BIGEarl
Well-known member
Start: 9:30am
Finish: 3:00pm
Starr King Trail
7.2 Miles, 2,650 Feet
Three of us hiked this one. Satori, Jen-san, and me. The weather forecast for the day in the Jefferson area was for cloudy conditions to start and continually improve throughout the day. We started hiking the Starr King Trail at approximately 9:30am, right on schedule.
The trail conditions started out clear and dry up past the old springhouse foundation to the point where the trail turns off the old wood road. From that location to approximately 3,000 feet we were hiking in mud season conditions. What a sloppy trail for the dead of winter. There was a group of six hikers that started out a while after us. They became spread out on the trail and one by one passed us on this muddy stretch.
At 3,000 feet we came upon the larger group of hikers finishing up on adding traction aids, Stabilicers and yaktrax. From here to the summit of Waumbek we would hike on ice. The other group continued on and we decided to follow their lead and add some traction. Marcia and I pulled out Stabilicers but Jennifer had left hers at home and instead used her crampons.
After a few minutes we were ready to continue the climb. Soon after setting out, Jennifer caught a crampon on an exposed root and went down, face-first onto some ice and rocks. She came up (actually rolled over) with an injured knee and bloody nose. In the course of the fall she made a bad sound of pain or fear. I ran to her aid and managed to get her sitting upright. After a while she decided nothing was broken and started to pull herself together. I helped her up off the ground, she wiped her face, took some pain medication anticipating the discomfort to come, and we once again headed out. The next stop was at the summit of Starr King where somebody had created a small Snowman. It was roughly twelve inches tall but otherwise a perfectly acceptable snowman. We took a few pictures and got a couple shots of the Starr King summit sign. Near the summit is the site of an old shelter with only the fireplace remaining standing. By the time we reached the summit of Starr King the clouds had generally cleared and we had a nice sunny day to enjoy. We took a couple quick pictures and headed off for the final mile to Waumbek. On this spruce-sheltered section there is an interesting blowdown. Actually two trees fell to form an "A" which is laying back at approximately a 30 degree angle, and the trail passes through its base. Nice photo stop.
We arrived on Waumbek just as the other group was preparing to leave. They took a couple group shot pictures and said goodbye. We stopped for a quick snack and managed some entertainment from the grey jays eating out of our hands. The grey jays are essentially upland seagulls. Display some food and they’ll come running.
After we finished it was time for a u-turn and back out the way we came in. We took a few more pictures along the way and I shot a video at the summit of Starr King near the fireplace.
From here, some careful hiking back down the icy trail to 3,000 feet, remove the added traction, hike out through the mud, and finally hit the old road to the parking. We stepped into the parking area at approximately 3:00pm and prepared to head home.
Good hike, too bad Jennifer fell. She’ll be ok.
Thanks to Jen-san and Satori for a fun day!
If I manage to get setup on a photo site I’ll post some shots from the day later.
Earl
Finish: 3:00pm
Starr King Trail
7.2 Miles, 2,650 Feet
Three of us hiked this one. Satori, Jen-san, and me. The weather forecast for the day in the Jefferson area was for cloudy conditions to start and continually improve throughout the day. We started hiking the Starr King Trail at approximately 9:30am, right on schedule.
The trail conditions started out clear and dry up past the old springhouse foundation to the point where the trail turns off the old wood road. From that location to approximately 3,000 feet we were hiking in mud season conditions. What a sloppy trail for the dead of winter. There was a group of six hikers that started out a while after us. They became spread out on the trail and one by one passed us on this muddy stretch. At 3,000 feet we came upon the larger group of hikers finishing up on adding traction aids, Stabilicers and yaktrax. From here to the summit of Waumbek we would hike on ice. The other group continued on and we decided to follow their lead and add some traction. Marcia and I pulled out Stabilicers but Jennifer had left hers at home and instead used her crampons.
After a few minutes we were ready to continue the climb. Soon after setting out, Jennifer caught a crampon on an exposed root and went down, face-first onto some ice and rocks.
She came up (actually rolled over) with an injured knee and bloody nose. In the course of the fall she made a bad sound of pain or fear. I ran to her aid and managed to get her sitting upright. After a while she decided nothing was broken and started to pull herself together. I helped her up off the ground, she wiped her face, took some pain medication anticipating the discomfort to come, and we once again headed out. The next stop was at the summit of Starr King where somebody had created a small Snowman. It was roughly twelve inches tall but otherwise a perfectly acceptable snowman. We took a few pictures and got a couple shots of the Starr King summit sign. Near the summit is the site of an old shelter with only the fireplace remaining standing. By the time we reached the summit of Starr King the clouds had generally cleared and we had a nice sunny day to enjoy. We took a couple quick pictures and headed off for the final mile to Waumbek. On this spruce-sheltered section there is an interesting blowdown. Actually two trees fell to form an "A" which is laying back at approximately a 30 degree angle, and the trail passes through its base. Nice photo stop.We arrived on Waumbek just as the other group was preparing to leave. They took a couple group shot pictures and said goodbye. We stopped for a quick snack and managed some entertainment from the grey jays eating out of our hands. The grey jays are essentially upland seagulls. Display some food and they’ll come running.
After we finished it was time for a u-turn and back out the way we came in. We took a few more pictures along the way and I shot a video at the summit of Starr King near the fireplace.
From here, some careful hiking back down the icy trail to 3,000 feet, remove the added traction, hike out through the mud, and finally hit the old road to the parking. We stepped into the parking area at approximately 3:00pm and prepared to head home.
Good hike, too bad Jennifer fell. She’ll be ok.
Thanks to Jen-san and Satori for a fun day!
If I manage to get setup on a photo site I’ll post some shots from the day later.
Earl
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