Mimi
New member
“Boy, what a climb” were RTSPoon in person last words from his brief recount of our Dix day last Saturday. “Boy, what a climb” is now the title of my TR. I invite Eric & Rik, the other two great hikers of our team to post their own thoughts and pics of this memorable day for Dom, Sylvie & Neil in the Daks.
I guess for me, the first surprise was the abundance of fresh snow. You see, we didn’t get an inch of snow in Montreal the days preceding our hike, which BTW is only two hours from the DAKs. But, before I get too deep into the snow factor of the hike, I’ll begin where it all started: The trying to locate the trailhead of route 73…. You’d think two 46ers working on their second round for the winter badge would remember all of the trailhead’s layouts! Right? Well, Ron & I preferred to look for it for more then 10 minutes before finally consulting the ADK Mtn Club Essential Guide for it’s nearby location just a few yards south of the tiny parking area. Once we got over the embarrassment of our goofy start, we found the registry box & proceeded to hike.
I’ll spare you the details about the sleepy Rabbi we found in a tent on the wrong side of Round Pond, who interrogated us on the possession of the right map. Instead, let’s begin on the Right side of the pond like nothing previously happened, where the snow was fresh, but fairly low to the ground & pleasant to hike on. Yet, I’ll say this much about unbroken snow trails just to get it out of my system: it feels beautiful & magical at the beginning of the hike, doesn’t it?; two hours later the fluffy deep snow reminds us where our muscles are located in the legs; four hours of virgin snow steps on steep hillside paths later, you wonder why you’re doing this sweaty heart-pumping exercise in the winter cold air. If you’re still around six hours or so into the hike where you’ve been ploughing, slipping & attempting to build an imaginary staircase to the summit by hammering your snowshoes step by step into the mountain trail, you finally realize that what kept you from telling your hiking buddies you’ve secretly wanted to go back to the car at hour two and four, was simply for the sake of touching a small rock at the top of your destination! These high peaks sure get their ways more often then less…
Thank’s to timely synchronicity, we teamed up with Rik & Eric, our new found hiking buddies, at the first junction of the Old Dix & Adler trails at 2,3 miles. With the multiplied numbers of legs by two, we continued our hike with a lighter & jollier snowshoe march in deep but manageable snow. Up to that point, we hadn’t cross path with any hikers, but knew that we weren’t alone in the woods that day. Somewhere along the trail, we walked by a neighbourhood of wrabbit tracks coming & going from several directions between many trees. Rik had seen a wrabbit the previous day on his hike, but we only saw traffic of tracks of the fluffy guys on Saturday. I thought of the Mr. Wrabbit in Alice in Wonderland and wondered if maybe he got lost and arrived late for some important tea time meeting with Alice.
Just pass tiny Dial Pond, 2,6 miles from the summit of Dix, the Boquet River lean-two was a welcome sight for an early lunch break. Sitting down was a well-deserved rest after 4,5 miles of breaking trails on moderate climb. The North Fork Boquet River was quiet and covered by a thick blanket of winter white. Rik was the first one to cross the stream. We needed someone to test the waters. Once our test buddy was secured across the river, the remaining three of us crossed in all confidence. The trail between the lean-two and the base of Dix slide seemed to have been stretched from it’s previous size. The deep snow made everything feel slower and further, not to mentionned that it was slowly stealing away our valuable energy with every step made. Yet, thank's to the snow, there were moments of pure beauty alongside the trail as we passed by trees wearing big hevy snow coats Treesincoats . After taking a couple of pics with another snack break near the slide, we disappeared into the forest path and began our “unrelenting steep climb” as the ADK guide notes to Dix’s peak.
At this point into the hike, Eric seemed to have more energy to break trail, which made him spent more time in the front. Not that I was counting the minutes, but I can say in all honesty that my breaking trail minutes were a lot fewer then my other three fellow heroes. A huge sight of relief could be heard from all of us when we saw the Alpine Zone white sign. The trees were getting smaller, the peak was near! Coming out in the open against the gusty wind was a joyful moment even though our climbing oomph had been lost to the steep climb. A few pics later which barely lasted five minutes, we turned around at 2:45 and headed back to the lost & found trailhead of route 73!
The initial thought of hiking to Hough by the strenuous Beckhorn pass had miraculously vanished from our minds and legs as we !Hoooourray! our way back down from Dix. A couple of but slides later and extra long sliding steps we were back at the base of Dix slide. Rik took the initiative to create a "Dominic" trail by spelling the memory of his name on the open field DominicPath . We took a few moments to reflect on the spirit of life & said our good bys where Dom had crossed this path before.
After a day filled with many heartfelt teases & jokes, at 6pm we reached the car! All four of us made it to the top rock of Dix seven hours after officially finding the trailhead. A big thank’s to Ron, Eric & Rik with whom I would hike anywhere & in any conditions. A bound was created that day between us.
! Happy tales & happy trails !
I guess for me, the first surprise was the abundance of fresh snow. You see, we didn’t get an inch of snow in Montreal the days preceding our hike, which BTW is only two hours from the DAKs. But, before I get too deep into the snow factor of the hike, I’ll begin where it all started: The trying to locate the trailhead of route 73…. You’d think two 46ers working on their second round for the winter badge would remember all of the trailhead’s layouts! Right? Well, Ron & I preferred to look for it for more then 10 minutes before finally consulting the ADK Mtn Club Essential Guide for it’s nearby location just a few yards south of the tiny parking area. Once we got over the embarrassment of our goofy start, we found the registry box & proceeded to hike.
I’ll spare you the details about the sleepy Rabbi we found in a tent on the wrong side of Round Pond, who interrogated us on the possession of the right map. Instead, let’s begin on the Right side of the pond like nothing previously happened, where the snow was fresh, but fairly low to the ground & pleasant to hike on. Yet, I’ll say this much about unbroken snow trails just to get it out of my system: it feels beautiful & magical at the beginning of the hike, doesn’t it?; two hours later the fluffy deep snow reminds us where our muscles are located in the legs; four hours of virgin snow steps on steep hillside paths later, you wonder why you’re doing this sweaty heart-pumping exercise in the winter cold air. If you’re still around six hours or so into the hike where you’ve been ploughing, slipping & attempting to build an imaginary staircase to the summit by hammering your snowshoes step by step into the mountain trail, you finally realize that what kept you from telling your hiking buddies you’ve secretly wanted to go back to the car at hour two and four, was simply for the sake of touching a small rock at the top of your destination! These high peaks sure get their ways more often then less…
Thank’s to timely synchronicity, we teamed up with Rik & Eric, our new found hiking buddies, at the first junction of the Old Dix & Adler trails at 2,3 miles. With the multiplied numbers of legs by two, we continued our hike with a lighter & jollier snowshoe march in deep but manageable snow. Up to that point, we hadn’t cross path with any hikers, but knew that we weren’t alone in the woods that day. Somewhere along the trail, we walked by a neighbourhood of wrabbit tracks coming & going from several directions between many trees. Rik had seen a wrabbit the previous day on his hike, but we only saw traffic of tracks of the fluffy guys on Saturday. I thought of the Mr. Wrabbit in Alice in Wonderland and wondered if maybe he got lost and arrived late for some important tea time meeting with Alice.
Just pass tiny Dial Pond, 2,6 miles from the summit of Dix, the Boquet River lean-two was a welcome sight for an early lunch break. Sitting down was a well-deserved rest after 4,5 miles of breaking trails on moderate climb. The North Fork Boquet River was quiet and covered by a thick blanket of winter white. Rik was the first one to cross the stream. We needed someone to test the waters. Once our test buddy was secured across the river, the remaining three of us crossed in all confidence. The trail between the lean-two and the base of Dix slide seemed to have been stretched from it’s previous size. The deep snow made everything feel slower and further, not to mentionned that it was slowly stealing away our valuable energy with every step made. Yet, thank's to the snow, there were moments of pure beauty alongside the trail as we passed by trees wearing big hevy snow coats Treesincoats . After taking a couple of pics with another snack break near the slide, we disappeared into the forest path and began our “unrelenting steep climb” as the ADK guide notes to Dix’s peak.
At this point into the hike, Eric seemed to have more energy to break trail, which made him spent more time in the front. Not that I was counting the minutes, but I can say in all honesty that my breaking trail minutes were a lot fewer then my other three fellow heroes. A huge sight of relief could be heard from all of us when we saw the Alpine Zone white sign. The trees were getting smaller, the peak was near! Coming out in the open against the gusty wind was a joyful moment even though our climbing oomph had been lost to the steep climb. A few pics later which barely lasted five minutes, we turned around at 2:45 and headed back to the lost & found trailhead of route 73!
The initial thought of hiking to Hough by the strenuous Beckhorn pass had miraculously vanished from our minds and legs as we !Hoooourray! our way back down from Dix. A couple of but slides later and extra long sliding steps we were back at the base of Dix slide. Rik took the initiative to create a "Dominic" trail by spelling the memory of his name on the open field DominicPath . We took a few moments to reflect on the spirit of life & said our good bys where Dom had crossed this path before.
After a day filled with many heartfelt teases & jokes, at 6pm we reached the car! All four of us made it to the top rock of Dix seven hours after officially finding the trailhead. A big thank’s to Ron, Eric & Rik with whom I would hike anywhere & in any conditions. A bound was created that day between us.
! Happy tales & happy trails !
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