Lower + Upper Wolfjaws

[MarkJ]

One of the few times I done the Daks ,it was Lower and Upper.We had some thoughts one these that no one could agree.
Where on Lower Wolfjaw do you feel like your in the upper section on Lower?Was the upper section on Upper Wolfjaw better than the upper part of Lower?Is the lower part of Lower harder to break out than the Lower part of Upper? We met a group of 3 in the col and they were discussing similar things.This made me wonder what others think....

 

[Neil]

Could you clarify the question? Or put your post into point form or a bulleted list or something?

 

[MarkJ]

Do you want that in upper case or lower case?
Since those pks are mostly wooded and we were socked in, we couldn't get a feel of where the upper reaches of those pks became an upper peak experience versus the lower peak experience when you know you have a way's to go before hitting the upper areas for a view or something like that.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

If you don't think you were on Uppers summit, you weren't. Like many winter climbers it seems you probably stopped at the false bump. I was there Sunday and here is a picture of the false bump and Lower in the background from Uppers summit.
So that is what they look like and why it is confusing from the notch for Upper. Lower from the notch is easy, when you run out of mountain your on top. But if you come from the Rooster Comb trail head there is a smaller bump that I think people feel is, "We made it!".

It is amazing I took this picture to show why it is confusing and not 2 days later someone asked!

 

[TCD]

The section of the Range from Hedgehog to Armstrong often confuses folks, because of the multiple "bumps" along the way. Since I don't know which direction you were coming from, I'll mention a few of the bumps.

>Hedgehog has several bumps. The only way you know for sure that you are done going up and down on Hedgehog is when you come to the WA White trail junction.

>The next spot that confuses, as ColdRiverRun mentioned, is the "Wolf's Chin," which is the false summit NE of LWJ. This is distinguished by the steep rocky steps down its SW side. From there to the actual summit ridge of LWJ the trail is flat for a ways, and then EXTREMELY steep for about 100; up a V shaped gulley. Once on the ridge, there are some views at a rock a few feet off the trail W of the summit.

>From LWJ, the trail descends steeply to a flat area, where the N branch of the trail from Wedge Brook enters from the SW. The trail continues to descend; along the way, the S branch of the trail from Wedge Brook enters from the SW.

>At the col, the trail from John's Brook enters from the NW.

>The trail up the first bump of UWJ is steep and rough, with several "acrobatic" rocky obstacles. The bump is very distinct, being distinguished by views towards Noonmark, and a very large balanced rock which should be clearly visible even in winter.

>After the bump, the trail continues flat, and then steeply up again to a junction with the summit spur trail of UWJ, at the height of land. The summit is about 50' out the spur trail to the NW, and does not have very good views.

>On the way to Armstrong, there is yet another large, wooded bump. The summit of Armstrong is distinguished by a very large (30' wide) open platform with great views of the John's Brook valley.

After that, the rest of the mountains on the Range are a lot more obvious.

Tom

 

[Rik]

>After the bump, the trail continues flat, and then steeply up again to a junction with the summit spur trail of UWJ, at the height of land. The summit is about 50' out the spur trail to the NW, and does not have very good views.

Hmmm, I like the view from the little shelf on UWJ. It faces in generally the opposite direction as the view on LWJ. You can often see all the way into Vermont from up there.

 

[Willie]

Where on Lower Wolfjaw do you feel like your in the upper section on Lower?

Immediately above the the lower section on Lower Wolf Jaw, I feel as though I am on the upper section on Lower Wolf Jaw.

Was the upper section on Upper Wolfjaw better than the upper part of Lower?

For me, the upper section on Lower Wolf Jaw is every bit as good as the upper section on Upper Wolf Jaw.

Is the lower part of Lower harder to break out than the Lower part of Upper?

That's one of the great things about Lower and Upper Wolf Jaw! Whether you climb from Wedge Brook or Wolf Jaw Brook, you break trail for the lower section of Lower Wolf Jaw and the lower section of Upper Wolf Jaw at the same time!

 

[TCD]

You are right, I guess I'm spoiled by the other peaks like Gothics, etc., which have 360 views. What I should have said was that the view from the summit is fairly treed in, compared to the expansive 360 views from some later summits on the range.

I do like UWJ, the summit is a great spot to sit. And we have names for each of the rock obstacles on the way up, which makes the trail fun.

Although my favorite rock obstacle is actually on the way to Armstrong (sorry; thread drift). On the way to Armstrong's summit from UWJ, after you have passed the big cliff, and the ladder, you come at last to the final obstacle..."The Potato Shaped Rock." If you've ever had trouble surmounting it, you'll remember the rock I mean. it's very unassuming until you actually try to climb over it, and you make that high step up to the left onto the sloping rock, and there's nothing to hang onto, and you are sure your foot is going to slip... Actually I've never slipped there, my shoe always sticks to the rock, but the move is so commiting and uncomfortable that I have seen my companions bushwack around it.

(End thread drift...)

Tom

 

[Neil]

Someone ( a very experienced 46er) once told me that the rock on the upper section of Lower Wolf Jaw had 3% more silica than the rock on the lower part of Upper Wolf Jaw.

I don't know whether that is true and I have no way of checking it out but it's interesting to ponder.

As an aside, the most interesting thing about LWJ is not that it surpasses the 4000 foot mark but that it has the Benny's Brook Slide on it.

 

[TCD]

I agree, my interest in upper Wolfjaw is lower than my interest in lower Wolfjaw, even though the upper section of upper Wolfjaw is higher than the upper section of lower Wolfjaw. (I hope MarkJ is good natured, becasue we've had a lot of fun making fun of the OP.)

I like LWJ not just because of the slide, which I hope to ski sometime, but because of the enormous cliff on the other side of the mountain, which has an unfinished rock route that I hope to finish this year.

 

[MarkJ]

Given it's proximity to upper and lower WJ and being part of the Lower Range I wonder if Armstrong would have similar percentages of rock silica on it's upper or lower sections?

 

[Neil]

Aren't there 3 slides on the south side of the 2 Wolf Jaws? The Saber Toothed slide(s) and a relatively new one?

(There is an oblique parallel, oxymoronic, I know, between this thread and cave man psychology. Ie. There are the upper centers of cerebration - most likely poorly developed in cavemen - and the lower ones- the baser, reptilian instincts.)

 

[TCD]

Are you talking about the root chakra? Now, that would be thread drift.

The slide I'm talking about is the large, oval one directly under the summit of LWJ on the SW side of the mountain. Having been on it several times I can testify that it's more of a "cliff" than a "slide." Most of the area of the slide is almost vertical, and unclimbable at any free grade. The unfinished route is near the left margin, where the slide drops back to about 5.7. Definitely not a hikable slide...but it is a very big and interesting piece of rock.

I don't know the silica content...