S
S & J
Guest
Beautiful excursion to two of the more notorious 3500s. Roundtrip 9.5 hours from Moon Haw Rd. Went up Friday first - staying somewhat to the north - northeast side for the ledges up high. We made mostly good decisions in our route finding, aided by some pretty good herd paths much of the way (although they became a bit spotty at critical points - so we kind of made it up as we went along).
We did fairly well with the time it took to get to Friday but we were unsure about going over to Balsam Cap - the skies were getting a bit grey and the wind was picking up. But we ultimately decided to go for it since we worked so hard to get up there. Stopped and filtered water at a spring just below the herd path near the col. Made it over to sign in at the Balsam Cap canister in about 45 minutes - following the prominent herd path.
After quick rest at canister - we decided we weren't too keen on going back to and then down Friday... So we did something probably even more difficult - went straight down the east face of BC. In a word - steep. But we managed to make it down to the stream after a couple hours of slow descent. Worked our way back to the hunters cabin, finally returning to Moon Haw during early evening. Now only two more mountains left for J for her 35.
Conditions: nice spring weather and a beautiful Mother's Day; dry with some remnant snow / ice in sheltered areas above 3000', some springs flowing but tough to locate as elevation increased; black flies were fierce at times but not biting much
Equipment: sturdy boots for loose rock and traps, map & compass, hiking poles, water, long sleeves for spruce protection
We did fairly well with the time it took to get to Friday but we were unsure about going over to Balsam Cap - the skies were getting a bit grey and the wind was picking up. But we ultimately decided to go for it since we worked so hard to get up there. Stopped and filtered water at a spring just below the herd path near the col. Made it over to sign in at the Balsam Cap canister in about 45 minutes - following the prominent herd path.
After quick rest at canister - we decided we weren't too keen on going back to and then down Friday... So we did something probably even more difficult - went straight down the east face of BC. In a word - steep. But we managed to make it down to the stream after a couple hours of slow descent. Worked our way back to the hunters cabin, finally returning to Moon Haw during early evening. Now only two more mountains left for J for her 35.
Conditions: nice spring weather and a beautiful Mother's Day; dry with some remnant snow / ice in sheltered areas above 3000', some springs flowing but tough to locate as elevation increased; black flies were fierce at times but not biting much
Equipment: sturdy boots for loose rock and traps, map & compass, hiking poles, water, long sleeves for spruce protection
