Up to Bald Knob via Slippery Brook Trail. Trail was broken out all the way to the Bald Knob Trail, then only the moose had broken the trail and did a decent job of it. Took the Baldface Circle Trail down to Baldface Shelter....that was um...interesting. Trail was exposed at the top and consolidated except for when it wasn't and mini-avalanches started.
Because that wasn't hard enough, in the morning (10-24) I went up from the shelter. The winds overnight had scoured most of the tracks from the day before, so the way up was strenous and slippery. The trip to South Baldface and over to North was not so easy to follow, but someone had made tracks previously. The track was not solid and postholing (with snowshoes), sliding and tumbling were common
. Someone had barebooted (maybe with spikes) all the way from North Baldface down to the trailhead so no track. Descent of North Baldface was hard snow, but steep and lost the trail. Bushwhacked back to the trail by the first open rock below the summit, the trail was hard to follow over snow drifts and open rock.
Took Bicknell Ridge Down...no tracks at all, but some cairns showed so the trail was reasonably easy to follow. The lower part of the trail was thin and the river crossings were frozen enough to cross easily. The Baldface Circle Trail to the parking lot was solid enough to bareboot without any postholing ( I was sick of snowshoes by then).
Snowshoes were needed. Microspikes would have been good for the thin rime ice on the knobs. Ice ax was handy for the climb up South Baldface from the shelter (and for standing up after the acrobatics).
There is an active moose in the col between North and South. Poops and footprints everywhere.
Water was available just below the shelter without having to break ice....it wasn't a deluge, but enough to get a water bottle in.
Because that wasn't hard enough, in the morning (10-24) I went up from the shelter. The winds overnight had scoured most of the tracks from the day before, so the way up was strenous and slippery. The trip to South Baldface and over to North was not so easy to follow, but someone had made tracks previously. The track was not solid and postholing (with snowshoes), sliding and tumbling were common
. Someone had barebooted (maybe with spikes) all the way from North Baldface down to the trailhead so no track. Descent of North Baldface was hard snow, but steep and lost the trail. Bushwhacked back to the trail by the first open rock below the summit, the trail was hard to follow over snow drifts and open rock.Took Bicknell Ridge Down...no tracks at all, but some cairns showed so the trail was reasonably easy to follow. The lower part of the trail was thin and the river crossings were frozen enough to cross easily. The Baldface Circle Trail to the parking lot was solid enough to bareboot without any postholing ( I was sick of snowshoes by then).
Snowshoes were needed. Microspikes would have been good for the thin rime ice on the knobs. Ice ax was handy for the climb up South Baldface from the shelter (and for standing up after the acrobatics).
There is an active moose in the col between North and South. Poops and footprints everywhere.
Water was available just below the shelter without having to break ice....it wasn't a deluge, but enough to get a water bottle in.
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