Lost Pond Peak - 20 July 2014

[nundagao]

Christine, who had done it three times both summer and winter, kindly agreed to go a fourth time with me. It was my fourth time also, with only this minor difference; my first three attempts were for naught due to circumstances detailed in my previous TRs. But now I am happy to report success at last! It was a perfect day for this kind of a bushwhack; warm enough to pack a minimum of emergency gear (my only emergency bivouac was over 30 years ago on a traverse over Allen from Elk Lake to the Upper Works), overcast early so as not to be too hot on the way up, and sunny later, and not buggy enough to bother with repellant. We left the trail at 9:30 a mile past Rocky Falls at about 2300' elev., crossed IP brook, and headed up the ridge on a bearing of 290 magnetic. It was unrelentingly steep and thick from the get-go, with frequent swarms of new growth to push through and continuous cliffs, most of them able to be bypassed without deviating much from our intended route. When the gradient finally eased, we came upon a mossy glade with a pristine spring and took a short break. At around 3700', Christine's familiarity with the terrain really paid off, knowing better than to head straight for the top of the ridge which is nightmarishly thick and, instead contouring along the side of the ridge to within 0.1 m of the summit, then heading up. The top is protected by nearly continuous vertical and very tall cliffs. We found two weaknesses in the mountain's defenses and negotiated one on the way up, the other on the way down. We reached the top at 1:10. It was brushy but with a couple of open ledges. Believe it or not, we had the summit view all to ourselves! Going down, we kept Street in front of us for the first 15-20 minutes, then bore east, heading for the main drainage well before the bottom of the Street-LPP col. It is a constricted valley and the stream itself lies in an even deeper and narrower gorge. We stayed high on the right side (the left side looked perfectly awful with constant cliffs and blowdown), only occasionally getting down to the stream bed, though always keeping it in view and entranced by its succession of waterfalls, emerald pools, and giant boulders. The way down was less tight than the ascent. However, it would have been a much more strenuous way to go up; one would be constantly edging up on an extremely steep slope, through thick brush and deadfalls. Instead of pioneers, though, we found we were mere pilgrims; someone else had been in that exact same place not long before! On the ground, we found an 8 1/2 x 11 map of the route to LPP, wrapped in plastic, with a few penciled notations and a date; 03-07-2014. Christine has it. If it's yours, send me a PM and I'll put you in touch. We arrived at IP brook around 4 and took a long break to empty our clothes and shoes of some of the biota we had accumulated. While Christine took a dip and shed most of her wilderness in the brook, I emptied handfuls of needles and duff from my boots. The needles on my back were glued in place. It took a hot shower to dislodge them. IP Brook was low. We walked downstream for 3/4 m, turned right at the large brook from Wright, were on the trail by 5, and out by 6. Once home, Christine was still bothered by something in her eye. On close examination, it appeared to be a bit of balsam needle. On closer examination, it proved to be not flora but fauna (by then expired). The eye was OK, thanks to lacrimal lysozymes. By the way, so far as details of our route are concerned, YMMV. It is hoped that readers of these forum accounts find them informative and entertaining, but they should know better than to rely on them as accurate trail guides. Those who need a lot of advice and guidance are apt to be trying to go places they shouldn't. Being prepared is a good precept. So is self-reliance. For those happy few with similarly deranged ambitions, I still need North River and CC. Anyone interested?

 

[Peakbagr]

Very nice !

 

[Neil]

LPP is one of my favorites. Your exit route sounds very interesting. I had heard of people trying to whack directly from Street to LPP (rather than making a short westward deviation first) and experiencing bad luck and trouble most of the way down to the drainage.

 

[JoeCedar]

I don't think there is an "easy" route to LPP, but some are harder than others...nice work.

 

[iceNsnow]

A dip in the wild waters only brings out the wilderness in Christine. She can find her way even better now w/ this trip committed to all the memories she already has of this peak. Having gone from Street to LPP, myself, I can say that although it has a rough start, it improves rapidly if you stay off the ridge proper. Nundago - fine TR and I wish you well on Cheney/NR!! maybe...you could convince me I need to revisit them

 

[nundagao]

...wish you well on Cheney/NR!! maybe...you could convince me I need to revisit them [/QUOTE]

I've done most of those bushwhacks myself. Not that I'm that much of a loner; it's just that I only know a few people who are into doing them and aside from Christine and Matt, even fewer who will revisit them. It'd be great to have your company. Matt helped me bag all five Sawtooths. His price was a cold beer after each hike. Name yours.

 

[Dennis C.]

Lost Pond Peak was a "Winter Wonderland" for SonnyM and I back in the early 1990s. We were able to cross the pond and observe beautiful ice flow formations cascading from small cliffs Yes, I do recall some thick brushy thickets on the final ascent. Just wonderful!