Alt Traverse '06: the Lost (Pass) Patrol

[sardog1]

Alt Traverse '06: the Lost (Pass) Patrol-REVISED DATES

EDIT:

Nothing Presidential about this one, NOT EVEN THE DATES NOW:

When: Saturday, Feb. 11--Sunday, February 12. The Sandwich Notch Sled Dog Races will be using the Flat Mountain Pond Trail on Presidents Day Weekend, so I'm moving this trip up a week. It's now a two-day, not three-day, event.

What: A ski camping traverse from Whiteface Intervale to Waterville Valley. See previous Lost Pass thread for discussion of routes. At this point, I favor starting on Flat Mountain Pond Trail from the east, then north to Lost Pass, then out via Cascade Brook to northwest, and down to Waterville Valley. Car spotting will be necessary.

Probably no views. Probably some difficulty with deadfalls. High likelihood of seeing more animal tracks than human ones. And a "sleeper" -- check out the possible bushwhack from Lost Pass toward the east-northeast. Might be fun to kiss Kate and her neighbors without the drudgery of coming up from the Kanc?

Who: A maximum of ten in the party, since we'll be in the Sandwich Range Wilderness. You should be experienced at winter camping and the means to move the requisite gear, food, fuel, etc. for a three-day trip.

How: Skis are the primary transport mode; some snowshoes will also be brought to break trail "just in case." I''ll be dragging my load on a sled as much as possible. The pace will be slow to moderate; if you're into speed, you might not like this trip.

Please note also that one of my dogs will accompany us (the smaller one at left.) The participation of any other dogs is subject to a pre-trip meeting of the dog(s) with mine and my approval.

I plan to scout the route in coming weekends. Any beta, especially on winter conditions, would be greatly appreciated.

Send me a PM with your contact info if you're interested.

 

[audrey]

Scouting's a very good idea: last time we were in there, the Cascade path was loaded with blowdowns and would be no fun with a sled (or skis). Maintenance used to be done (and may still) by a gentleman who lives in Waterville Valley, if I remember correctly. I've not done the trip in the dead of winter, so I can't comment on feasibility of using a sled. The beaver meadow at the junction with the Cascade path would sure be a nice place to camp, and a great place from which to climb to the Sleeper Trail. A rough path goes that way from the meadow but doesn't reach the trail, unless someone has cleared one recently.

 

[sardog1]

Thanks for the info, Audrey! Maybe we should bring a horse logging team with us. In addition to scouting forays, I'll be trying to contact those WODC'ers who might have current info. I'll post any updates here.

 

[Cath]

SARDOG1 ~ I've done this trip twice in Winter, both times starting in W.V.

Do you have the WODC map, the 1991 version? This shows the former Old Woodbury & Pond Trails. The map also indicates that these were for Winter use only. The Woodbury Trail leaves the WV cross country trail system, on the One Way Cascade (Path) Brook trail at the sharp corner in what was a logging camp. This has been tenderly looked after by someone, and was clear of blow downs both times I was on it (1996 & 2004).

We snowshoed on the first trip, and took the Pond Trail for a short distance when we reached Lost Pass. Nice views of South Tripyramid. We used backcountry tele gear on the second trip, and remained on the Woodbury Trail when we reached Lost Pass, which we lost momentarily around 3400', but found it again as we came into the wet section at the Kate Sleeper / Downes Brook junction. We had lunch there at the junction & a really nice ski back to Waterville.

The Sandwich Sled dog race, which goes along the Flat Mt Pond Trail is in February, but that might be the week before your intended excursion. Have fun~

 

[sardog1]

Cath, thanks so much for the information. I am THRILLED to hear about the paucity of blowdowns as recently as '04. Sounds like I need that '91 map, which I suppose I can get at a library near Tamworth if nowhere else. Thanks again.

 

[Cath]

Don't forget to check with The White Mountain Wanderer in Lincoln too.

Tons of information there www.mountainwanderer.com

 

[audrey]

Sardog, just thinking...

The crossing of the river near the beginning of the trip could be problematic. You may know this already, but you can avoid the crossing as we did one Winter Gathering long ago by bushwhacking up the other side of the river. It was really quite funny: our intrepid band sought to sneak past the nearby house and spent about 45 minutes wallowing in underbrush only to find ourselves right in the back yard about 200 yards from the road where we started. On the return, we discovered the house was empty anyway - some passersby said that it's usually empty in winter.

Then of course you've got some unavoidable crossings. None if it may be of concern to you - I've never hauled a sled or skied a trail like that with such a burden.