Tom Rankin
Well-known member
We led a group of 12, starting from the Western end of the Devil's Path. We deliberately left the trail before the col, trying to avoid most of the ledges. This was not entirely successful, as we seemingly had to skirt right a few times when I wanted to go left, but we eventually found a nice herd path that led us straight to the canister. The ammo box is still there, concealed under a few rocks. While it is a memorial to a local man who passed away, it is still in a Wilderness area. Eventually, I decided it was not my place to pack it out ...
On we went towards Sherrill. Well sort of. I started following one of the many herd paths that lead away from the summit. As a wise man once told me "There are 359 wrong ways to leave a summit!"
Well, almost. But I soon realized I was not heading towards Sherrill. I caught a glimpse of a nearby mountain WAY around to my left. So I had veered too far North. I corrected, but the damage was done. We had to side hill for a VERY LONG TIME! North Dome is shaped like a hot dog, and we were walking around it, on the long edge. Eventually we were in the col, and got our bearings back. I found the herd path that leads up thru the rocks and we again walked straight to the canister.
Once again, leaving the summit, I struck out a little too far North, and we sidehilled down a long way. During the descent, it started to sprinkle intermittently several times. I got tired of taking off my poncho and putting it back on and eventually just left it off, as it was warm enough to endure a few sprinkles. Wanting to make sure we were not headed too far off course, I called a halt and we got out GPSs, maps, compasses, and smart phones, and confirmed our position. We were heading towards the car, but a little off the regular line. So we decided to head straight for the car, down more steeply than before. As we were heading towards the dreaded gully that I knew to be in front of us, what should appear but a VERY NICE path! It parallels the stream all the way back to the power lines! It really is an old road, not a path, but it really lifted everyone's moods knowing we were headed directly back to the cars that we had spotted earlier in the day. I think we caught this path around 2000'. I was aware of a road on the other side of the gully, but not this one. Next time, I'm going to follow it up as far as it goes, maybe we can avoid some nettles!
Speaking of plants and animals, we saw zillions of flowers, including Trillium, Trout Lilies, spring beauties so dense they looked like it had snowed, a deer, a grouse, and many other birds. But back to the nettles. I did not see a single nettle plant all day! There were a few patches of pricker bushes. Many places along the route yesterday are THICK with young saplings.
So while I never felt lost today, I did make it a little more interesting for my fellow hikers than I had to, but finding the path was a +1 in my book!
On we went towards Sherrill. Well sort of. I started following one of the many herd paths that lead away from the summit. As a wise man once told me "There are 359 wrong ways to leave a summit!"
Well, almost. But I soon realized I was not heading towards Sherrill. I caught a glimpse of a nearby mountain WAY around to my left. So I had veered too far North. I corrected, but the damage was done. We had to side hill for a VERY LONG TIME! North Dome is shaped like a hot dog, and we were walking around it, on the long edge. Eventually we were in the col, and got our bearings back. I found the herd path that leads up thru the rocks and we again walked straight to the canister. Once again, leaving the summit, I struck out a little too far North, and we sidehilled down a long way. During the descent, it started to sprinkle intermittently several times. I got tired of taking off my poncho and putting it back on and eventually just left it off, as it was warm enough to endure a few sprinkles. Wanting to make sure we were not headed too far off course, I called a halt and we got out GPSs, maps, compasses, and smart phones, and confirmed our position. We were heading towards the car, but a little off the regular line. So we decided to head straight for the car, down more steeply than before. As we were heading towards the dreaded gully that I knew to be in front of us, what should appear but a VERY NICE path!
It parallels the stream all the way back to the power lines! It really is an old road, not a path, but it really lifted everyone's moods knowing we were headed directly back to the cars that we had spotted earlier in the day. I think we caught this path around 2000'. I was aware of a road on the other side of the gully, but not this one. Next time, I'm going to follow it up as far as it goes, maybe we can avoid some nettles! Speaking of plants and animals, we saw zillions of flowers, including Trillium, Trout Lilies, spring beauties so dense they looked like it had snowed, a deer, a grouse, and many other birds. But back to the nettles. I did not see a single nettle plant all day!
There were a few patches of pricker bushes. Many places along the route yesterday are THICK with young saplings.So while I never felt lost today, I did make it a little more interesting for my fellow hikers than I had to, but finding the path was a +1 in my book!
