dom15931
New member
Well since I'm stuck working away and unable to go home for thanksgiving I figured that I'd add two more mountains to my completed list.
Since I am returning to PA in a little over two weeks I have decided on taking out the following mountains beforehand:
Hancocks
Oceolas
Eisenhower and Pierce
Any 4ker
With these I'll have 50 of the NE 108 4000 footers.
I figured I'd get my last two Presi's today.
The drive over wasn't too bad. From Bethlehem on it was a little worse, but not uncomfortable in a front wheel drive car. I was surprised that the Mt Clinton road was still open. The gate beyond the parking area was not closed yet. I got to the parking lot, which was plowed to my surprise, at 930 or so. It was snowing hard at the time and I was the only car there. I left my car around 9:45.
I put my snowshoes on since there was about 6 inches of fresh power right off the parking lot. It was .3 miles to the Crawford Path Junction. Right away I got a a bit nervous about the amount of energy that would be necessary for this hike. No one had been up this path since the snows fell and I knew they would deepen substantially towards the ridgeline. This was the first time I'd ever had to be the first to break trail in the winter, and I will not forget the additonal effort soon. I was wishing I would have gotten a start about an hour earlier by the time I got to the junction.
The Crawford path is very straightforward and uneventful IMO. It's like a Garfield hike in a way, albeit somewhat steeper, but just an uphill walk through the forest to the timberline. From about 3500 ft on the snow was near knee deep and in places almost hip deep. (in the deepest of drifts) I am glad that this trail is used more heavily and better maintained as there where no areas significantly effected by recent downed trees. Also there were few problems with conifers bent over the trail, despite the heavy snow. For a while I took my snowshoes off because of wet areas and clumping snow.
I reached the ridgecrest around 12:45. I grabbed a drink and a snack and bagged Pierce. The winds on Pierce were going pretty good in the 35-50 range. I put my ski googles on for a bit at this point. The ice was not bad at all and the snowshoes were more than adequate. There was no need for crampons.
I headed over to Eisenhower promtly after returning back to the Crawford path at 1:20. Here areas under the timberline had deep snow drifts while the exposed areas had little snow or wind-packed drifts. Halfway there I droped my pack since I would be coming back this way. Strangly the winds became calm. I have never seen it as calm as it was at this elevation before. At times the fog lifted, offering limited views.
The last bit of Eisenhower was a bit tougher because it was steeper. However there were no ice or icefields that merited using crampons once again. This surprised me as I expected that they would be necessary from recent reports. Eisenhower is one of those false summit types and there was a brief streach beyond what I expected would be the summit. The winds remained strangly calm even above the treeline. At the summit the fog moved back in. I took a few pics and didnt stay long as it was already 3 oclock
It appears that I was the only person to summit this peak today!
On the way back to Pierce the skys accually cleard for a bit allowing for a view of the boott spur and most of the surrounding mountains. For a time an undercast developed. It made for a few nice pics as the sun was setting. I made it back to the junction with Pierce at 4:10 stopping only briefly for a quick snack.
I knew I'd be lamplighing a good bit of the way back from here. I sure was glad that some additional groups did Pierce behind me, as this was evident by a packed trail from the juntion down. The footprints were recent and those visable pointed down the mountain. This allowed me to make amazing time. I put on my headlamp 10 minutes after passing the trail juntion that takes you to the hut. I made it there real quick and continued going at a summertime pace. I made it back to my car at a few minutes past 5:30. It was a fun day with weather that was not as bad as I had expected.
Here are some pics. (a few of the fog shots are blurry from moisture on my lens)
http://community.webshots.com/album/510975296lVEiLy
Since I am returning to PA in a little over two weeks I have decided on taking out the following mountains beforehand:
Hancocks
Oceolas
Eisenhower and Pierce
Any 4ker
With these I'll have 50 of the NE 108 4000 footers.
I figured I'd get my last two Presi's today.
The drive over wasn't too bad. From Bethlehem on it was a little worse, but not uncomfortable in a front wheel drive car. I was surprised that the Mt Clinton road was still open. The gate beyond the parking area was not closed yet. I got to the parking lot, which was plowed to my surprise, at 930 or so. It was snowing hard at the time and I was the only car there. I left my car around 9:45.
I put my snowshoes on since there was about 6 inches of fresh power right off the parking lot. It was .3 miles to the Crawford Path Junction. Right away I got a a bit nervous about the amount of energy that would be necessary for this hike. No one had been up this path since the snows fell and I knew they would deepen substantially towards the ridgeline. This was the first time I'd ever had to be the first to break trail in the winter, and I will not forget the additonal effort soon. I was wishing I would have gotten a start about an hour earlier by the time I got to the junction.
The Crawford path is very straightforward and uneventful IMO. It's like a Garfield hike in a way, albeit somewhat steeper, but just an uphill walk through the forest to the timberline. From about 3500 ft on the snow was near knee deep and in places almost hip deep. (in the deepest of drifts) I am glad that this trail is used more heavily and better maintained as there where no areas significantly effected by recent downed trees. Also there were few problems with conifers bent over the trail, despite the heavy snow. For a while I took my snowshoes off because of wet areas and clumping snow.
I reached the ridgecrest around 12:45. I grabbed a drink and a snack and bagged Pierce. The winds on Pierce were going pretty good in the 35-50 range. I put my ski googles on for a bit at this point. The ice was not bad at all and the snowshoes were more than adequate. There was no need for crampons.
I headed over to Eisenhower promtly after returning back to the Crawford path at 1:20. Here areas under the timberline had deep snow drifts while the exposed areas had little snow or wind-packed drifts. Halfway there I droped my pack since I would be coming back this way. Strangly the winds became calm. I have never seen it as calm as it was at this elevation before. At times the fog lifted, offering limited views.
The last bit of Eisenhower was a bit tougher because it was steeper. However there were no ice or icefields that merited using crampons once again. This surprised me as I expected that they would be necessary from recent reports. Eisenhower is one of those false summit types and there was a brief streach beyond what I expected would be the summit. The winds remained strangly calm even above the treeline. At the summit the fog moved back in. I took a few pics and didnt stay long as it was already 3 oclock
It appears that I was the only person to summit this peak today! On the way back to Pierce the skys accually cleard for a bit allowing for a view of the boott spur and most of the surrounding mountains. For a time an undercast developed. It made for a few nice pics as the sun was setting. I made it back to the junction with Pierce at 4:10 stopping only briefly for a quick snack.
I knew I'd be lamplighing a good bit of the way back from here. I sure was glad that some additional groups did Pierce behind me, as this was evident by a packed trail from the juntion down. The footprints were recent and those visable pointed down the mountain. This allowed me to make amazing time. I put on my headlamp 10 minutes after passing the trail juntion that takes you to the hut. I made it there real quick and continued going at a summertime pace. I made it back to my car at a few minutes past 5:30. It was a fun day with weather that was not as bad as I had expected.
Here are some pics. (a few of the fog shots are blurry from moisture on my lens)
http://community.webshots.com/album/510975296lVEiLy
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