DSettahr
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- Apr 23, 2005
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Knocked off two more peaks in my quest to finish the Winter 46 yesterday. These are some of the more remote ones I've day hiked, and it certainly was a long day- took me pretty much 12 hours exactly from when I left the parking lot to when I returned.
Started at Upper Works, and took the Calamity trail into Flowed Lands. The new reroute is pretty good- the extra distance is hardly noticeable. There's one short section that doesn't look like it'd be all that conducive to skiing, but overall, a nice new section of trail. I also noticed 2 designated campsites along the way that I didn't remember being there before (although it's been probably close to 3 years since I last hiked this trail). One was across Calamity Brook where the second bridge used to be (you can still see the sign for it across the stream), and the other was midway between the former second bridge and what used to be the third bridge but is now the first bridge. These campsites certainly make a great alternative to hiking all the way into Flowed Lands for those who arrive late to the trailhead or are unwilling to carry overnight gear that far.
Water seemed much lower at Calamity Pond than I remember it being- the beavers must've moved elsewhere. I passed an overnight hiker headed out at Calamity Pond, the only person I would see all day.
Flowed lands was as beautiful as ever- looked like it had been full of people during the weekend, but was empty today. Quickly made my way to Lake Colden, and started up the Opalescent River trail.
Did Redfield first from the Uphill Brook lean-to... took about 1.5 hours from the lean-to to the summit, and 1 hour to return. No views at all from the summit- completely socked in with clouds, although it looked like the sun was trying to shine through. Everything was covered in snow and ice, very pretty.
Next up was Cliff- also took about 1.5 hours from the lean-to, and 1 hour to return. I'd been expecting ice on Cliff since it's steeper than Redfield, and I wasn't disappointed. There were probably about 4 or 5 icy pitches... plenty of hand holds, though, and I was able to make it up in snowshoes without any problems. I do apologize to anyone who climbs Cliff before the next major snowfall, though- on the descent, I took most of the snow down these pitches with me. :evil:
As I climbed Cliff, the skies started to clear up, and I was treated to some amazing views on the ascent, and from the false summit. The MacIntyres, Colden, Gray, Marcy, Skylight, and Redfield of course dominated the views. At times I could see Phelps and Whiteface to the North, as well as North River Mountain to the south. Definitely I think the best views I've had on any of the three times I've climbed Cliff.
The descent from Uphill went quickly, and I reached Flowed Lands right at dusk. Decided to try walking across Flowed Lands... some loud cracks in the ice convinced me to stick close to the shore. The ice definitely isn't very thick yet... Returned to the Calamity lean-to right as it got too dark to see without a headlamp, and began the long hike back to the trailhead. Fortunately it was mostly downhill.
Snow depths varied considerably- there was about 2-3 inches at the trailhead, maybe 4 or 5 inches at Flowed Lands and Lake Colden, close to 7 or 8 inches at Uphill, and nearly 2 feet on the summit of Redfield. Wore microspikes to the Uphill Lean-to, and snowshoes from then on. Snowshoes were definitely needed above Uphill (which is at approximately 3300 feet of elevation)- I made it about 10 feet down the herd path before I decided to put them on.
Both herd paths are pretty well packed out, especially after my hike- there was no worries over losing the path whatsoever. Some blowdowns here and there that I had to crawl under or over, but nothing major- the Cliff path especially is still in much better shape than it was 5 years ago.
Overall, a great hike even if it was a long one. 40 winter peaks down, 6 to go! Next up: Gray and Skylight.
