Snowflea
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Date: Sunday, 6/07/15
Trails: Dry River (lower), Isolation (west), Davis Path, Camel, Dry River (upper), Mt Eisenhower, Crawford Path, Webster Cliff, Rt.302
Summits: North Isolation, Boott Spur, Pierce, Jackson, Webster
Conditions & Comments:
Had been wanting to get back into this area since my last visit was over 20 years ago. Many miles of this area's trails were closed for 3 years post Irene, and I wanted to check out the new trail relos. I expected wild, rough trails and was not disappointed.
Dry River Trail's new sections were easy to follow with the exception of one confusing spot about .25 mile beyond the Mt. Clinton Trail junction, where there was a curiously placed rock cairn which seemed to indicate (to me) that one was supposed to cross the river. After a bit of head scratching and consultation with map and GPS, I ascertained that a crossing was not in order and soon found the correct route which stayed on the east bank. Shortly after this spot, one of the new relo'd sections had already eroded partially into the river necessitating a short scramble over unstable appearing rocks. There was the usual mud, to be expected this time of year, and blowdowns here and there most of which were relatively easy duck unders.
Isolation Trail appeared to have had quite a bit of work done on the lower mile or so and where it follows the brook. Two landslide areas must be crossed. These are not very difficult; however, the second one is followed immediately by a tangled mass of blowdown which was kind of a pain to navigate. Upper Isolation Trail (west) was in good shape for the most part with the occasional blowdown.
Once on the Davis Path, it was comparatively smooth sailing after the primitive trails of the Dry River Valley! I met my first hiker of the day here, she a soloist like myself, who descended from Glen Boulder Trail and who was confused about the location of her goal, Mt. Isolation. I informed her that she had just under 2 miles to go and that she was, indeed, on the right track. There were surprisingly few blowdowns before hitting treeline. Above treeline I was treated to a perfect June day, with light winds and all the high-elevation spring flowers in bloom. What a treat! I met 3 more Hikers before taking a left onto Camel Trail, many more hikers upon reaching Lakes of the Clouds Hut, where I tanked up on water before heading down Oakes Gulf on, once again, Dry River Trail.
The descent of DRT is steep and kind of gnarly. There are still some pretty good-sized snowfields on the upper headwall, one of which the trail crosses diagonally on it's lower end. I missed a cairn and made the mistake of heading straight down the drainage instead of crossing the snowfield and lost a couple of minutes figuring it out. (These snowfields would be a good place to practice self arresting right now!). There is a fun little "Hillary step" rock scramble that must be negotiated.
About halfway to Dry River Shelter #3, the trail passes through the blowdown patch from hell. Fortunately there has been some impressive axe and saw work. (If all that clearing was performed with axe and handsaw, I am impressed. If permission was granted to use chainsaws due to the sheer volume of clearing necessary, then I am still impressed!). There are still quite a few duck unders, presumably from this past winter. Approaching the shelter the trail is a bit confusing - stay straight and on the west side of Dry River after crossing the feeder stream just before the shelter. I was unable to keep my feet dry on this crossing. The shelter looked to be in pretty good shape.
Another mile or so of primitive trail and an easy dry-feet crossing of DR brought me to the junction with Mt. Eisenhower Trail. At the start of this trail the DR must be recrossed to the west side. This one proved to be another foot dunker, and I had to scout a bit for the safest crossing. Mt. Eisenhower Trail was actually in better shape than I had expected, but the final mile below treeline could use a serious haircut. Having seen nary a soul since LOC Hut, I began encountering hikers once again on Crawford Path.
The remainder of my day's route is well travelled and documented. I followed the AT all the way to Rt. 302 and walked the highway the 1.5 miles back to my car. This was a nice hike. If a person is looking for solitude, the Dry River Valley would be a great place to visit!
Trails: Dry River (lower), Isolation (west), Davis Path, Camel, Dry River (upper), Mt Eisenhower, Crawford Path, Webster Cliff, Rt.302
Summits: North Isolation, Boott Spur, Pierce, Jackson, Webster
Conditions & Comments:
Had been wanting to get back into this area since my last visit was over 20 years ago. Many miles of this area's trails were closed for 3 years post Irene, and I wanted to check out the new trail relos. I expected wild, rough trails and was not disappointed.
Dry River Trail's new sections were easy to follow with the exception of one confusing spot about .25 mile beyond the Mt. Clinton Trail junction, where there was a curiously placed rock cairn which seemed to indicate (to me) that one was supposed to cross the river. After a bit of head scratching and consultation with map and GPS, I ascertained that a crossing was not in order and soon found the correct route which stayed on the east bank. Shortly after this spot, one of the new relo'd sections had already eroded partially into the river necessitating a short scramble over unstable appearing rocks. There was the usual mud, to be expected this time of year, and blowdowns here and there most of which were relatively easy duck unders.
Isolation Trail appeared to have had quite a bit of work done on the lower mile or so and where it follows the brook. Two landslide areas must be crossed. These are not very difficult; however, the second one is followed immediately by a tangled mass of blowdown which was kind of a pain to navigate. Upper Isolation Trail (west) was in good shape for the most part with the occasional blowdown.
Once on the Davis Path, it was comparatively smooth sailing after the primitive trails of the Dry River Valley! I met my first hiker of the day here, she a soloist like myself, who descended from Glen Boulder Trail and who was confused about the location of her goal, Mt. Isolation. I informed her that she had just under 2 miles to go and that she was, indeed, on the right track. There were surprisingly few blowdowns before hitting treeline. Above treeline I was treated to a perfect June day, with light winds and all the high-elevation spring flowers in bloom. What a treat! I met 3 more Hikers before taking a left onto Camel Trail, many more hikers upon reaching Lakes of the Clouds Hut, where I tanked up on water before heading down Oakes Gulf on, once again, Dry River Trail.
The descent of DRT is steep and kind of gnarly. There are still some pretty good-sized snowfields on the upper headwall, one of which the trail crosses diagonally on it's lower end. I missed a cairn and made the mistake of heading straight down the drainage instead of crossing the snowfield and lost a couple of minutes figuring it out. (These snowfields would be a good place to practice self arresting right now!). There is a fun little "Hillary step" rock scramble that must be negotiated.
About halfway to Dry River Shelter #3, the trail passes through the blowdown patch from hell. Fortunately there has been some impressive axe and saw work. (If all that clearing was performed with axe and handsaw, I am impressed. If permission was granted to use chainsaws due to the sheer volume of clearing necessary, then I am still impressed!). There are still quite a few duck unders, presumably from this past winter. Approaching the shelter the trail is a bit confusing - stay straight and on the west side of Dry River after crossing the feeder stream just before the shelter. I was unable to keep my feet dry on this crossing. The shelter looked to be in pretty good shape.
Another mile or so of primitive trail and an easy dry-feet crossing of DR brought me to the junction with Mt. Eisenhower Trail. At the start of this trail the DR must be recrossed to the west side. This one proved to be another foot dunker, and I had to scout a bit for the safest crossing. Mt. Eisenhower Trail was actually in better shape than I had expected, but the final mile below treeline could use a serious haircut. Having seen nary a soul since LOC Hut, I began encountering hikers once again on Crawford Path.
The remainder of my day's route is well travelled and documented. I followed the AT all the way to Rt. 302 and walked the highway the 1.5 miles back to my car. This was a nice hike. If a person is looking for solitude, the Dry River Valley would be a great place to visit!
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