Participants: Dr. Wu and Juniper
Traded what I hear was a beautiful day in Boston for a wet day out in the Pemi! Left the snowshoes in the car, but loaded up on rain gear. LW, WT to Bondcliff. Once on the Bondcliff trail we started to wonder how the water crossings would be. The first brook crossing was quite challenging and we elected to switch to crocs to preserve our dry shoes for the rest of the hike. We were prepared to do the same at the other crossings, but that was not necessary. Lots of water, but the remaining 3 or 4 crossings were rock-hoppable.
The snow started at around 3000'. Slim, soft and pretty shallow monorail that offered some support in the center and generally could be avoided by walking to either side. Of course, this meant brushing up against wet trees the whole way up! The wind was really howling up above, so not far below the alpine zone sign we changed into dry clothes for the visit to the summit. Once on top we learned that the wind was really not very bad and things were fairly dry. Strong winds in the little dip before the "picture cliffs" and it was really howling up ahead through the col leading over to Bond. We decided that Bondcliff was enough for today. Enjoyed lunch on the summit, where it had started to snow.
Same water story on the way out. And the 5 miles on WT and LWT were as long and monotonous as always! Saw several hikers throughout the day, which was somewhat surprising given the conditions.
Rebecca
Traded what I hear was a beautiful day in Boston for a wet day out in the Pemi! Left the snowshoes in the car, but loaded up on rain gear. LW, WT to Bondcliff. Once on the Bondcliff trail we started to wonder how the water crossings would be. The first brook crossing was quite challenging and we elected to switch to crocs to preserve our dry shoes for the rest of the hike. We were prepared to do the same at the other crossings, but that was not necessary. Lots of water, but the remaining 3 or 4 crossings were rock-hoppable.
The snow started at around 3000'. Slim, soft and pretty shallow monorail that offered some support in the center and generally could be avoided by walking to either side. Of course, this meant brushing up against wet trees the whole way up! The wind was really howling up above, so not far below the alpine zone sign we changed into dry clothes for the visit to the summit. Once on top we learned that the wind was really not very bad and things were fairly dry. Strong winds in the little dip before the "picture cliffs" and it was really howling up ahead through the col leading over to Bond. We decided that Bondcliff was enough for today. Enjoyed lunch on the summit, where it had started to snow.
Same water story on the way out. And the 5 miles on WT and LWT were as long and monotonous as always! Saw several hikers throughout the day, which was somewhat surprising given the conditions.
Rebecca
Guesses on when it would be safe for a hiker who cannot handle another step on rotting snow? 
