and were joined by a group of 4 backpackers who planned to spend the night. The group was unsure of whether they were going to dig a snow cave or stay in the dungeon itself. We descended a short distance from the hut and sat on a big flat rock to drink hot cocoa and enjoy the beautiful sunset. The profile of the Presies was awesome against the darkening sky. My BF spent a long time taking pictures of the sunset using the various settings available to him on his camera.
When darkness fell, we broke out our headlamps and began our descent. It is amazing at how easy it is to follow a broken-in trail in the dark with only the help of a tiny sliver of moon. We only turned our lamps on to avoid the possibility of accidentally stepping into an occasional posthole. In what seemed like no time at all, we reached the parking lot, where our car was the last vehicle left. In the dark, we couldn’t determine whether anyone had descended via the Jewell Trail today. If they did, I’m sure they found their last mile, easier than the first few!
