BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 26, 2005: Tecumseh
UNFROZENCAVEMAN (aka Steven) pulled into the driveway a little after 7:00am to start a few days of hiking. We both decided to take some time off between Christmas and New Year day to hike. Tecumseh would be the first of our Winter 4000 Footer hiking. The forecast was for a wet day – rain and freezing rain. The hike was a short one and we decided to move ahead with our plan. We headed to Tecumseh, arriving at the ski area parking approximately 9:30am. The trail was in great shape. We stopped at the summit for a quick snack, a couple pictures, and headed back down. Approximately one third of the way down a woman passed us running up the trail on snowshoes. At this particular place we could see her from a good distance as she approached. We could also follow her for quite a distance after passing. She said hello on the way by but never changed her pace. Impressive! We continued down at a brisk pace since the weather continued to deteriorate. At roughly two thirds the way out, the woman on showshoes again passed us still running with no signs of slowing down – still impressive. This was the high point of the day.
December 27, 2005: Flume – Liberty (aborted)
The plan was to hike the Whitehouse Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, and Franconia Ridge Trail, round trip passing to the summits of Mounts Liberty and Flume. The snow conditions were soft and wet, which also made for some slippery conditions. I decided to bare boot the hike – a mistake. The footing was bad enough to require a significant amount of extra effort with each step to guard against a fall due to the slipping and sliding. Over time this proved to be tiring. In fact, by the time we reached the Liberty Spring Tentsite – mid afternoon - I was out of gas. It seemed clear to me we would be unable to finish the hike in a reasonable time frame and elected to turn back. We would try again on another day.
December 28, 2005: Lincoln, Lafayette
While preparing for the hike I noticed a few other hikers leaving the parking area. The hiking conditions were better than the day before but everybody was starting with either crampons or snowshoes. Assuming they couldn’t all be wrong, early into the hike the traction aids went on. We were hiking the Falling Waters Trail and went for the crampons just before the trail started the steep climb. Some may consider it overkill but they did the job. This was the first experience with crampons for both Steve and myself. We had a great time. They stayed on up to the Franconia Ridge Trail, to the summit of Lincoln and Lafayette, and back down to the parking area.
It seems to me that the crampons were the main difference between this hike and the aborted one from the day before. I’ll certainly be a little more eager to move to a traction aid in the future.
There were quite a few people out for this hike but most were going up the Old Bridle Path and down the Falling Waters Trail – reverse of our approach.
December 29, 2005: Hancocks (North & South)
This hike followed the Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, and Hancock Loop. We bare booted the hike to the split on the Hancock Loop Trail where we went for the crampons. Up the south branch and soon after reaching the summit and heading for the North Peak we changed to snowshoes. The snow on top was significantly deeper. We stayed with showshoes for the remainder of the hike. The general trail conditions were good with some drifts to deal with on the section between the North and South peaks. There were also a few minor blow downs to deal with. We enjoyed a rainy – wet day.
December 30, 2005: Kinsmans (North & South)
Hiking from the Lafayette Place Campground we followed the Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail, and Kinsman Ridge Trail over North Kinsman to South Kinsman. Approximately a half mile into the hike Steve went for the snowshoes and I went for crampons. I continued with the crampons to the summit of North Kinsman where I changed to showshoes. We both hiked with snowshoes for the remainder of the hike. The day was overcast and quite windy. On the way down we pulled out the headlights at the Lonesome Lake Hut. The trails were generally in great shape.
December 31, 2005: Cannon
I had a commitment late in the day, which made it necessary to focus on a short hike. Cannon was an ideal target. We started at the Tramway parking area and did a roundtrip hike on the Kinsman Ridge Trail. We decided to start with crampons and stayed with them to the summit tower. The trail has seen a good amount of traffic and is well packed. I feel the decision to use crampons was a good one. From the summit down we elected snowshoes. This was a fun run down the mountain. Lots of long slides coming out!
At the summit we ran into another member of the VFTT community – Rols. He and his hiking partner were completing a Cannon hike via the Hi Cannon trail.
January 1, 2006: Mount Flume, Mount Liberty
Here we go again. The initial plan was to hike the 4000 Footers in Franconia Notch area during the week and needed to go back for Flume and Liberty. It was a cloudy day but the trail conditions were better than earlier in the week. Still, I went for crampons at the start, Steve bare booted. Again we decided to hike the Liberty Springs Trail to Franconia Ridge over both summits. The initial plan was for a round trip but we changed and elected to return via the Flume Slide Trail. On the hike to the Franconia Ridge Trail we met another hiker, also a member of the VFTT community – Sierra. We hiked together to the summit of Liberty where he decided to have some lunch and then return. In the upper several hundred feet we were hiking in the clouds and there were no views from Liberty or Flume. Steve continued with the bare boot approach until we reached the Flume Slide Trail. Here, he wisely went with the crampons. The hike down was interesting. We saved some distance, time, and elevation. We did not experience any problems at all with the steep trail and icy conditions. Surprisingly, we were able to complete the hike before dark.
That’s it. Seven consecutive days of hiking to launch our attempt on the Winter 4000 Footers. Prior to this, the most we had hiked was three consecutive days. We managed to complete ten mountains in this initial effort. I believe we both feel this is a good start.
UNFROZENCAVEMAN (aka Steven) pulled into the driveway a little after 7:00am to start a few days of hiking. We both decided to take some time off between Christmas and New Year day to hike. Tecumseh would be the first of our Winter 4000 Footer hiking. The forecast was for a wet day – rain and freezing rain. The hike was a short one and we decided to move ahead with our plan. We headed to Tecumseh, arriving at the ski area parking approximately 9:30am. The trail was in great shape. We stopped at the summit for a quick snack, a couple pictures, and headed back down. Approximately one third of the way down a woman passed us running up the trail on snowshoes. At this particular place we could see her from a good distance as she approached. We could also follow her for quite a distance after passing. She said hello on the way by but never changed her pace. Impressive! We continued down at a brisk pace since the weather continued to deteriorate. At roughly two thirds the way out, the woman on showshoes again passed us still running with no signs of slowing down – still impressive. This was the high point of the day.
December 27, 2005: Flume – Liberty (aborted)
The plan was to hike the Whitehouse Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, and Franconia Ridge Trail, round trip passing to the summits of Mounts Liberty and Flume. The snow conditions were soft and wet, which also made for some slippery conditions. I decided to bare boot the hike – a mistake. The footing was bad enough to require a significant amount of extra effort with each step to guard against a fall due to the slipping and sliding. Over time this proved to be tiring. In fact, by the time we reached the Liberty Spring Tentsite – mid afternoon - I was out of gas. It seemed clear to me we would be unable to finish the hike in a reasonable time frame and elected to turn back. We would try again on another day.
December 28, 2005: Lincoln, Lafayette
While preparing for the hike I noticed a few other hikers leaving the parking area. The hiking conditions were better than the day before but everybody was starting with either crampons or snowshoes. Assuming they couldn’t all be wrong, early into the hike the traction aids went on. We were hiking the Falling Waters Trail and went for the crampons just before the trail started the steep climb. Some may consider it overkill but they did the job. This was the first experience with crampons for both Steve and myself. We had a great time. They stayed on up to the Franconia Ridge Trail, to the summit of Lincoln and Lafayette, and back down to the parking area.
It seems to me that the crampons were the main difference between this hike and the aborted one from the day before. I’ll certainly be a little more eager to move to a traction aid in the future.
There were quite a few people out for this hike but most were going up the Old Bridle Path and down the Falling Waters Trail – reverse of our approach.
December 29, 2005: Hancocks (North & South)
This hike followed the Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, and Hancock Loop. We bare booted the hike to the split on the Hancock Loop Trail where we went for the crampons. Up the south branch and soon after reaching the summit and heading for the North Peak we changed to snowshoes. The snow on top was significantly deeper. We stayed with showshoes for the remainder of the hike. The general trail conditions were good with some drifts to deal with on the section between the North and South peaks. There were also a few minor blow downs to deal with. We enjoyed a rainy – wet day.
December 30, 2005: Kinsmans (North & South)
Hiking from the Lafayette Place Campground we followed the Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail, and Kinsman Ridge Trail over North Kinsman to South Kinsman. Approximately a half mile into the hike Steve went for the snowshoes and I went for crampons. I continued with the crampons to the summit of North Kinsman where I changed to showshoes. We both hiked with snowshoes for the remainder of the hike. The day was overcast and quite windy. On the way down we pulled out the headlights at the Lonesome Lake Hut. The trails were generally in great shape.
December 31, 2005: Cannon
I had a commitment late in the day, which made it necessary to focus on a short hike. Cannon was an ideal target. We started at the Tramway parking area and did a roundtrip hike on the Kinsman Ridge Trail. We decided to start with crampons and stayed with them to the summit tower. The trail has seen a good amount of traffic and is well packed. I feel the decision to use crampons was a good one. From the summit down we elected snowshoes. This was a fun run down the mountain. Lots of long slides coming out!
At the summit we ran into another member of the VFTT community – Rols. He and his hiking partner were completing a Cannon hike via the Hi Cannon trail.
January 1, 2006: Mount Flume, Mount Liberty
Here we go again. The initial plan was to hike the 4000 Footers in Franconia Notch area during the week and needed to go back for Flume and Liberty. It was a cloudy day but the trail conditions were better than earlier in the week. Still, I went for crampons at the start, Steve bare booted. Again we decided to hike the Liberty Springs Trail to Franconia Ridge over both summits. The initial plan was for a round trip but we changed and elected to return via the Flume Slide Trail. On the hike to the Franconia Ridge Trail we met another hiker, also a member of the VFTT community – Sierra. We hiked together to the summit of Liberty where he decided to have some lunch and then return. In the upper several hundred feet we were hiking in the clouds and there were no views from Liberty or Flume. Steve continued with the bare boot approach until we reached the Flume Slide Trail. Here, he wisely went with the crampons. The hike down was interesting. We saved some distance, time, and elevation. We did not experience any problems at all with the steep trail and icy conditions. Surprisingly, we were able to complete the hike before dark.
That’s it. Seven consecutive days of hiking to launch our attempt on the Winter 4000 Footers. Prior to this, the most we had hiked was three consecutive days. We managed to complete ten mountains in this initial effort. I believe we both feel this is a good start.
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