Double Bow
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- Joined
- Apr 29, 2005
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To kick off 2006, Dr. Wu, MEB, Barbarossa, Jessbee, Sleeping Bear and I decided it would be fun to take in these two peaks. We just had no idea how much fun we were going to have!
We met at the parking area around 8am and, despite a little bit of complaining from one person
, we started up the Blueberry Ledge Trail. The lower part of the trail was a combination of brittle ice, water, and snow but, it wasn't bad.
As we made our way up, we found the trail to be packed hard and fairly icy. At one point, Barbarossa wisely put on his snowshoes for the traction while the rest of us took "alternate" routes. Eventually though, we reached some really icy ledges and said "enough's enough" and put on our crampons. Even still, some of the ledges were pretty tricky to get up but, that's what made them fun! What was really great was that everyone had fun with those challenging parts. I think we would have been happy dealing with things like those all day. Well, maybe not all day...
When we reached the big open ledge just south of Whiteface's summit, we stopped for lunch and pictures. It was an incredicle day! It was warm. The sun was shining and the sky was pretty clear. Barbarossa laid down on the ledge and we said we were going to roll him off but, we didn't. MEB shared some delicious peanut butter balls she made (YUM!!) and we just hung out for awhile. Before leaving, we were visited by an interesting gentleman whom MEB had met on the Tripyramids a couple of days before. He made a very big impression on us with his unique attire and hairstyle . Strangely enough, he didn't remember MEB. Wait a minute... that's not the strange. He seemed to have a lot going on upstairs!
After lunch we continued at the good clip we had before and were soon decending into the col between the two mountains. On the way, we came across J&J who recognized me from our meeting on CVR this summer! And I had been talking about that chance meeting during lunch! We chatted for a bit before continuing on. It was really great seeing them. It made me think "Wow! Winter hiking sure is a small world!".
When we reached the junction with the Dicey's Mill Trail, we came across J&J again, a lurker, and the interesting guy we had seen earlier. He stopped and intentionally fell over onto his side and then kicked up his snowshoes. Wonderful! Despite this interesting display, MEB felt it safe to leave her pack just a few feet from the junction in the wood. Of course, Wu and I made sure to make her paranoid about the things that would be done to her pack and gear that she had left behind.
The way up to the summit was steeper than I had remembered and it was harder work than I thought it would be. Still, we cruised on up and stopped for more pics at the viewpoint just before the summit. Since the summit of Whiteface is kind of indistinct, we hadn't stopped there. So, on Passaconaway I broke out a nip of "the good doctor" in honor of this Views crew and the occasion of my 1st (and 2nd) "official" winter 4K! Wahoo!!! Additionally, this was also Wu's first time to these peaks and Sleeping Bear's first Views hike. There may have been other "firsts" too but, I'm not sure...
The way down was easy and enjoyable, full of the same talking, joking, and laughing that the rest of the day had been filled with. Dicey's Mill was barebootable though I regreted taking off my crampons as the added traction would have been helpful. The sun set as we passed alongside Mt Wonalancet and we imagined what that ridge would be like. The twilight, moonlight, and starlight were enough that none of us felt the need for headlamps. As we slipped and slided down the ice covered dirt road back to the cars, we were all awestruck reflecting on what an incredible day it had been. The weather had been perfect, the trails were great, and the company was wonderful.
Perhaps, I was accidentally correct (it happens sometimes) when I said "This is going to be, LEGENDARY!!!" For me, it was. This was one of the most enjoyable days on the trail that I can remember. Thanks guys!
Pics to come... hopefully.
We met at the parking area around 8am and, despite a little bit of complaining from one person
, we started up the Blueberry Ledge Trail. The lower part of the trail was a combination of brittle ice, water, and snow but, it wasn't bad. As we made our way up, we found the trail to be packed hard and fairly icy. At one point, Barbarossa wisely put on his snowshoes for the traction while the rest of us took "alternate" routes. Eventually though, we reached some really icy ledges and said "enough's enough" and put on our crampons. Even still, some of the ledges were pretty tricky to get up but, that's what made them fun! What was really great was that everyone had fun with those challenging parts. I think we would have been happy dealing with things like those all day. Well, maybe not all day...
When we reached the big open ledge just south of Whiteface's summit, we stopped for lunch and pictures. It was an incredicle day! It was warm. The sun was shining and the sky was pretty clear. Barbarossa laid down on the ledge and we said we were going to roll him off but, we didn't.
MEB shared some delicious peanut butter balls she made (YUM!!) and we just hung out for awhile. Before leaving, we were visited by an interesting gentleman whom MEB had met on the Tripyramids a couple of days before. He made a very big impression on us with his unique attire and hairstyle . Strangely enough, he didn't remember MEB. Wait a minute... that's not the strange. He seemed to have a lot going on upstairs!After lunch we continued at the good clip we had before and were soon decending into the col between the two mountains. On the way, we came across J&J who recognized me from our meeting on CVR this summer! And I had been talking about that chance meeting during lunch! We chatted for a bit before continuing on. It was really great seeing them. It made me think "Wow! Winter hiking sure is a small world!".
When we reached the junction with the Dicey's Mill Trail, we came across J&J again, a lurker, and the interesting guy we had seen earlier. He stopped and intentionally fell over onto his side and then kicked up his snowshoes. Wonderful! Despite this interesting display, MEB felt it safe to leave her pack just a few feet from the junction in the wood. Of course, Wu and I made sure to make her paranoid about the things that would be done to her pack and gear that she had left behind.
The way up to the summit was steeper than I had remembered and it was harder work than I thought it would be. Still, we cruised on up and stopped for more pics at the viewpoint just before the summit. Since the summit of Whiteface is kind of indistinct, we hadn't stopped there. So, on Passaconaway I broke out a nip of "the good doctor" in honor of this Views crew and the occasion of my 1st (and 2nd) "official" winter 4K! Wahoo!!! Additionally, this was also Wu's first time to these peaks and Sleeping Bear's first Views hike. There may have been other "firsts" too but, I'm not sure...
The way down was easy and enjoyable, full of the same talking, joking, and laughing that the rest of the day had been filled with. Dicey's Mill was barebootable though I regreted taking off my crampons as the added traction would have been helpful. The sun set as we passed alongside Mt Wonalancet and we imagined what that ridge would be like. The twilight, moonlight, and starlight were enough that none of us felt the need for headlamps. As we slipped and slided down the ice covered dirt road back to the cars, we were all awestruck reflecting on what an incredible day it had been. The weather had been perfect, the trails were great, and the company was wonderful.
Perhaps, I was accidentally correct (it happens sometimes) when I said "This is going to be, LEGENDARY!!!" For me, it was. This was one of the most enjoyable days on the trail that I can remember. Thanks guys!
Pics to come... hopefully.
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