PETCH
New member
Alright, Alright, what’s with the title? Well, someone out there has an avatar that always draws a chuckle out of me. It says “Everytime you posthole, God kills a kitten”. Although I am deathly allergic to cats, I really mean them no harm !!…..But CrazyBob and I are responsible for the death of hundreds of kittens on Saturday!!
Date:03/20/10 (Saturday)
Cast of Characters: Crazy Bob, and Petch
Peaks/Trails: Rocky Branch, Bushwack, Isolation Trail, Davis Path.
Trail Conditions:
- Rocky Branch Trail was packed out but warmer temps during the day made the trail a mess by afternoon. Postholing in snowshoes was the norm within a few miles of trailhead on the way back.
- The bushwack was in generally good shape, but softening and postholing with snowshoes also occuring.
- Isolation Trail and Davis path a little more stable, but soft.
Water crossings starting to open up. Snow bridges are starting to collapse.
Equipment:
Snowshoes required. The bigger the better. Oh yeah, a sense of humor wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Commentary:
We started at 8am and barebooted for about ½ mile or so, then switched to snowshoes for the remainder of the trip. The snow was soft and a little unstable at this point. As the sun started to peak over the hills to the east, you could feel the warmth and we knew that the trip back was going to be unpleasant as snow conditions could do nothing but deteriorate as the day went on.
No real warm up on the Rocky Branch trail, you start climbing immediately. This was our first time to this peak, but we read the TR’s and knew about the bushwack. As we reached the height of the land, we saw views of the Ricardo Montalban Ridge, Remember the Cordoba’s with the fine Corinthian leather?
I was hoping as we gained elevation, that things would harden up. But, no dice…things were still soft. We hit the bushwack and witnessed first hand the beautiful birch glades that we had read about. Kind of an oasis, I guess.
The Birch Glades
We continued on, not even noticing when we hit the Isolation Trail and Davis Path. The final ascent up to the summit was real tight through the trees. Then we were on top. The winds were strong, but the air temp was mild. So, we were able to stay on top for 15 minutes with just a base layer.
Men in Black
We had some other friends hiking today. Jim and Myron were going up Monroe, and Pat and Jorge were Ice climbing up Hunington’s Ravine and going up towards Washington. The plan was for all three groups to moon each other at the Spring Equinox 1:32pm, (What a bunch of juveniles!). CrazyBob and I hit the summit of Isolation around 12:40pm, and knowing the potential horrific trail conditions on the way down, we were not hanging around for the show. We had lunch just below the summit, then began our trip back.
We were starting to break through a lot of the smaller snow bridges that were across all the minor water crossings. The bushwack part didn’t go to badly. But, things started getting worse as we started coming down the Rocky Branch trail. By late afternoon, the Rocky Branch Trail (except the lower part where the snow disappeared), looked like it had been carpet bombed with snowshoe-size ordinates! Some poor moose had crossed the trail as well leaving his marks. And we thought we had it rough!
Postholing (with snowshoes) up to your knees and beyond was the norm. We then ran into a couple (Laurie and Russ) who were stopped in the trail, digging down in the snow trying to retrieve a snowshoe that had come off during a deep posthole. That pretty much sums up the trail conditions at this point.
I don't exactly know how warm it got, but as we descended down the steeper part of Rocky Branch trail to the parking lot, it felt like it was warming up about 5 degrees every 100 yards.
"You know, I thought there was snow here about 8 hours ago?"
Glad to get this one done (#42), but we'll be back here next winter when conditions are a little better.....
Hiking stats: about 14 miles, 3500 ft of ele gain. 8 hrs, 40mins.
Slideshow ^
Hiking Pictures:http://picasaweb.google.com/mpetcher
Ascent List:http://peakbagger.com/climber/climblistc.aspx?cid=1767
Petch
Date:03/20/10 (Saturday)
Cast of Characters: Crazy Bob, and Petch
Peaks/Trails: Rocky Branch, Bushwack, Isolation Trail, Davis Path.
Trail Conditions:
- Rocky Branch Trail was packed out but warmer temps during the day made the trail a mess by afternoon. Postholing in snowshoes was the norm within a few miles of trailhead on the way back.
- The bushwack was in generally good shape, but softening and postholing with snowshoes also occuring.
- Isolation Trail and Davis path a little more stable, but soft.
Water crossings starting to open up. Snow bridges are starting to collapse.
Equipment:
Snowshoes required. The bigger the better. Oh yeah, a sense of humor wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Commentary:
We started at 8am and barebooted for about ½ mile or so, then switched to snowshoes for the remainder of the trip. The snow was soft and a little unstable at this point. As the sun started to peak over the hills to the east, you could feel the warmth and we knew that the trip back was going to be unpleasant as snow conditions could do nothing but deteriorate as the day went on.
No real warm up on the Rocky Branch trail, you start climbing immediately. This was our first time to this peak, but we read the TR’s and knew about the bushwack. As we reached the height of the land, we saw views of the Ricardo Montalban Ridge, Remember the Cordoba’s with the fine Corinthian leather?
I was hoping as we gained elevation, that things would harden up. But, no dice…things were still soft. We hit the bushwack and witnessed first hand the beautiful birch glades that we had read about. Kind of an oasis, I guess.
The Birch Glades
We continued on, not even noticing when we hit the Isolation Trail and Davis Path. The final ascent up to the summit was real tight through the trees. Then we were on top. The winds were strong, but the air temp was mild. So, we were able to stay on top for 15 minutes with just a base layer.
Men in Black
We had some other friends hiking today. Jim and Myron were going up Monroe, and Pat and Jorge were Ice climbing up Hunington’s Ravine and going up towards Washington. The plan was for all three groups to moon each other at the Spring Equinox 1:32pm, (What a bunch of juveniles!). CrazyBob and I hit the summit of Isolation around 12:40pm, and knowing the potential horrific trail conditions on the way down, we were not hanging around for the show. We had lunch just below the summit, then began our trip back.
We were starting to break through a lot of the smaller snow bridges that were across all the minor water crossings. The bushwack part didn’t go to badly. But, things started getting worse as we started coming down the Rocky Branch trail. By late afternoon, the Rocky Branch Trail (except the lower part where the snow disappeared), looked like it had been carpet bombed with snowshoe-size ordinates! Some poor moose had crossed the trail as well leaving his marks. And we thought we had it rough!
Postholing (with snowshoes) up to your knees and beyond was the norm. We then ran into a couple (Laurie and Russ) who were stopped in the trail, digging down in the snow trying to retrieve a snowshoe that had come off during a deep posthole. That pretty much sums up the trail conditions at this point.
I don't exactly know how warm it got, but as we descended down the steeper part of Rocky Branch trail to the parking lot, it felt like it was warming up about 5 degrees every 100 yards.
"You know, I thought there was snow here about 8 hours ago?"
Glad to get this one done (#42), but we'll be back here next winter when conditions are a little better.....
Hiking stats: about 14 miles, 3500 ft of ele gain. 8 hrs, 40mins.
Slideshow ^
Hiking Pictures:http://picasaweb.google.com/mpetcher
Ascent List:http://peakbagger.com/climber/climblistc.aspx?cid=1767
Petch
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