Climbing the Dix range during hunting season requires some route changes because of the closing of access from the Elk Lake Preserve property. After looking at the maps and routes I decided to climb Dix from the Rt 73/Round Pond trailhead, visit Hough, South Dix, Macomb, and East Dix, then descend to the South Fork of the Boquet River and follow the herdpath out to the bridge over the North Fork on Rt 73. This route is 16.2 miles compared to 15.1 miles for a loop from the Elk Lake trailhead. It offers a little more elevation gain vs. the Elk Lake approach (about 5800 feet vs. 5300 feet, from altimeter data), mostly due to the lower starting elevation of the trailhead on Rt 73. Another disadvantage is the 1.5 mile distance on Rt 73 between the trailheads. To avoid walking at the end of the day (another 300 feet uphill!) I coaxed my dear wife into helping me spot a car at the bridge and drop me off at the Round Pond trailhead.
Because of the snowfall earlier in the week and subsequent warming, I decided to take both crampons and snowshoes. I wasn’t sure my Stabilicers would be sufficient to handle the ice I expected on Dix. As for the snowshoes, I never put them on, but I guess carrying the extra weight will make me stronger. . .
The woods were still and quiet in the early morning until I topped the first hill above Round Pond and heard the Boquet River rushing in the distance. Snow cover gradually increased till it was probably 6 inches at the base of the slides at 5.8 miles. As I looked up, the morning sun reflected on the smooth glaze of ice on the slides—impressive, but I was sure glad I wasn’t going up them! Barebooting was OK for a while on the steep trail which parallels the slide, then I reached the point where I said “why am I doing this?” and put on the crampons. Footprints of previous hikers showed that some brave (or foolhardy?) souls had barebooted all the way, but I bet the real challenge was on their descent! Seeing no bodies, or even body parts, I assume they made it. I was glad this was a one-way trip.
I stopped briefly to enjoy the view from the bare summit rocks, one of my favorite places, but didn’t stay long because my mind was occupied with the miles of snowy herdpath yet to come. I was glad to see some deep footprints in the snowdrifts on the way to the Beckhorn, but didn’t expect them to continue toward Hough. To my surprise, they did, and as I would see later, they would guide me to all the peaks! The stride was too short for my comfort, but it was obvious that this person knew the mountains and herdpaths very well. After a while, I suspected I was following the tracks of a legendary hiker who travels with (and takes orders from) a little rabbit—Pinpin 3rd. With this help I proceeded to Hough, South Dix, and Macomb and was soon on my way to the littlest of the Dixes, East Dix (Grace), by mid-afternoon.
At this point the climbing was finally over, but the challenge wasn’t. How to descend to the Boquet and pick up the herdpath along the river? I knew one thing for sure, I wasn’t taking the slide! Fortunately I knew of a faint herdpath parallel to the slide, and in minutes I had dropped over a thousand feet to the river and almost snow-free terrain. Talk about climate change! From there, it was an easy 5 mile walk to the road on the scenic path along the river, terrain so different from the snowy herdpaths along the ridges above.
Because of the snowfall earlier in the week and subsequent warming, I decided to take both crampons and snowshoes. I wasn’t sure my Stabilicers would be sufficient to handle the ice I expected on Dix. As for the snowshoes, I never put them on, but I guess carrying the extra weight will make me stronger. . .
The woods were still and quiet in the early morning until I topped the first hill above Round Pond and heard the Boquet River rushing in the distance. Snow cover gradually increased till it was probably 6 inches at the base of the slides at 5.8 miles. As I looked up, the morning sun reflected on the smooth glaze of ice on the slides—impressive, but I was sure glad I wasn’t going up them! Barebooting was OK for a while on the steep trail which parallels the slide, then I reached the point where I said “why am I doing this?” and put on the crampons. Footprints of previous hikers showed that some brave (or foolhardy?) souls had barebooted all the way, but I bet the real challenge was on their descent! Seeing no bodies, or even body parts, I assume they made it. I was glad this was a one-way trip.
I stopped briefly to enjoy the view from the bare summit rocks, one of my favorite places, but didn’t stay long because my mind was occupied with the miles of snowy herdpath yet to come. I was glad to see some deep footprints in the snowdrifts on the way to the Beckhorn, but didn’t expect them to continue toward Hough. To my surprise, they did, and as I would see later, they would guide me to all the peaks! The stride was too short for my comfort, but it was obvious that this person knew the mountains and herdpaths very well. After a while, I suspected I was following the tracks of a legendary hiker who travels with (and takes orders from) a little rabbit—Pinpin 3rd. With this help I proceeded to Hough, South Dix, and Macomb and was soon on my way to the littlest of the Dixes, East Dix (Grace), by mid-afternoon.
At this point the climbing was finally over, but the challenge wasn’t. How to descend to the Boquet and pick up the herdpath along the river? I knew one thing for sure, I wasn’t taking the slide! Fortunately I knew of a faint herdpath parallel to the slide, and in minutes I had dropped over a thousand feet to the river and almost snow-free terrain. Talk about climate change! From there, it was an easy 5 mile walk to the road on the scenic path along the river, terrain so different from the snowy herdpaths along the ridges above.
