kltilton
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Once a year my friend Tim drags me out into the woods to go camping in the middle of winter. I usually enjoy it, but it goes against any type of reasonable thought.
This year, Tim wanted to head up into Great Gulf, where we have both done some hiking and running, so we are somewhat familiar with the terrain. Our friend Steve would be joining us for this adventure. He’s crazy too.
Tim and I had talked about going after Adams, Madison or Jefferson sometime this winter, so we decided to hike up the Great Gulf Trail to the Madison Gulf Trail on day one and camp when it turned dark.
We got a late start on Thursday leaving the trailhead at 2PM. We made good time all the way to the Bluff, and headed up the Madison Gulf Trail. After ascending an icy waterfall we found a nice campsite out in the woods off the trail around 5PM and set up the tent and dinner.
Eating dinner on the trail in the winter will make you consume things you don’t like or make things taste better than they ever would if you cooked them at home. My cous cous did not cook thoroughly, but I didn’t care. Steve had one of those freeze dried Beef Stroganoff meals. “I wouldn’t serve it to a date”, but his stomach was full by the time he was done. Tim dined on half frozen chicken nuggets and, no lie, ONE POUND of deli roast beef.
We all hit the sack around 8PM. The tent was quite comfortable. It wasn’t that cold outside and there was no wind to speak of when we went to bed. That only means one thing in the White Mountains. Day 2 = Crap Weather.
We woke up around 6AM ready to get some breakfast and perform essential bodily functions. Tim headed down to the brook to fill his water bottles, giardia be damned. While we waited for Tim a little mole or shrew visited us in the tent looking for some food. Luckily it was all stowed away. I downed a bagel and four packets of instant oatmeal. I love that stuff. Steve joined me for some oatmeal while Tim ate dry rice crispies and a peanut butter sandwich. We left our camp set up so we could go light on our way up the Madison Gulf Headwall.
None of us had ever attempted the headwall, summer or winter, but figured we would see how far we could get before the weather or trail turned us back. We all had ice axes and Tim and Steve had crampons. I had snowshoes, which I never used, in case I needed the extra traction. Hiking up the Madison Gulf headwall in the dead of winter with no crampons may sound like a suicide mission, but I was determined to turn around if I felt too nervous.
Before we even got to the headwall we lost the trail in a glade near Parapet Brook. We had been following a pair of faint tracks all morning, but at this point they zigzagged and finally stopped. We back tracked to look for blazes, but found that the trail was not very well marked. I used my surveyor’s skills to find a blue blaze in a sea of trees covered in lichens and moss. I would never live it down if someone found out that a surveyor got lost in the woods.
Once on track we approached the headwall to find ledge scrambles covered in ice and snow. Where there was snow I had no problem. Tim and Steve led to way and let me know if there were any sections that were exceptionally icy. In a few spots I had to take to the woods to find traction, but we made it all the way to the Parapet Trail above tree line. Our original plan was to try to summit Madison first, but it was pretty windy and the snow was coming down pretty good. Visibility was about 20 feet, so we decided to head back down the way we came.
Coming down the Madison Gulf Trail doesn’t sound like a good idea either, but it really wasn’t bad at all. By this time we knew where all the bad ice was. I only had to use my ice ax once to keep me from sliding into oblivion. The good thing is that most of the trail has trees along both sides, so you either have something to hold onto or crash into.
We made it back to our camp, had a little lunch and packed up. The trip back to the trailhead was pretty uneventful, but a lot of fun. Steve was dreaming about steak subs and beer. Tim was already planning his next overnight. I was trying to figure out how the hell I was going to run tomorrow after doing this.
The lower sections of the Great Gulf Trail might have had an inch of new snow by the time we got back to the car. Most of this was packed down by fresh snowshoe tracks that headed up the Osgood Trail. We did not see any other people the whole trip.
This is a trip that I will remember until next winter. Tim will probably remember it for the next two weeks… if that water was bad.
Photos:http://community.webshots.com/album/547968479noxEUL
This year, Tim wanted to head up into Great Gulf, where we have both done some hiking and running, so we are somewhat familiar with the terrain. Our friend Steve would be joining us for this adventure. He’s crazy too.
Tim and I had talked about going after Adams, Madison or Jefferson sometime this winter, so we decided to hike up the Great Gulf Trail to the Madison Gulf Trail on day one and camp when it turned dark.
We got a late start on Thursday leaving the trailhead at 2PM. We made good time all the way to the Bluff, and headed up the Madison Gulf Trail. After ascending an icy waterfall we found a nice campsite out in the woods off the trail around 5PM and set up the tent and dinner.
Eating dinner on the trail in the winter will make you consume things you don’t like or make things taste better than they ever would if you cooked them at home. My cous cous did not cook thoroughly, but I didn’t care. Steve had one of those freeze dried Beef Stroganoff meals. “I wouldn’t serve it to a date”, but his stomach was full by the time he was done. Tim dined on half frozen chicken nuggets and, no lie, ONE POUND of deli roast beef.
We all hit the sack around 8PM. The tent was quite comfortable. It wasn’t that cold outside and there was no wind to speak of when we went to bed. That only means one thing in the White Mountains. Day 2 = Crap Weather.
We woke up around 6AM ready to get some breakfast and perform essential bodily functions. Tim headed down to the brook to fill his water bottles, giardia be damned. While we waited for Tim a little mole or shrew visited us in the tent looking for some food. Luckily it was all stowed away. I downed a bagel and four packets of instant oatmeal. I love that stuff. Steve joined me for some oatmeal while Tim ate dry rice crispies and a peanut butter sandwich. We left our camp set up so we could go light on our way up the Madison Gulf Headwall.
None of us had ever attempted the headwall, summer or winter, but figured we would see how far we could get before the weather or trail turned us back. We all had ice axes and Tim and Steve had crampons. I had snowshoes, which I never used, in case I needed the extra traction. Hiking up the Madison Gulf headwall in the dead of winter with no crampons may sound like a suicide mission, but I was determined to turn around if I felt too nervous.
Before we even got to the headwall we lost the trail in a glade near Parapet Brook. We had been following a pair of faint tracks all morning, but at this point they zigzagged and finally stopped. We back tracked to look for blazes, but found that the trail was not very well marked. I used my surveyor’s skills to find a blue blaze in a sea of trees covered in lichens and moss. I would never live it down if someone found out that a surveyor got lost in the woods.
Once on track we approached the headwall to find ledge scrambles covered in ice and snow. Where there was snow I had no problem. Tim and Steve led to way and let me know if there were any sections that were exceptionally icy. In a few spots I had to take to the woods to find traction, but we made it all the way to the Parapet Trail above tree line. Our original plan was to try to summit Madison first, but it was pretty windy and the snow was coming down pretty good. Visibility was about 20 feet, so we decided to head back down the way we came.
Coming down the Madison Gulf Trail doesn’t sound like a good idea either, but it really wasn’t bad at all. By this time we knew where all the bad ice was. I only had to use my ice ax once to keep me from sliding into oblivion. The good thing is that most of the trail has trees along both sides, so you either have something to hold onto or crash into.
We made it back to our camp, had a little lunch and packed up. The trip back to the trailhead was pretty uneventful, but a lot of fun. Steve was dreaming about steak subs and beer. Tim was already planning his next overnight. I was trying to figure out how the hell I was going to run tomorrow after doing this.
The lower sections of the Great Gulf Trail might have had an inch of new snow by the time we got back to the car. Most of this was packed down by fresh snowshoe tracks that headed up the Osgood Trail. We did not see any other people the whole trip.
This is a trip that I will remember until next winter. Tim will probably remember it for the next two weeks… if that water was bad.
Photos:http://community.webshots.com/album/547968479noxEUL
