kmorgan
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
- Messages
- 463
- Reaction score
- 47
Bearpen and Vly mountains from Halcott mountain road (CR 3)
Date: 3/10/07
Hikers: Gerry B., Paula M., and Kim T. (these were Kim's last 2 mountains for her 3500's), and me.
Gerry, Paula and I drove up early from Long Island (left 5 a.m.) and met Kim at exit 19 off the NY Thruway. After a quick stop to pee, we arrived at Halcott Mtn Road at 8:15 and were on the way at 8:30.
It was a beautiful morning and didn't look like we were going to get the expected freezing rain that had been predicted the night before. It was already warm enough that all I wore was a light smartwoool shirt with a synthetic/wool shirt over that.
The hike in was easy as the road had been well packed by snowmobilers. Kim, Paula and I started off in snowshoes so we wouldn't have to carry them to the base of Bearpen. Gerry chose to bear boot it to the hunter's shack.
In no time we were stripping down to our base layers.
Starting up Bearpen I was leading and breaking trail. I have MSR Lightning Ascents and they were performing well on the steep uphill sections and the televator heel lifters are great--like walking up a flight of stairs!
When we reached the ridge at 3300 feet Kim said she'd break trail for a while and we quickly reached the summit "area". After wandering around at 3600+ for a little while we explored the views to the east and north-northwest. At a large overlook area we ran into a group of about 10 snowmobilers having a break and exchanged pleasantries.
After taking a few pictures Kim and I started back and ran into Gerry and Paula who were just getting to the overlooks. Paula was breaking in a new pair of boots and didn't think she was going to do Vly. She and Gerry told us they'd meet us back at the car and so Kim and I took off back along our tracks.
Kim was really moving (she's a very strong hiker) and was having a better time with the downhill stuff then I was. The MSR's are great going up, but downhill is another matter. They're so aggressive that it's difficult to do a glissade with them. When you do start sliding they have a tendency to bite in unpredictably and not equally. So I'd start sliding, get somewhat balanced and one snowshoe would stick solid while the other kept on going its merry way leaving me in awkward positions, usually on one knee!
After a quick snack back at the shack, Kim took off up Vly with me trying to keep up with her. Vly was her last peak for her 3500's and she was really motivated to get to that canister.
The snow on Vly was getting wet and heavy in the warmth of the afternoon sun and was packing up on the snowshoes and making them feel like they weighed a hundred pounds. I found I had to take extra time to really kick them in to get solid purchase, otherwise, with the extra few inches of snow sticking to the bottoms, I'd just slide back down.
Vly is a quick climb, and I eventually got there behind Kim who was beaming and showing off the canister register. A couple of quick pictures for posterity and down we went.
Kim was moving so fast she literally disappeared from sight! I was having a much harder time with the descent. One snowshoe would stick, the other would keep sliding and then punch through and under the first, then the first would get moving again and I'd be in a mountain version of twister! At least Kim wasn't there to watch my spills.
We met up back at the col and were soon reunited with Gerry and Paula who were hanging out with some people from New Jersey Search and Recovery who had gone up the snowmobile road to Vly's summit and back.
All in all a great day! Nice weather, mountain views, and good friends, what could be better?
Pictures here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/558116921fdRNaB
Kevin
Date: 3/10/07
Hikers: Gerry B., Paula M., and Kim T. (these were Kim's last 2 mountains for her 3500's), and me.
Gerry, Paula and I drove up early from Long Island (left 5 a.m.) and met Kim at exit 19 off the NY Thruway. After a quick stop to pee, we arrived at Halcott Mtn Road at 8:15 and were on the way at 8:30.
It was a beautiful morning and didn't look like we were going to get the expected freezing rain that had been predicted the night before. It was already warm enough that all I wore was a light smartwoool shirt with a synthetic/wool shirt over that.
The hike in was easy as the road had been well packed by snowmobilers. Kim, Paula and I started off in snowshoes so we wouldn't have to carry them to the base of Bearpen. Gerry chose to bear boot it to the hunter's shack.
In no time we were stripping down to our base layers.
Starting up Bearpen I was leading and breaking trail. I have MSR Lightning Ascents and they were performing well on the steep uphill sections and the televator heel lifters are great--like walking up a flight of stairs!
When we reached the ridge at 3300 feet Kim said she'd break trail for a while and we quickly reached the summit "area". After wandering around at 3600+ for a little while we explored the views to the east and north-northwest. At a large overlook area we ran into a group of about 10 snowmobilers having a break and exchanged pleasantries.
After taking a few pictures Kim and I started back and ran into Gerry and Paula who were just getting to the overlooks. Paula was breaking in a new pair of boots and didn't think she was going to do Vly. She and Gerry told us they'd meet us back at the car and so Kim and I took off back along our tracks.
Kim was really moving (she's a very strong hiker) and was having a better time with the downhill stuff then I was. The MSR's are great going up, but downhill is another matter. They're so aggressive that it's difficult to do a glissade with them. When you do start sliding they have a tendency to bite in unpredictably and not equally. So I'd start sliding, get somewhat balanced and one snowshoe would stick solid while the other kept on going its merry way leaving me in awkward positions, usually on one knee!
After a quick snack back at the shack, Kim took off up Vly with me trying to keep up with her. Vly was her last peak for her 3500's and she was really motivated to get to that canister.
The snow on Vly was getting wet and heavy in the warmth of the afternoon sun and was packing up on the snowshoes and making them feel like they weighed a hundred pounds. I found I had to take extra time to really kick them in to get solid purchase, otherwise, with the extra few inches of snow sticking to the bottoms, I'd just slide back down.
Vly is a quick climb, and I eventually got there behind Kim who was beaming and showing off the canister register. A couple of quick pictures for posterity and down we went.
Kim was moving so fast she literally disappeared from sight! I was having a much harder time with the descent. One snowshoe would stick, the other would keep sliding and then punch through and under the first, then the first would get moving again and I'd be in a mountain version of twister! At least Kim wasn't there to watch my spills.
We met up back at the col and were soon reunited with Gerry and Paula who were hanging out with some people from New Jersey Search and Recovery who had gone up the snowmobile road to Vly's summit and back.
All in all a great day! Nice weather, mountain views, and good friends, what could be better?
Pictures here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/558116921fdRNaB
Kevin
