docross
In Memoriam to a Deceased Member
Hiker Doc, Anita, Fred and I planned to do West and Middle Long yesterday, but when we arrived at the Stark Village Inn (very nice accommodation 
), Post'r Boy and the Human Moose were there waiting for us.
No way, they said, that the six of us were going to be able to do a 13 mile round-trip whack with 2 new feet of unconsolidated powder on the ground and trees. Plus, one of PB's snowshoes had developed a problem.
We went back and forth, and the upshot, before we all headed to bed Saturday night, was to try for another peak. Unfortunately, none of us had thought to bring multiple topos for all possible peaks, so it looked as if it was going to be up to my GPSr to guide us!
After a wonderful and filling breakfast, the proprietor Nancy sent us on our way. We headed for the little settlement of Bungy (didn't see any of the namesake cords or jumpers about, though), and roughed out a route using the Delorme Gazeteer. I had entered waypoints for all the NH 100 highest and a lot of the 3000 footers into the GPSr, so....we just started walking.
We needed the snowshoes from the get-go, and luckily PB's shoes held together. The first mile and a half were through nice open woods, but following our bearing it became clear we were going to have to gain and lose elevation en route. Not ideal, but do-able.
It wasn't long before we needed to layer up with Gore-tex to push through heavily snow-laden conifers. There was some pretty gnarly stuff as we came down into Gadwah Notch; we followed the Cohos trail for a while, then branched off it toward the summit. Because of an intervening shoulder pointing to the northwest, we actually couldn't see the summit from the notch.
We continued up the slope of Muise, and in some places hit fairly steep terrain. Once again my MSR Lightning Ascents proved their worth, as the crampons got good purchase on the crusty stuff 2 feet below the powder. Luckily the vegetation wasn't too bad, just average for a NH whack, but we had a little problem finding the register, because the summit is flat with several bumps. Eventually Hiker Doc and Human Moose located it, and we signed in gratefully.
None of us were looking forward to the 600 foot elevation climb on the other side of Gadwah Notch, but we also weren't going to start breaking new trail. The descent into the notch was very rapid, the push through the gnarlsome stuff easier than expected, since no navigation was involved, and Hey! just do it!, we climbed up the 600 feet, by which time we were within a mile and a half of the cars.
We left the cars at 8:35, returned about 5; the GPSr recorded 4000 feet of elevation gain, with the highest elevation of 3660 (this is not what the official elevation of Muise has been reported). Times: 5 hours moving, just under 4 hours of not moving, which is good for a bushwhack, where usually moving and stopped times are equal. Oh the distance: 9.6 miles round trip, which left all of us Flatlanders feeling refreshed for the 3+ hour drive home to the Lands of No Snow.
I will post a GPSr track on my website:
http://community.webshots.com/user/docross2243
Fred's photos are on his site: www.mv.com/ipusers/fs/muise.html.
Moral of the story, if it needs one: bring all your topos with you, since you may have to go to Plan B, C or J.
), Post'r Boy and the Human Moose were there waiting for us.No way, they said, that the six of us were going to be able to do a 13 mile round-trip whack with 2 new feet of unconsolidated powder on the ground and trees. Plus, one of PB's snowshoes had developed a problem.
We went back and forth, and the upshot, before we all headed to bed Saturday night, was to try for another peak. Unfortunately, none of us had thought to bring multiple topos for all possible peaks, so it looked as if it was going to be up to my GPSr to guide us!
After a wonderful and filling breakfast, the proprietor Nancy sent us on our way. We headed for the little settlement of Bungy (didn't see any of the namesake cords or jumpers about, though), and roughed out a route using the Delorme Gazeteer. I had entered waypoints for all the NH 100 highest and a lot of the 3000 footers into the GPSr, so....we just started walking.
We needed the snowshoes from the get-go, and luckily PB's shoes held together. The first mile and a half were through nice open woods, but following our bearing it became clear we were going to have to gain and lose elevation en route. Not ideal, but do-able.
It wasn't long before we needed to layer up with Gore-tex to push through heavily snow-laden conifers. There was some pretty gnarly stuff as we came down into Gadwah Notch; we followed the Cohos trail for a while, then branched off it toward the summit. Because of an intervening shoulder pointing to the northwest, we actually couldn't see the summit from the notch.
We continued up the slope of Muise, and in some places hit fairly steep terrain. Once again my MSR Lightning Ascents proved their worth, as the crampons got good purchase on the crusty stuff 2 feet below the powder. Luckily the vegetation wasn't too bad, just average for a NH whack, but we had a little problem finding the register, because the summit is flat with several bumps. Eventually Hiker Doc and Human Moose located it, and we signed in gratefully.
None of us were looking forward to the 600 foot elevation climb on the other side of Gadwah Notch, but we also weren't going to start breaking new trail. The descent into the notch was very rapid, the push through the gnarlsome stuff easier than expected, since no navigation was involved, and Hey! just do it!, we climbed up the 600 feet, by which time we were within a mile and a half of the cars.
We left the cars at 8:35, returned about 5; the GPSr recorded 4000 feet of elevation gain, with the highest elevation of 3660 (this is not what the official elevation of Muise has been reported). Times: 5 hours moving, just under 4 hours of not moving, which is good for a bushwhack, where usually moving and stopped times are equal. Oh the distance: 9.6 miles round trip, which left all of us Flatlanders feeling refreshed for the 3+ hour drive home to the Lands of No Snow.
I will post a GPSr track on my website:
http://community.webshots.com/user/docross2243
Fred's photos are on his site: www.mv.com/ipusers/fs/muise.html.
Moral of the story, if it needs one: bring all your topos with you, since you may have to go to Plan B, C or J.
Last edited:
![Yellowstone National Park [Map Pack Bundle] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51kGuJ72qjL._SL500_.jpg)
![Grand Teton Day Hikes and National Park Map [Map Pack Bundle] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DB0jvRnbL._SL500_.jpg)
