timmus
Well-known member
I woke at 6am Sunday morning, packed up my camping gear and made big efforts to forget how busy and exhausting was the day before : Trailwork with the 46r’s, hiked Dix (beautiful views), beer and kebabs with Arm and Neil, topped with an on-and-off sleep.
I started at 8am from South Meadows, and checked my route once at the Avalanche lean-to. I expected nice weather, it was perfect : close to 38°F, little wind and no clouds. I got into the woods cutting the slope with a perfect 90° and was on the ridge 15 minutes later. Then the whole trip was pure pleasure. The woods are really not too bad up there. Walking along with the MacIntyres on the right, and Colden Slide’s on the left is close to my idea of what Heaven should be like. There was of course few thick patches, especially in the depression after the first bump, but nothing terrible.
A little bit later, I was on an open spot facing Colden, and I could easily identify the true summit on my right. I continue to follow the ridge until I got stopped by a notch. It looked like there is only one avenue that goes down the cliffs, and I got lucky enough to find it. (After 10 minutes of wandering). After that it was an easy climb, and at this point snowshoes became essential. There is still about 3 feet of consolidated snow up there.
Once on the summit, I enjoyed the views of Flowed Lands, Marshall, Iroquois, and Algonquin (so close !!!). I had a beautiful moment for myself, very inspiring.
There was some garbage on the ground, so I decided to pack it and head down. It took me about the same time to go down than go up, probably because I was constantly checking my bearing to make sure I wouldn’t drop too much on the right and get stuck near the cliffs. I was able to backtrack a bit, but couldn’t really count on that to follow previous route. Still, I manage to use correctly my basic compass skills and exit 100 ft on the right side of the lean-to.
I took a break at the trails jct and chat with Réjean and that couple from Montreal that always comes to the Beer nights (rappelez-moi vos nom !!!). The walk out was fast, the whole trip took me 8 hours, and I don’t think I could have done better than this.
I am so sorry I don’t have pictures (no camera yet), but I keep very good souvenirs of that bushwhack !
I started at 8am from South Meadows, and checked my route once at the Avalanche lean-to. I expected nice weather, it was perfect : close to 38°F, little wind and no clouds. I got into the woods cutting the slope with a perfect 90° and was on the ridge 15 minutes later. Then the whole trip was pure pleasure. The woods are really not too bad up there. Walking along with the MacIntyres on the right, and Colden Slide’s on the left is close to my idea of what Heaven should be like. There was of course few thick patches, especially in the depression after the first bump, but nothing terrible.
A little bit later, I was on an open spot facing Colden, and I could easily identify the true summit on my right. I continue to follow the ridge until I got stopped by a notch. It looked like there is only one avenue that goes down the cliffs, and I got lucky enough to find it. (After 10 minutes of wandering). After that it was an easy climb, and at this point snowshoes became essential. There is still about 3 feet of consolidated snow up there.
Once on the summit, I enjoyed the views of Flowed Lands, Marshall, Iroquois, and Algonquin (so close !!!). I had a beautiful moment for myself, very inspiring.
There was some garbage on the ground, so I decided to pack it and head down. It took me about the same time to go down than go up, probably because I was constantly checking my bearing to make sure I wouldn’t drop too much on the right and get stuck near the cliffs. I was able to backtrack a bit, but couldn’t really count on that to follow previous route. Still, I manage to use correctly my basic compass skills and exit 100 ft on the right side of the lean-to.
I took a break at the trails jct and chat with Réjean and that couple from Montreal that always comes to the Beer nights (rappelez-moi vos nom !!!). The walk out was fast, the whole trip took me 8 hours, and I don’t think I could have done better than this.
I am so sorry I don’t have pictures (no camera yet), but I keep very good souvenirs of that bushwhack !
