michael
New member
February 21-24 'Sowdy Field BSP.
Day 1 - a quick 3 hour jaunt in on the well packed Williams Pond Rd. Clear skies and little breeze. Great views of North Brother and other peaks of the Cross Range on our approach. We followed snowshoe tracks to just about the Williams Pond area and then they stopped - perhaps the occupants of the previous weekend bailed after/during/before the rain? We had to don snowshoes for the last mile or so. Would this foretell of an upacked trail up to North Brother? Finished our day with Brautwurst and beans plus a mini keg of Gritty's Pub Style.
Day 2 - at 4:42AM the temperature outside was -20F...the early start was rejected and plan b was to check things out at 6AM...at 8:45 the temp was 0 degrees and the mood was optimistic. We head out around 10AM for who knew? The Cirque? The upper Junction of Coe Trail? Once we got into the woods we knew that conditions were ripe for a Fort push but not today. We all caught up to each other at the Cirque whose upper reaches were adorned with a blue green ice and heavy with snow. There we ate lunch had a small fire and enjoyed the snow that was beginning to fall. We head back around 3:30 arriving past nightfall. The Jotul was simmering in no time and the food and grog flowed until lights out at 9.
Day 3 - the intermittemt squalls left only a trace and the air was a wee bit warmer than Thursday night. We set out around 6AM for Fort Mountain. The trail was well packed and we made good time to the Cirque arriving around 9:30AM. The skies were clear to start but a series of squalls harrassed us as we ascended the ridge to the upper Junction. This section of trail though steep and holding at least 2 feet more snow than last year, did not slow us down this year as the snowpack was relatively firm and not too icy underneath. Great views down into the cirque as the snowpack was 4-5 feet along most sections here and you could see over the treetops that line the trail in summer. Cruising along I missed the junction sign but only because it was buried in snow. We re-grouped at the junction, ate drank, burned incense, said a prayer or chanted some incantation to otherwise wish us well. North Brother was only .8 miles away, but it was here last year that we spent a grueling 3 hours wallowing in powder up to our chests. This year was a big difference. We found no such snow conditions this year and enjoyed an unbroken but nevertheless hardened snowpack to the summit of North Brother. Fort was hidden in the clouds at first, we knew it was roughly 80 degrees from North Brother so we started down into the saddle between North Brother and Fort following the first couple of cairns... In between squalls we caught site of Fort and it was pretty much a matter of picking 'em up and putting 'em down making our way through a fairly open forest to the rocky upper slopes of Fort. We hit the summit around 1:15 or so..One spruce trap swallowed me up to my chest but otherwise the easiest trek across the saddle I've ever done (3rd time here). The snow pack was so deep you could literally walk across all that blowdown and scrub you otherwise encounter ( uneless you are blind and cannot see the tread path in the non snowy months).
Great day out in the wilds. 8+ miles to go...up and over North Brother and catching some awesome views along the cross range we made it off the mountain and back to the cabin by 7:05PM walking the road in the fading twilight without headlamp.
Deleriously consumed cold beer and hot food and listened to coyotes howl in the distance.
Day 4 - no broken bones but sore muscles and bad gas make for an early rise and general cabin dwell as we prepared for departure. -8 at 7AM.
The trek along Williams Pond Rd was quick and we paused for a snack and a beer about halfway along, North Brother still visible in the distance.
should have some pics at some point.
Day 1 - a quick 3 hour jaunt in on the well packed Williams Pond Rd. Clear skies and little breeze. Great views of North Brother and other peaks of the Cross Range on our approach. We followed snowshoe tracks to just about the Williams Pond area and then they stopped - perhaps the occupants of the previous weekend bailed after/during/before the rain? We had to don snowshoes for the last mile or so. Would this foretell of an upacked trail up to North Brother? Finished our day with Brautwurst and beans plus a mini keg of Gritty's Pub Style.
Day 2 - at 4:42AM the temperature outside was -20F...the early start was rejected and plan b was to check things out at 6AM...at 8:45 the temp was 0 degrees and the mood was optimistic. We head out around 10AM for who knew? The Cirque? The upper Junction of Coe Trail? Once we got into the woods we knew that conditions were ripe for a Fort push but not today. We all caught up to each other at the Cirque whose upper reaches were adorned with a blue green ice and heavy with snow. There we ate lunch had a small fire and enjoyed the snow that was beginning to fall. We head back around 3:30 arriving past nightfall. The Jotul was simmering in no time and the food and grog flowed until lights out at 9.
Day 3 - the intermittemt squalls left only a trace and the air was a wee bit warmer than Thursday night. We set out around 6AM for Fort Mountain. The trail was well packed and we made good time to the Cirque arriving around 9:30AM. The skies were clear to start but a series of squalls harrassed us as we ascended the ridge to the upper Junction. This section of trail though steep and holding at least 2 feet more snow than last year, did not slow us down this year as the snowpack was relatively firm and not too icy underneath. Great views down into the cirque as the snowpack was 4-5 feet along most sections here and you could see over the treetops that line the trail in summer. Cruising along I missed the junction sign but only because it was buried in snow. We re-grouped at the junction, ate drank, burned incense, said a prayer or chanted some incantation to otherwise wish us well. North Brother was only .8 miles away, but it was here last year that we spent a grueling 3 hours wallowing in powder up to our chests. This year was a big difference. We found no such snow conditions this year and enjoyed an unbroken but nevertheless hardened snowpack to the summit of North Brother. Fort was hidden in the clouds at first, we knew it was roughly 80 degrees from North Brother so we started down into the saddle between North Brother and Fort following the first couple of cairns... In between squalls we caught site of Fort and it was pretty much a matter of picking 'em up and putting 'em down making our way through a fairly open forest to the rocky upper slopes of Fort. We hit the summit around 1:15 or so..One spruce trap swallowed me up to my chest but otherwise the easiest trek across the saddle I've ever done (3rd time here). The snow pack was so deep you could literally walk across all that blowdown and scrub you otherwise encounter ( uneless you are blind and cannot see the tread path in the non snowy months).
Great day out in the wilds. 8+ miles to go...up and over North Brother and catching some awesome views along the cross range we made it off the mountain and back to the cabin by 7:05PM walking the road in the fading twilight without headlamp.
Deleriously consumed cold beer and hot food and listened to coyotes howl in the distance.
Day 4 - no broken bones but sore muscles and bad gas make for an early rise and general cabin dwell as we prepared for departure. -8 at 7AM.
The trek along Williams Pond Rd was quick and we paused for a snack and a beer about halfway along, North Brother still visible in the distance.
should have some pics at some point.
