amstony
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- Apr 24, 2004
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Stevehiker and I headed over to Vermont to do some more peaks on the NE Hundred Highest list. After coordinating late Friday night, we agreed we'd do Mt. Equinox near Manchester, VT and meet at 6:30 AM at the park and ride in Bow, NH. As we drove through NH we could see the snow on the peaks and and as we heaeded into VT and started gaining elevation it was easy to see the plows had been out during the week, and all the visible peaks had some snow.
Upon arriving in Manchester center, we were greeted by numerous fire trucks and police cars blocking roads and diverting traffic. In the distance we could see a major fire in progress. After spending some time winding around the fire zone we finally arrived at the Burr and Burton School parking lot at 9:10. We loaded up, put on the boots and headed up the well marked trail at 9:20 AM. It was easy going for awhile, and we met a trailrunner salong the way who warned us of heavy snow up ahead on the trail and that he had turned back due to the snow depths. But he figured we'd be Ok since we were ready for it with the right gear.
We made good time and at about 1500 foot elevation we started seeing the snow. As we gained elevation it became deeper and there were many blowdowns and snow weighted trees blocking our path. We continued on up and went through some snow up to 2-3 foot deep, some of it up to our waist near the summit. Due to all the blowdowns we'd had to go off trail at some points and then make sure we were heading in the right direction. Blazes were useful but not reliable since many of the down trees were found to have a blue blaze or were covered by the snow.
You also could not reliably follow other persons tracks since several just "petered out" and went nowhere. Upon reaching the area below the summit where the first antenna shack is located the snow was deeper, and temps were at 20 degrees. Rime ice covered the antennas and we joked about being on Mt Washington........
having seen the recent rime ice pictures.....
Upon reaching the summit we explored it for a few minutes, maybe 10 minutes at most. Due to the wind and cold we decided to head on down after the customary summit pics. However, not before buying a nice ice cold Coke from the coke machine....
Then it was on down to the trailhead. The trip down was much faster and we made a small loop out of it, coming down through a subdivision and heading over to the school lot. We arrived back at 2:15PM. All in all a great hike, lots of snow and challenges all along the trail. #69 onthe NEHH list for me and # 77 for Stevehiker. Next stop probably will be Dorset in the same area.
Upon arriving in Manchester center, we were greeted by numerous fire trucks and police cars blocking roads and diverting traffic. In the distance we could see a major fire in progress. After spending some time winding around the fire zone we finally arrived at the Burr and Burton School parking lot at 9:10. We loaded up, put on the boots and headed up the well marked trail at 9:20 AM. It was easy going for awhile, and we met a trailrunner salong the way who warned us of heavy snow up ahead on the trail and that he had turned back due to the snow depths. But he figured we'd be Ok since we were ready for it with the right gear.
We made good time and at about 1500 foot elevation we started seeing the snow. As we gained elevation it became deeper and there were many blowdowns and snow weighted trees blocking our path. We continued on up and went through some snow up to 2-3 foot deep, some of it up to our waist near the summit. Due to all the blowdowns we'd had to go off trail at some points and then make sure we were heading in the right direction. Blazes were useful but not reliable since many of the down trees were found to have a blue blaze or were covered by the snow.
You also could not reliably follow other persons tracks since several just "petered out" and went nowhere. Upon reaching the area below the summit where the first antenna shack is located the snow was deeper, and temps were at 20 degrees. Rime ice covered the antennas and we joked about being on Mt Washington........
having seen the recent rime ice pictures.....Upon reaching the summit we explored it for a few minutes, maybe 10 minutes at most. Due to the wind and cold we decided to head on down after the customary summit pics. However, not before buying a nice ice cold Coke from the
coke machine....Then it was on down to the trailhead. The trip down was much faster and we made a small loop out of it, coming down through a subdivision and heading over to the school lot. We arrived back at 2:15PM. All in all a great hike, lots of snow and challenges all along the trail. #69 onthe NEHH list for me and # 77 for Stevehiker. Next stop probably will be Dorset in the same area.
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