WildPeaks
New member
Yes, It was as good as it sounds.
There is nothing better after a great winter than an early Spring Bushwhack. The only problem was, the warmer conditions from last weekend.
Pucknuts (Bill) & I look forward to this every year. You get to sharpen your navigation skills & have lots of laughs, with no pressure. (other than getting lost) The snowpack is still pretty good but the temps are up. A blessing & curse, all rolled into one.
We looked at parking on the Kanc. as a possible direct route from the South, but found no safe area to park. So we headed to our default start, the lot at the Hairpin turn & headed down the HN trail. That went quick until we hit the section after the CB trail. The snowshoes went on from then on.
From there we pretty much headed to the Height of the Land, lining up a route on the North face. After a guess, we knew it came down to "let's do it" or you can guess forever. Wherever we approached steep overhanging cliffs, we just zagged back a little. Yes, it was definitely steep, but you could switch back to a less direct, steep, route. Being the North side, there is still plenty of snow up there. Actually plenty everywhere up there! Bill found one hole that seemed bottomless. Yes, he was the king of traps for the day! Congrats Bill!
After the steep area it was a little easier but some of it was thick. Not too far after, we gained the ridge & there it was: Your reward, A CANISTER. Never thought a few pieces of PVC plumbing pipe, glued together, would be so inviting, unless you had to.................never mind.
Bill signed in, enjoyed the moment, a few laughs and more food
Then it was time to look at South? Huntington.
At the time, things were getting softer as the sun was back out & it was a very steep, thick, drop off & it looked like it was going to take a while.
Nah, let's go. So off we went. It did drop off & was steep, Oh, & yes, Bill was swallowed up several times. But it leveled off quickly & opened up to a nice firmer area. That lasted til we got half way up to South. Then it got real thick & the Fur Traps, (not spruce over here) were hungry again.
Well very soon another CANISTER appeared. A 2 for, day
One thing we noticed was the lack of a "Moose Den", like we saw just off the ridge of Mt Kanc. Was expecting to see it in a remote area like this.??
Heading back to Huntington was real quick, as was the other side to the top of the steep section. This is where I hate snowshoes. Going down steep stuff on the "Toboggans". My right boot actually broke out of the binding, a first, so I took them off. It was safer, but I was postholing real bad & wondering; if it was broke, how long was it going to take to get out of here.
After waaaay too much of that pain, I figured, I'll try to fix it when we reach the normally steep stuff. Thankfully, it just pulled out of the strap. and a good thing, cause the snow was really soft now.
The rest of the day was just the usual "exchanging recipes" to the TH.
All in all, another great, enjoyable day with Bill.
There is nothing better after a great winter than an early Spring Bushwhack. The only problem was, the warmer conditions from last weekend.
Pucknuts (Bill) & I look forward to this every year. You get to sharpen your navigation skills & have lots of laughs, with no pressure. (other than getting lost) The snowpack is still pretty good but the temps are up. A blessing & curse, all rolled into one.
We looked at parking on the Kanc. as a possible direct route from the South, but found no safe area to park. So we headed to our default start, the lot at the Hairpin turn & headed down the HN trail. That went quick until we hit the section after the CB trail. The snowshoes went on from then on.
From there we pretty much headed to the Height of the Land, lining up a route on the North face. After a guess, we knew it came down to "let's do it" or you can guess forever. Wherever we approached steep overhanging cliffs, we just zagged back a little. Yes, it was definitely steep, but you could switch back to a less direct, steep, route. Being the North side, there is still plenty of snow up there. Actually plenty everywhere up there! Bill found one hole that seemed bottomless. Yes, he was the king of traps for the day! Congrats Bill!
After the steep area it was a little easier but some of it was thick. Not too far after, we gained the ridge & there it was: Your reward, A CANISTER. Never thought a few pieces of PVC plumbing pipe, glued together, would be so inviting, unless you had to.................never mind.
Bill signed in, enjoyed the moment, a few laughs and more food
Then it was time to look at South? Huntington.
At the time, things were getting softer as the sun was back out & it was a very steep, thick, drop off & it looked like it was going to take a while.
Nah, let's go. So off we went. It did drop off & was steep, Oh, & yes, Bill was swallowed up several times. But it leveled off quickly & opened up to a nice firmer area. That lasted til we got half way up to South. Then it got real thick & the Fur Traps, (not spruce over here) were hungry again.
Well very soon another CANISTER appeared. A 2 for, day
One thing we noticed was the lack of a "Moose Den", like we saw just off the ridge of Mt Kanc. Was expecting to see it in a remote area like this.??
Heading back to Huntington was real quick, as was the other side to the top of the steep section. This is where I hate snowshoes. Going down steep stuff on the "Toboggans". My right boot actually broke out of the binding, a first,
so I took them off. It was safer, but I was postholing real bad & wondering; if it was broke, how long was it going to take to get out of here.After waaaay too much of that pain, I figured, I'll try to fix it when we reach the normally steep stuff. Thankfully, it just pulled out of the strap. and a good thing, cause the snow was really soft now.
The rest of the day was just the usual "exchanging recipes" to the TH.
All in all, another great, enjoyable day with Bill.
