Tim Seaver
Well-known member
The Cherry Pickin' I-Don't-Have-a-Day-Job Screwbooters were out again yesterday, mercilessly taking advantage of "one heckuva" day before the predicted rains brought misery upon the frosty dreams of weekend warriors throughout the Northeast. Fear not, for winter will be back!
Booting up at 5am (to avoid endless whining by certain photographer-types about "flat lighting" and other mind-numbing complaints), we headed up the Flume Slide trail, finding it nicely packed. The trail remained barebootably crisp to somewhere in between Liberty and Little Haystack, where we switched to snowshoes.
Arriving at the 'stack and the Franconia Upper Highway, we took a moment to comment on the beautiful Diapensia "Muffins" gracing the trailside, which were a glowing with a brilliant rich burgundy color.
Conditions were quite pleasant, even with a stiff 40 mph breeze, and before long we were on the summit of Lafayette. High thin clouds were now moving in, but the air temperatures remained delightfully balmy. Firm if slightly icy footing made for a pretty easily saunter over to Skookumchuck junction, and shortly after we dropped into the trees it was time for snowshoes again in the "no-man's land" between the skook and Garfield. Even with the warming surface and lightly travelled base, we weren't sinking too much and took turns "breaking" the trail.
After summiting Garfield, we stowed the shoes and headed down the well-packed ridge trail. Just for fun, we located the old Garfield Pond trail where it used to depart from the Ridge trail with a GPS.
Once lower on the trail, we put on shoes again to avoid postholing. Lots of open water, thin ice, and muckiness abounded as we neared the road, along with a few good sized blowdowns in the hardwoods. Crossing some of the brooks, incredibly warm breezes were noted dancing through the woods.
With some sadness at the thought of rain taking it's toll on the snowy peaks, we returned to our spotted vehicle and homes. An awesome day with a great friend
More pics HERE
Booting up at 5am (to avoid endless whining by certain photographer-types about "flat lighting" and other mind-numbing complaints), we headed up the Flume Slide trail, finding it nicely packed. The trail remained barebootably crisp to somewhere in between Liberty and Little Haystack, where we switched to snowshoes.
Arriving at the 'stack and the Franconia Upper Highway, we took a moment to comment on the beautiful Diapensia "Muffins" gracing the trailside, which were a glowing with a brilliant rich burgundy color.
Conditions were quite pleasant, even with a stiff 40 mph breeze, and before long we were on the summit of Lafayette. High thin clouds were now moving in, but the air temperatures remained delightfully balmy. Firm if slightly icy footing made for a pretty easily saunter over to Skookumchuck junction, and shortly after we dropped into the trees it was time for snowshoes again in the "no-man's land" between the skook and Garfield. Even with the warming surface and lightly travelled base, we weren't sinking too much and took turns "breaking" the trail.
After summiting Garfield, we stowed the shoes and headed down the well-packed ridge trail. Just for fun, we located the old Garfield Pond trail where it used to depart from the Ridge trail with a GPS.
Once lower on the trail, we put on shoes again to avoid postholing. Lots of open water, thin ice, and muckiness abounded as we neared the road, along with a few good sized blowdowns in the hardwoods. Crossing some of the brooks, incredibly warm breezes were noted dancing through the woods.
With some sadness at the thought of rain taking it's toll on the snowy peaks, we returned to our spotted vehicle and homes. An awesome day with a great friend
More pics HERE
