DSettahr
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2005
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Attempted Redfield and Cliff last weekend, but didnt make it. Myself and 4 others from the Paul Smiths Outing Club started out at the Upper Works trailhead early on Saturday. The calamity brook trail was very clear of downed trees and was very easy going. There was a fair amount of mud on the trail though, which was starting to freeze over. A couple times people fell through the ice, but nothing too serious. There was about 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, not enough unfortunately for snowshoes as quite a few rocks and roots were still sticking out.
After spending a night at Lake Colden, we headed up the Opalescent River towards Cliff and Redfield. The snow got a little bit deeper, but still not enough for snowshoes. We unfortunately made a mistake with the herd path for Redfield. We crossed a stream which we thought was the Uphill brook marked on the map, and found a very well defined herd path just past it. After following this herd path for nearly a mile, it became obvious that it was not climbing Redfield as he had originally thought. It was either the herd path for Cliff, or the old trail that went between Redfield and Cliff mountains.
When attempting Redfield, note that the uphill brook is a few hundred feet past the lean to if you making your way down the Opalescent River Trail from the west.
During the hike out, the mud puddles were frozen over a bit more, and there were less instances of people falling through into the mud. Having 5 people break the ice on the way in probably helped it refreeze a bit stronger during the night. It got dark before we made it out, and we had some nice views of the stars in the open areas closer to Upper Works.
Despite not summiting any peaks, it was still a fun weekend with excellent weather- a light snow falling the entire weekend, and some good views of Colden and Avalanche Pass from Lake Colden.
After spending a night at Lake Colden, we headed up the Opalescent River towards Cliff and Redfield. The snow got a little bit deeper, but still not enough for snowshoes. We unfortunately made a mistake with the herd path for Redfield. We crossed a stream which we thought was the Uphill brook marked on the map, and found a very well defined herd path just past it. After following this herd path for nearly a mile, it became obvious that it was not climbing Redfield as he had originally thought. It was either the herd path for Cliff, or the old trail that went between Redfield and Cliff mountains.
When attempting Redfield, note that the uphill brook is a few hundred feet past the lean to if you making your way down the Opalescent River Trail from the west.
During the hike out, the mud puddles were frozen over a bit more, and there were less instances of people falling through into the mud. Having 5 people break the ice on the way in probably helped it refreeze a bit stronger during the night. It got dark before we made it out, and we had some nice views of the stars in the open areas closer to Upper Works.
Despite not summiting any peaks, it was still a fun weekend with excellent weather- a light snow falling the entire weekend, and some good views of Colden and Avalanche Pass from Lake Colden.
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