MarkL
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2003
- Messages
- 257
- Reaction score
- 31
First time on Lowe's Path. Well packed and barebootable, From the map, it looked like taking the Link trail to the Israel Ridge Tr. would be the shortest route. However, when I got to the Link Tr. jct, it hadn't been used for a while, and a short test walk revealed a crust that sometimes supported me, but mostly didn't. I continued barebooting until about 10 minutes below the "log cabin". From there on I wore crampons. I took the Randolph Path, which had slightly snowed-over tracks. It was quite firm. At the jct. with the Perch Tr., I opted to stay with the Randolph Path, despite a few inches of fluff hiding any signs of tracks. The RP continued to be firmly packed under that new powder. Just before the jct. w/ Israel Ridge Path, the trail went up a hard crusted slope, and I wished I'd gotten around to sharpening my crampons . It wasn't bad, but I just had to remember to kick down. From there on, I was following the fresh tracks of a group of 4 which I'd seen above me earlier. They were on their way back from Mt. Jefferson, and I never met them. Following their tracks to Edmunds Col and up, everything was either well packed or hard/icy crust. Here and there it was again necessary to kick down for bite. Sometimes no tracks were visible for a few yards, which raised the question, how will I find my way back? So I kept looking back at where I'd come from so I'd have a general idea of where to head. On the way up from Edmunds Col, I continured keeping an eye out for any approaching weather. It didn't look threatening, but I with the Presis' reputation for rapid weather change, I wasn't consoled. What to do if visibility disappeared? There is no rule of down corresponding to the Rule of UP. So I took a bearing on the summit and left it on the compass just in case. In the end, no weather moved in at all.
--CRAMPONS required. Snowshoes not. I used poles. Maybe without poles one would want an ice ax.
Plan A that day was for N and M Tripyramids. The night before I had called the Mt. W. observatory weather phone, and the forecast was for very nasty wind chills. But it was so nice that morning that I called again. Forecast was now for wind chills of zero to -10F. I could deal with that, so I decided on Jefferson. Starting at 12:25PM, I wished I'd brought shorts for the first hour or so of hiking! At the top, temps were mild and there was very little breeze! I put on my parka before the summit, but never put on wind pants. I had lucked out weatherwise in January when I did Adams adn Madison, but this day was even milder! Woohooo!
To whoever picked up a snowshoe and hung it along the trail: I carried it down and brought it into Lowe's Store. Someone had already called about it and the Lowes had their number, so it will get back to its home.
--CRAMPONS required. Snowshoes not. I used poles. Maybe without poles one would want an ice ax.
Plan A that day was for N and M Tripyramids. The night before I had called the Mt. W. observatory weather phone, and the forecast was for very nasty wind chills. But it was so nice that morning that I called again. Forecast was now for wind chills of zero to -10F. I could deal with that, so I decided on Jefferson. Starting at 12:25PM, I wished I'd brought shorts for the first hour or so of hiking! At the top, temps were mild and there was very little breeze! I put on my parka before the summit, but never put on wind pants. I had lucked out weatherwise in January when I did Adams adn Madison, but this day was even milder! Woohooo!
To whoever picked up a snowshoe and hung it along the trail: I carried it down and brought it into Lowe's Store. Someone had already called about it and the Lowes had their number, so it will get back to its home.
