poison ivy
Well-known member
Anxious to head out to Mt. Abraham before Lincoln Gap Road closes for the winter, Alpinista, Amstony and I headed out to hike the 4,006 foot mountain on Saturday. Upon arriving, we found signs up saying Lincoln Gap was already closed. However, the road is not gated and was completely free of ice and snow. We arrived in Lincoln Gap to find a half-dozen cars parked there and decided to head up the trail too. (I would not recommend doing this if there is the least bit chance of ice. Heading back down the hill from Lincoln Gap if the road is icy would be a very, very bad idea.)
We geared up and hit the Long Trail at 11 a.m. -- knowing we only planned a 5.2 mile hike for the day, we decided not to rush to the trailhead too early in the morning. The trail was in terrific shape was very pretty winding its way around a ridge and past several large and mossy boulders. We found the sides of the trail had a small dusting of snow, but the initial mile went fairly quickly with just a few wet and muddy spots to contend with along the way.
After the first mile or so, the rocks became lined with ice, making the ascent a little more difficult. I found them fascinating because water rivulets were dripping over the rocks underneath the ice -- they looked like little bugs skittering down the hill. We had to bushwhack around a couple, so we figure that counted as our participation in this weekend's Whackfest.
By the time we reached the Battell Trail junction, the trail was covered with about a half-inch of snow. We stopped in the shelter for a quick break and searched the register for familiar names, but didn’t find anyone we knew. After our short break, we headed the final half-mile up to Mt. Abraham’s summit.
The final half-mile was more challenging with up to an inch of snow covering the rocks, as well as a coating of ice. We took our time and were able to make it up without stopping to put on our creepers. The wind was just howling through the trees, so we stopped and donned our cold weather gear before climbing up the final icy slabs to the summit. While the skies were rather gray, the view to the south was very pretty. The sky to the southwest was just aglow with orange even though it was only 2 p.m. and to the north we could barely make out Mt. Ellen through the fog. Our stay up top was brief due to the wind, we took a few quick pictures and then headed back down the hill.
We took our time heading back down to the shelter -- and found that Yak Trax & creepers were extremely helpful for getting a grip on the rocks but we all had our first butt-slides of the season on some of the steeper ledges. We stopped at the Battell Shelter for a quick hot chocolate & tea break, took off the creepers and headed back out to Lincoln Gap. Tony’s thermometer read 23 degrees just off the summit but it was a little warmer down the trail. Along the way, we got a little wet with either rain or water melting off the trees and spraying us on the way down. We arrived back at the trailhead at 3:25 p.m. and agreed it was a really great short hike and fun day.
On another note, we were all very concerned about some of the people we saw on our way back to the car. Very close to the trailhead, we met a hiker wearing shorts, and another pair each wearing jeans and sweaters who couldn’t have started up the trail before 3 p.m. One didn’t even have a pack. We tried to warn of conditions as best we could… and I hope they turned around when they reached the icy spots and made it back out safely.
Mt. Abraham was Alpinista’s 50th peak on the NE67 list and my 53rd. Amstony hiked Abraham in October but enjoyed it so much the first time, he agreed to come along again.
Pictures from the trip are here.
We geared up and hit the Long Trail at 11 a.m. -- knowing we only planned a 5.2 mile hike for the day, we decided not to rush to the trailhead too early in the morning. The trail was in terrific shape was very pretty winding its way around a ridge and past several large and mossy boulders. We found the sides of the trail had a small dusting of snow, but the initial mile went fairly quickly with just a few wet and muddy spots to contend with along the way.
After the first mile or so, the rocks became lined with ice, making the ascent a little more difficult. I found them fascinating because water rivulets were dripping over the rocks underneath the ice -- they looked like little bugs skittering down the hill. We had to bushwhack around a couple, so we figure that counted as our participation in this weekend's Whackfest.
By the time we reached the Battell Trail junction, the trail was covered with about a half-inch of snow. We stopped in the shelter for a quick break and searched the register for familiar names, but didn’t find anyone we knew. After our short break, we headed the final half-mile up to Mt. Abraham’s summit.The final half-mile was more challenging with up to an inch of snow covering the rocks, as well as a coating of ice. We took our time and were able to make it up without stopping to put on our creepers. The wind was just howling through the trees, so we stopped and donned our cold weather gear before climbing up the final icy slabs to the summit. While the skies were rather gray, the view to the south was very pretty. The sky to the southwest was just aglow with orange even though it was only 2 p.m. and to the north we could barely make out Mt. Ellen through the fog. Our stay up top was brief due to the wind, we took a few quick pictures and then headed back down the hill.
We took our time heading back down to the shelter -- and found that Yak Trax & creepers were extremely helpful for getting a grip on the rocks but we all had our first butt-slides of the season on some of the steeper ledges. We stopped at the Battell Shelter for a quick hot chocolate & tea break, took off the creepers and headed back out to Lincoln Gap. Tony’s thermometer read 23 degrees just off the summit but it was a little warmer down the trail. Along the way, we got a little wet with either rain or water melting off the trees and spraying us on the way down. We arrived back at the trailhead at 3:25 p.m. and agreed it was a really great short hike and fun day.
On another note, we were all very concerned about some of the people we saw on our way back to the car. Very close to the trailhead, we met a hiker wearing shorts, and another pair each wearing jeans and sweaters who couldn’t have started up the trail before 3 p.m. One didn’t even have a pack. We tried to warn of conditions as best we could… and I hope they turned around when they reached the icy spots and made it back out safely.
Mt. Abraham was Alpinista’s 50th peak on the NE67 list and my 53rd. Amstony hiked Abraham in October but enjoyed it so much the first time, he agreed to come along again.
Pictures from the trip are here.
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