rhihn
New member
Panther Mt.
In the midst of all of the rain, sleet, and temperature fluctuations, we managed to find a window of nice weather on a day when the three…er, four of us (sorry Bookah) could hike. Tuesday’s temps hovered close to 40 on a virtually cloudless day with no wind as we set out for Panther, our last required winter climb, and #38 of 39 climbs. In line with several recent trip reports on various peaks, the day would require several changes in footgear. We started barebooting at the Winnisook property boundary (hiking entirely on state land), climbing steeply a few hundred yards on several inches of snow to the easement road. Taking this route nets a savings of c. 400 feet of climbing on the marked trail. Morning temps allowed us to walk without punching through, yet without an icy surface to slip on. The near horizontal road alternated patches of bare ground and ice with a couple of inches of snow. Tire treads ran the entire length of the road (perhaps from the rescue mentioned on another thread). There was also evidence of very recent blowdown clearing.
At the junction with the marked trail we encountered a virtual sea of ice leading down, confirming that we made a good choice of routes. Still barebooting, we crossed the stream and made our way up to the beginning of the final climb. Largely with Bookah in mind, we opted to bushwhack around the ledges to the col between G. L. and Panther. The woods were beautiful, and afforded a new perspective on the ledges. The morning sun forced us into snowshoes in order to avoid punching through the 1-2 feet of snow.
We stayed in snowshoes all the way to the summit. From the col, conditions varied from dry ground to snowpacked, with short ice flows. Our snowshoe crampons generally worked well, and there were many dry workarounds when needed. After a leisurely lunch on the sunny summit rock, we headed back, still in snowshoes. Once at the steeper sections, we switched to microspikes, which worked well. Retracing our steps, we again skirted the G.L. where we quickly switched back to snowshoes. Once back on the trail, we again went back to microspikes, which we kept on all the way to the car.
Conditions seem to change by the hour down there, and the coming rain/snow this week will change things further. A beautiful time of year to hike, but an awkward one.
We hope to finish the Cat3500 on Eagle within the coming weeks.
Pictures will follow soon.
Dick
In the midst of all of the rain, sleet, and temperature fluctuations, we managed to find a window of nice weather on a day when the three…er, four of us (sorry Bookah) could hike. Tuesday’s temps hovered close to 40 on a virtually cloudless day with no wind as we set out for Panther, our last required winter climb, and #38 of 39 climbs. In line with several recent trip reports on various peaks, the day would require several changes in footgear. We started barebooting at the Winnisook property boundary (hiking entirely on state land), climbing steeply a few hundred yards on several inches of snow to the easement road. Taking this route nets a savings of c. 400 feet of climbing on the marked trail. Morning temps allowed us to walk without punching through, yet without an icy surface to slip on. The near horizontal road alternated patches of bare ground and ice with a couple of inches of snow. Tire treads ran the entire length of the road (perhaps from the rescue mentioned on another thread). There was also evidence of very recent blowdown clearing.
At the junction with the marked trail we encountered a virtual sea of ice leading down, confirming that we made a good choice of routes. Still barebooting, we crossed the stream and made our way up to the beginning of the final climb. Largely with Bookah in mind, we opted to bushwhack around the ledges to the col between G. L. and Panther. The woods were beautiful, and afforded a new perspective on the ledges. The morning sun forced us into snowshoes in order to avoid punching through the 1-2 feet of snow.
We stayed in snowshoes all the way to the summit. From the col, conditions varied from dry ground to snowpacked, with short ice flows. Our snowshoe crampons generally worked well, and there were many dry workarounds when needed. After a leisurely lunch on the sunny summit rock, we headed back, still in snowshoes. Once at the steeper sections, we switched to microspikes, which worked well. Retracing our steps, we again skirted the G.L. where we quickly switched back to snowshoes. Once back on the trail, we again went back to microspikes, which we kept on all the way to the car.
Conditions seem to change by the hour down there, and the coming rain/snow this week will change things further. A beautiful time of year to hike, but an awkward one.
We hope to finish the Cat3500 on Eagle within the coming weeks.
Pictures will follow soon.
Dick
- hadda do that, guys).
