Balsam, Eagle, Big Indian, Fir 2/11/06

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Doodles

Active member
Joined
May 28, 2005
Messages
235
Reaction score
28
Location
New Paltz, NY
Well my partner wasn't feeling well so could not go on this hike. I was thinking about alternate hikes, but at the last minute told the Boss I will be hiking plan "A".

Since I was by myself I had to make this a round trip.

I parked at the Mckenley Hollow PA, started at 8:00. Cold morning about 20 deg but the sun was shining with only a few puffy clouds in the sky. I went in a little ways to the lean-to and decided to bee line bushwack to the summit. I figured I could cut off some milage on the day. The climb was steep and steady all the way to the top. I reached the summit at 10:00 and hit precisely at the peak. I took a breather and continued my trip South on the PW trail.

At the summit there was about 3-4 in of new snow and about 4-6 in of crusty snow underneath. The fresh fallen snow that clung to the trees made for a very scenic hike. Very little ice so bare booting was the way I went. Temp started to warm up to 25 due to the abundant sunshine.

Haynes Mt was a pleasant walk and nothing more than a bump in the trail so I continued on to Eagle.

On Eagle the snow was a little deeper. With the sun still shining bright and 12:00 I decided to stop for a quick lunch and a break.

I departed Eagle about 12:15 and continued south on the PW. The trail seemed less traveled and overgrown heading south from Eagle. The snow was also getting deeper the further south I went.

I arrived at Big Indian about 1:15 and floundered around a bit triing to find the canister. At this time the skies had clouded over and a light snow was falling. I had seen no fresh tracks until I was at the canister. 5 or6 hikers had signed in before me. I had left my mark and pressed on for Fir at 1:30.

The tracks at the canister were also headed for Fir. I took my bearings and the fresh tracks were on the same heading. At this point of the trip it seems like there was 12+ in of snow in places, but still fairly easy walking. The trek from Big Indian to Fir seemed like a long way, but I was probably starting to tire some. The tracks did indeed lead right to the canister but continued on to the south. I arrived at 3:30, signed in and started back for a I had a bit of a trip to get back to McKenly Hollow.

I had retraced my tracks back for about a 1/2 mile then headed due North directly for Mckenly. This route proved to be an extreamly steap descent. I had skirted the end of Burnam Hollow road, but for my destination and bearing there was another ridge. At this point the last thing I wanted to see was another ridge, but the shortest distance between two points is a straight line so stop your complaining and get going. (daylight is burning).

I made it over the ridge and down below I could hear the stream, so I knew I was getting close. I broke thru to the road about 1/4 mi from the PA. I finished up at 5:30 and head for home.

This turned out to be a bit of a grueling hike. I knew I had walked when I was done.

George
 
Doodles,
I'm sorry I had to back out on you. I spent all weekend in bed with a cold/flu.
 
mcorsar said:
Holy mackerel! That's quite a route, to say the least. Kind of a two-for-one special!
mudhook51 said:
More like a 4 for one. some hike!
OK, for anyone familiar with Firesign Theatre from the crazy '70s I can't resist the play on words. Should that be "Holy Mudhook, Mackerel!" (and no offense to a good trail named intended).

That is a an impressive bit of hiking. I might have been tempted to head down to Burnham Road from Fir, and then road walk it back to McKenley. ... Nah, you did it right. Road walks aren't much fun. I often go several miles out of the way in the woods to avoid a road walk, especially one that ends with a walk up hill.
 
Alistair

No problem on backing out. I hope you are feeling better. I look forward to hooking up on a future hike. Give me a shout whenever you are ready to go.


Mark

The thought of the road walk crossed my mind, but only briefly. I was hiking to be in the woods, not on the road.
I just wish that I could have found just a little tunnel through that last ridge. I knew the ridge was there, its just that the ridges get taller at the end of the day when the sun goes down.

Still a great hike.

George
 

Latest posts

Top