amstony
New member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2004
- Messages
- 732
- Reaction score
- 142
Poison Ivy and i decided to hike Pico Peak in Vermont today, one of the NE 100 Highest. We had thought about Breadloaf and Wilson, but with the diminishing daylight and potential of ice problems at the higher elevations we decided one peak was enough. So at 7:00 AM poison Ivy left her car at my house, and we continued on from Nashua with one car. Since I'd located the trailhead returning from a previous hike we knew where we were going. The ride out was great, clear skies and cool temps promised a great day. At 9:28 we left out of the trailhead and headed up the blue blazed (some white- old AT route) Sherburne Pass trail to Pico. Initially, the trail was ok, patches of ice here and there, some mud. After about the first 3/4 miles, we left the mud behind and the trail was pretty well covered in ice and 1/2" of snow. Amy took some great shots of some of the streams, and through the trees we could glimpse the summit of Pico. The ice was ocassionally difficult, but not a major issue. We just took our time and headed up!
At the 2.0 mile mark, where the trail left the woods and joinred a ski trail is where things became "interesting"- but the views north from this point were awesome. It was your basic "sheet of ice" from the ski trail and then back into the woods. This part of the trail made us think we were back in the Whites: very rough, very icy, very slow and very deliberate going. This continued till we came up to the Pico Shelter at 2.5 miles. We stopped and checked the shelter (no one home
) and decided to eat there on the return from Pico Peak summit. Now it was onto the Pico Link trail and things got even more interesting. It was basically a solid sheet of thick ice, but we decided not to use stabilcers or yak Tracks. At this point it was still "OK". This 4/10 of mile link seemed to take forever. Very icy and very steep going. In milder weather this would be a breeze, not today. By staying slightly off the trail at certain points and ocassionally following the footsteps of other hikers, the ice was bypassed in the most dangerous spots. This took awhile, and at 1138 AM we finally made it to the summit. The views were fantastic from here. Killington was awesome, and further south Bromley and Stratton were clear as could be!!
The temp was 25 degrees with light winds. We took more photo's and at 11:55 lunch was in order. Prior to leaving the summit Poison Ivy put on her yack tracks and put on my stabilicers. We were concerned about the descent, but it actually was pretty simple with the ice gear on our feet. We butt slided at one point, more for fun then anything else, and in about 25 minutes we were back at Pico camp. We ate lunch, had hot tea and hot chocolate, and at 1230 began the descent. In the intervening time some of the trail had melted at the lower elevations and we arrived back at the trailhead at 2:00 PM.
Then we had something to eat (again....) at the Inn at the Long Trail (highly recommend it) and at 3:00 we headed back to NH. It is absolutely that time of year where you need most of your stuff. Both of us had crampons along, although we used Yak tracks and stabilicers instead. I used my 3 season boots, even though I had my Koflachs in the trunk. From this point on my 3 seasons will go into the closet until next Spring.
A great hike with great views, super weather and a fun partner. This was # 56 for both us on the 100 highest list. Elevation gain is 1,810 feet and 5.8 miles round trip. Poison Ivy will post pics later........
