bintrepidhiker
New member
With my friend Phil (grouseking) on the mend from a cold/sinus infection we wanted to do something not overally hard so the 6.6 mile trip to and from Eisenhower seemed like a great choice.
We arrived at the trailhead around 8:45 in the morning and we were off. There was one car in the lot ahead of us but that was all. There was a light breeze in the air but it didn't affect us until much later, temps were around 40 degrees, and the sun was in and out but mostly out. Trail was fairly level and dry to start with then gradually got to a moderate grade where it would stay the rest of the way up. There were some blow-downs here and there but nothing that couldn't be circumvented easily. What was amazing was the amount of moose evidence there was on the trail.....dingleberries
and tracks. This led to my first live view of a moose off the trail about 10-15 yards away! It was smaller than i thought and was took much in shock to capture a picture as it ran away but i still saw one, finally! The snow line started around 3000 feet, but wasn't bad enough to throw on the crampons with the snow being soft and there not being a lot of ice. Wasn't too long though before thay became essential and made things way easier. Once we started walking along the north slope it flattened out but the snow was sloped. That made it harder on the ankles to walk but wasn't too bad and it wasn't long before we hit the bare rocks and could take the crampons off right around the junction with Crawford Path. Here is where the fun began.
We walked to the junction and was greeted by a very strong wind in the 30's sustained and gusts in the 50's we figured. The rest of the way up the slope was all wind and yet fun to experience. The slope had some ice and snow but not much really and we made it up. Luckily the carn up there was huge that we could huddle behind it to stay out of the wind otherwise it would have beena brief stop. We stayed long enough to have our fun with pictures and what not then headed back down to the junction. We found a spot there that was out of the wind and had lunch. A party of 5 other hikers walked by who had gone up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail over Monroe and down Edmand's Path. After that we started down, through the crampons back on and there they remained until we reached the snowline and took them off. I'm so glad i got those, they make things so much easier when it comes to snow/ice. I kept looking around to see if my friend the moose would show again but no such luck. By the time 3:00 rolled around we were back at the parking lot where we met the other hikers we met up top waiting for the rest of their friends to arrive.
Overall, was a great day. Could have been better sure but there is nothing wrong wit ha little wind right? Although it could have been warmer too. I had my warm weather accent of the mountain back in August now i had a cooler accent. Next up is in the heart of winter with blowing snow and not being able to see more than 5 feet ahead of me, lol.
We arrived at the trailhead around 8:45 in the morning and we were off. There was one car in the lot ahead of us but that was all. There was a light breeze in the air but it didn't affect us until much later, temps were around 40 degrees, and the sun was in and out but mostly out. Trail was fairly level and dry to start with then gradually got to a moderate grade where it would stay the rest of the way up. There were some blow-downs here and there but nothing that couldn't be circumvented easily. What was amazing was the amount of moose evidence there was on the trail.....dingleberries
and tracks. This led to my first live view of a moose off the trail about 10-15 yards away! It was smaller than i thought and was took much in shock to capture a picture as it ran away but i still saw one, finally! The snow line started around 3000 feet, but wasn't bad enough to throw on the crampons with the snow being soft and there not being a lot of ice. Wasn't too long though before thay became essential and made things way easier. Once we started walking along the north slope it flattened out but the snow was sloped. That made it harder on the ankles to walk but wasn't too bad and it wasn't long before we hit the bare rocks and could take the crampons off right around the junction with Crawford Path. Here is where the fun began.We walked to the junction and was greeted by a very strong wind in the 30's sustained and gusts in the 50's we figured. The rest of the way up the slope was all wind and yet fun to experience. The slope had some ice and snow but not much really and we made it up. Luckily the carn up there was huge that we could huddle behind it to stay out of the wind otherwise it would have beena brief stop. We stayed long enough to have our fun with pictures and what not then headed back down to the junction. We found a spot there that was out of the wind and had lunch. A party of 5 other hikers walked by who had gone up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail over Monroe and down Edmand's Path. After that we started down, through the crampons back on and there they remained until we reached the snowline and took them off. I'm so glad i got those, they make things so much easier when it comes to snow/ice. I kept looking around to see if my friend the moose would show again but no such luck. By the time 3:00 rolled around we were back at the parking lot where we met the other hikers we met up top waiting for the rest of their friends to arrive.
Overall, was a great day. Could have been better sure but there is nothing wrong wit ha little wind right? Although it could have been warmer too.
I had my warm weather accent of the mountain back in August now i had a cooler accent. Next up is in the heart of winter with blowing snow and not being able to see more than 5 feet ahead of me, lol.
