Tim Seaver
Well-known member
Last week's romp up the Burrows Trail was so much fun that I had my son Isaac take the day off from school today so that he could give it a whirl. As things like this go, we got a very late start due to multiple last minute gear upgrades for his growing frame, so we didn't actually start walking away from the car at the trailhead until 2pm. This turned out to be just right, as the cloud cover was being stubborn about lifting off as was called for - the late start put us at the summit just as it briefly cleared, and we got the bonus of a running headlight glissade descent with no trail traffic to worry about.
Psyched
Mini-Me
A party of sledders and their dogs had also arrived late at the trailhead -most likely they also were aiming late to avoid crashing into people on the way down. The sledders passed us early in the hike, not to be seen again until we were almost at Le Junction, where they had begun their descent, basically of the whole peak - their resulting sled track suggested they had a pretty good time, not counting whoever got dumped into the riverbed when they missed a turn - that didn't look fun at all.
Forest of Idiot Bombs
The upper reaches of the peak were plastered with heavy snow, much of it ready to break off onto your head; "idiot bombs". I showed Isaac how easy you could make them plop down with a slice of a ski pole, which he unfortunately wanted to do the entire rest of the hike.
Le Junction
Isaac wore MSR "Shift" kids snowshoes, which so far seem to be great shoes.
Summit Fever
Ready for the Final Nasty Bit
At the summit, we were treated to a very cool light show - sunny highlights followed by pink and baby blue pastel mist, floating in the sunset as we ran down from the summit cone.
Summit Jig
4:21 pm at the summit
Battling Summit Winds
This was Isaac's first solid taste of summit wind of the winter flavor, and he liked it!
Cowabunga!
I explained to Isaac that you have to be careful about what mountains and trails you use when planning to descend in the dark, and that it's not something to do willy-nilly in an area that you don't know well.
Finito
This was his first major peak in Vermont in winter, and I was really glad to see him do so well. He wants to go again soon, so I guess that's a good sign.
Psyched
Mini-Me
A party of sledders and their dogs had also arrived late at the trailhead -most likely they also were aiming late to avoid crashing into people on the way down. The sledders passed us early in the hike, not to be seen again until we were almost at Le Junction, where they had begun their descent, basically of the whole peak - their resulting sled track suggested they had a pretty good time, not counting whoever got dumped into the riverbed when they missed a turn - that didn't look fun at all.
Forest of Idiot Bombs
The upper reaches of the peak were plastered with heavy snow, much of it ready to break off onto your head; "idiot bombs". I showed Isaac how easy you could make them plop down with a slice of a ski pole, which he unfortunately wanted to do the entire rest of the hike.
Le Junction
Isaac wore MSR "Shift" kids snowshoes, which so far seem to be great shoes.
Summit Fever
Ready for the Final Nasty Bit
At the summit, we were treated to a very cool light show - sunny highlights followed by pink and baby blue pastel mist, floating in the sunset as we ran down from the summit cone.
Summit Jig
4:21 pm at the summit
Battling Summit Winds
This was Isaac's first solid taste of summit wind of the winter flavor, and he liked it!
Cowabunga!
I explained to Isaac that you have to be careful about what mountains and trails you use when planning to descend in the dark, and that it's not something to do willy-nilly in an area that you don't know well.
Finito
This was his first major peak in Vermont in winter, and I was really glad to see him do so well. He wants to go again soon, so I guess that's a good sign.
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