DSettahr
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- Apr 23, 2005
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Did Seward/Donaldson/Emmons/Donaldson today from the summer trailhead in Coreys. My plan had been to attempt S/D/E- I already had Seymour in winter from last season. I wasn't sure if I was going to get all three, a recent cold combined with the miserable forecast conspired me to take it easy- I would've been satisfied with just two of the peaks- yet I found surmounting all three to be much easier than I'd expected.
The drive in went pretty easy and quickly- I'd heard that the road was icy, but found this not to be the case (although it changed before I left- more on that later!). I got to the trailhead at 6 am, and was soon hiking in.
I did the section to the start of the herd path at a leisurely yet steady pace, and traversed the 4 miles in about and hour and a half. As I passed the junction with the Calkins Brook truck trail, I noticed a headlamp down the road, which seemed to be headed towards me. Not sure who would be headed out at that hour, or what their business was, but I didn't stick around to find out.
By the time I reached the start of the herd path, it was light out. At first the going was easy, and I had plenty of old tracks to follow. As I climbed, however, the snow got deep enough to obscure the old tracks, but the herd path was still pretty obvious. The ice that I encountered, on the other hand, was much more of an obstacle, and I soon donned my microspikes. Some sections were pretty steep and exposed, and crampons certainly would've been better, but microspikes worked ok as long as I was careful. Not too far from the summit, I ran into a group of three who had started at 4 am, had already done Emmons/Donaldson/Seward, and were headed to Seymour.
I kept up the leisurely yet steady pace, and reached the summit of Seward about 2 and a half hours after I left the truck trail. The summit was pretty well socked in by the clouds, with no views whatsoever. After a quick break, I started towards Donaldson. Not too long after leaving the summit, it started to rain- lightly at first, then steadily, but never too hard. There were some sketchy ice flows to deal with on the south side of Seward, and again crampons would've made things much easier, but I was able to manage with microspikes.
In contrast to the steep ascent up the north face of Seward, the ascent of Donaldson was much more gradual, with only 1 or 2 tricky ice flows to deal with. Before long, I'd found the junction with the Calkins Brook herd path, and soon was passing the summit bolder of Donaldson. By this point, the rain and the melting snow on the trees had conspired to make me soaking wet, both inside and out- although the temperatures were warm enough that I wasn't uncomfortable as long as I kept moving.
The trek to Emmons was a bit longer than I remembered, although it's been more than 3 years since I was last there. Not too difficult, and again 1 or 2 tricky ice flows to deal with, but nothing major. I reached the summit about 2 hours after I'd left Seward, not too long after noon.
At this point, I was certainly ready to get down off the mountain, and so after a quick snack I started back. On the way back to Donaldson, I ran into a group of four that was also doing Seward/Donaldson/Emmons via the same route as I- they started a few minutes after me and had been following my footsteps all morning. Near the summit of Donaldson, I also ran into Nancy/HighOnLife and a friend of hers. They'd started that morning with Seymour, and were doing all 4 in the range.
As I descended the Calkins Brook herd path, I was reminded why this is now the preferred approach to the Seward Range. Very little ice and practically no steep sections- a much nicer hike than the herd path up the north side of Seward! It's a bit longer though, and when one is wet and starting to get cold, it does seem to meander on and on. Nonetheless, before long I was back at the Calkins Brook truck trail and quickly heading back to the trailhead.
By this point, pretty much 99% of the snow at lower elevations had melted, and the woods looked completely different compared to that morning. Even the frost in the ground was starting to melt, and every once in a while my foot crushed through the surface layer of dirt into a hollow chamber that had resulted from frost heave.
I made it back to the trailhead by 4 pm, 10 hours after I'd started. I never would've thought that a winter hike of the three Sewards would go this quickly- the lack of snow certainly contributed to my being able to keep up a steady pace all day. Now is certainly a good opportunity for aspiring winter 46ers to knock of some of the more remote peaks!
The drive out was a bit tricky- the melting snow had revealed a lot of ice on the road. Some sections I had to pump the breaks a bit to maintain control, but as long as I went slowly and cautiously I was fine. I had brought tire chains just in case but didn't use them. I can imagine that after things solidify tonight, the road will be pretty interesting for the next few days, though. Definitely 4WD, AWD, studded tires or tire chains just in case are a must.
It's definitely a relief to have the big three "remote" High Peak trips (Sewards, Santanonis, and Allen) out of the way for my winter 46. I've only got 9 left now... the end is in sight!
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