Glen Boulder short-cut

[marty]

Wait... we're smokin' sedge now????

I have a bad feeling that at least one member of our esteemed VFTT gang is now going to really try smoking some sedge

 

[dr_wu002]

I also agree w/ you, Wu.

Technically speaking, I don't think you can step on grass above treeline as I don't think it grows that high up (am talking about the kind your mow, not the kind you smoke). I think it's actually sedge, but same difference.

Ok -- I think that people should avoid stepping on most living things above treeline. Sedge, grass, spiders, people etc...

-Dr. Wu

 

[--M.]

The "Mountain Stewards" atop Algonquin corrected me when I called it grass: "It's deer-[something] sedge. 'Sedges have edges, grasses have joints (when the cops ain't around)'."

 

[Neil]

Ok -- I think that people should avoid stepping on most living things above treeline. Sedge, grass, spiders, people.

-Dr. Wu

What about algae, nematodes, springtails and round worms? These are a few of my favoutite things.

 

[Periwinkle]

Anybody ever made a short-cut from Glen Boulder trail directly west over to the Davis Path at Slide Peak? Wondering if the trails are above treeline at this point and thus an "easy" bushwhack so one can avoid having to ascend a further 400-500 ft before dropping down on Davis Path again to get to Isolation.

I'm adventurous but lazy - an unfortunate combination.

Read all the replies .... Very interesting discussion....

Gotta say, I can see why you asked this question in the first place. When I did Isolation in and out via Glen Boulder, I did scout out a short cut from Slide on the way in. All ethics aside, it didn't look good -- lots of uneven rocks and bunches of scrub. Not worth it.

On the way back out, I was very tired. I looked again. It looked worse. All that rock hoping solo (and leaving the trail I was supposed to be on) would be plain stupid. So I hauled my butt back up the Boott Spur and back down. By the time I reached tree line, my knees were killing me. It's one of the few times I've actually shed a few tears on the trail.

Fast forward a few years....as I looked through all my hiking pictures recently, I found two of my favorites were taken on the way in and out climbing the Boott Spur. Incredible views. That hike kicked my butt, but I remember it very fondly now. It was all worth it.

I hope you have a great hike....

 

[arghman]

Technically speaking, I don't think you can step on grass above treeline as I don't think it grows that high up (am talking about the kind your mow, not the kind you smoke).

[begin botany tangent]
most are sedges but some are grasses (& others rushes). I can tell sedges from the rest (sedges are either flat or triangular), but can't go any further than that. The ones way up on Mt Washington are probably Bigelow's sedge, below that & thinner stems are the deers-hair sedge which is abundant in the Alpine Garden; but there are a few alpine species in the grass & rush families.
[end botany tangent]

 

[HighHorse]

As someone that has actually taken the shortcut in question, I would urge you not to do it. It was before I knew as much as I know now, but even then I knew it wasn't an awesome thing to do. I was with a friend doing an out and back to Isolation via Glen Boulder, and we were wrecked from a Kinsman traverse the day before. We basically just ran out of gas and weren't excited about the trip up to BS. We got to a place on Davis where we scouted for cairns on Glen Boulder, found them, and then tried to locate a rock-hop route. We thought we had a good one, but basically, as others have mentioned, the rocks aren't great for it, and three-fourths of the way through we basically had to take big strides through some of the spongey fragile stuff. I can still feel it under my boots, and we almost surely killed some of it. I still feel awful about it and I still think about almost every time I'm above treeline. Worse yet, we maybe saved 20 minutes maximum on what was a very long day anyway. I just don't think it's worth it.

On another note, I also generally agree with Wu. But there are some places where it's nearly impossible NOT to step on green stuff above treeline. The Castle trail above treeline on Jefferson strikes me as one such place where alpine grass exists directly on the trail and is at some points really hard to avoid without being fanatical.

 

[Davehiker]

On another note, I also generally agree with Wu.

Of course we should always agree with Dr. Wu; he's a MOUNTAIN STEWARD!

 

[mtnmama]

Julie...I'd like to know where this rock is?????
Mtnpa and I would like to get a patch.

 

[RoySwkr]

This triangle spans a transition range and contains a variety of vegetation types. Near the top it is open rock and you could rock-hop over but it would save you little time. Near the bottom it is bushes mixed with open areas and little rock. At least some of the bushes are blueberry and I have left the trail to pick them, hopefully no rare plants live in the shade of blueberry bushes.

My advice is to use this route only if you have the ability to do it the long way, and take a shortcut only if it will not be damaging to do so.

This would be an easy place for the AMC/FS to flag an approved route if a maze of herd paths develops.

 

[sierra]

2 points if I may. One, I have traveled above treeline in the Whites and in doing this have avioded all plant life including grass, or I would not travel there. Its simple really, Im up there all the time and god willing will be for many years to come, why would I ruin the very mountains i love? yes I said ruin,although no botonist Id bet the auto rod against a candy bar stomping on alpine grass hurts it if not kills it, why take the chance?
Secondly cross country travel can be fast or it can be slow depending on the terrain involved, but in most cases its much faster via trail (even if longer miliage wise) then cross country by far.established trails have less loose rocks, less tree stumps and make hiking easy to the point you dont even have to look down most of the time. Say what you want about the AMC ( I sure have) but in regards to trail building they are the best Ive seen in the country period.

 

[Orsonab]

At the risk of disturbing a hornet's nest...

So I tried this route earlier this week - there's a large patch of krummholtz in between the two trails until they almost meet which makes the proposed "short-cut" very short unless you want to wade through scrubby pine trees. Ironically, I was coming up the Glen Boulder trail, passed the scrub patch, and then saw a wooden trail sign across the way. Thinking I had somehow missed the junction, I rock-hopped (honest) across to the sign which...was a sign telling people to protect the Wilderness area - d'oh! On the way back I went right to the junction and then turned down the Glen Boulder trail (TMaxx can be my witness on this). This is a great above-treeline route in gorgeous weather (which it was) but climbing 5000 feet to get to a summit 2300 feet above the trailhead is a lot of hard work. Wouldn't recommend it for this windy weekend.

 

[TMax]

On the way back I went right to the junction and then turned down the Glen Boulder trail (TMaxx can be my witness on this). This is a great above-treeline route in gorgeous weather (which it was) but climbing 5000 feet to get to a summit 2300 feet above the trailhead is a lot of hard work. Wouldn't recommend it for this windy weekend.

Yup, I'm a witness! Orsonab walked each and every extra step!! And there are a lot of them. Definitely a great hike to do, and the view from Isolation was far better than I anticipated. I didn't see any way to cut off part of that trail without severely damaging the alpine growth. It's not like the boulder hopping you can do when you're up in the Northern Presies.

P.S...Andrew, what was the name of that author you mentioned?

 

[Orsonab]

The author is Tom Eslick - enjoyable thriller writer who sets his stories in the White Mountains - good reading for those who want to stay in on this wet, windy weekend

Here's a link to one of his books:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142004790/ref=pd_rvi_gw_3/002-1351359-1880018?ie=UTF8