percious
Well-known member
The Brothers Lane and I headed up to the dax for some R+R 46er style this weekend. Our Dix plan foiled, Santanoni underwater, we decided on the Sewards as our next logical choice.
Friday - Five hours later, we arrive at the trailhead no worse for wear. A quick 5 mile jaunt through the woods, and we arrived at Blueberry Leanto. Greeted by some disdain from the locals (3 leanto squatters) we shoved off to the ward leanto, .8 miles down the road. A growling dog and 7 slumberers convinced us to return to Blueberry leanto, and after some negotiations, we were all hunkered down for a sleepless night.
Saturday - A cool morning, and a fast breakfast left us heading up the left side of Seward brook, excited for our next 3 46ers. Somewhere along the line we lost the trail, as the cairns did not make obvious all stream crossings. After some wandering upward, and some seat-of-the pants navigation, we emerged on small slide. This was a surprise to me, because I hadnt read anything in the web descriptions about a slide. We continued. The slide was covered in ice, and donning some crampons, we negotiated the steep faces, skirting much of the danger in the safety of the woods. The view of Ampersand, was excellent. We have come to call this slide the "myph" slide. That's not a typo.
At the top, the going got thick, and several cliffs were negotiated, before we reached the summit ridge. Another pleasant surprise, a maze of trails all leading up. The summit race would ensue, as we battled each other for the prize of Seward. (Not really) Out came the bagels and PBJ as we shivered in the sub 32* (0 for Canadians) temperatures. I knew I should have worn more than a t-shirt.
Donaldson and Emmons followed, and the swamp in the cols afforded us some filtered water: ah 4000ft water. We had at least one reason to appreciate the recent rain. Emmons finally gave us our 1/2 way point, and we figured 4 hours on the return, if we could find the true trail down. We climbed back over seward, where we took a short break to catch our breath and eat some snacks.
Downward we travelled, and after a puzzling time finding the retreat trail, we found our ways down the slippery slopes. Most rock surfaces on this trail were covered with a sheet of ice, but we never donned our crampons, as all areas were nogotiable with care. Crampons will be a requirement soon enough. The long slog back to camp kept us searching for bridges that continually transformed into trees.
Turkey dinner was had, and after a small amount of re-negotiation of leanto real estate, all of us were asleep. I slept hard until awakened by a cell phone at 445. I woke to find 2 inches of snow on the ground, and decided it was better to return to my slumber, and woke again around 8 ready to face reality.
Sunday- A long 5 mile slog (much longer than the 5 mile inbound jaunt) left us soaked, and happy to be at the car.
Pictures to follow.
-percious
Friday - Five hours later, we arrive at the trailhead no worse for wear. A quick 5 mile jaunt through the woods, and we arrived at Blueberry Leanto. Greeted by some disdain from the locals (3 leanto squatters) we shoved off to the ward leanto, .8 miles down the road. A growling dog and 7 slumberers convinced us to return to Blueberry leanto, and after some negotiations, we were all hunkered down for a sleepless night.
Saturday - A cool morning, and a fast breakfast left us heading up the left side of Seward brook, excited for our next 3 46ers. Somewhere along the line we lost the trail, as the cairns did not make obvious all stream crossings. After some wandering upward, and some seat-of-the pants navigation, we emerged on small slide. This was a surprise to me, because I hadnt read anything in the web descriptions about a slide. We continued. The slide was covered in ice, and donning some crampons, we negotiated the steep faces, skirting much of the danger in the safety of the woods. The view of Ampersand, was excellent. We have come to call this slide the "myph" slide. That's not a typo.
At the top, the going got thick, and several cliffs were negotiated, before we reached the summit ridge. Another pleasant surprise, a maze of trails all leading up. The summit race would ensue, as we battled each other for the prize of Seward. (Not really) Out came the bagels and PBJ as we shivered in the sub 32* (0 for Canadians) temperatures. I knew I should have worn more than a t-shirt.
Donaldson and Emmons followed, and the swamp in the cols afforded us some filtered water: ah 4000ft water. We had at least one reason to appreciate the recent rain. Emmons finally gave us our 1/2 way point, and we figured 4 hours on the return, if we could find the true trail down. We climbed back over seward, where we took a short break to catch our breath and eat some snacks.
Downward we travelled, and after a puzzling time finding the retreat trail, we found our ways down the slippery slopes. Most rock surfaces on this trail were covered with a sheet of ice, but we never donned our crampons, as all areas were nogotiable with care. Crampons will be a requirement soon enough. The long slog back to camp kept us searching for bridges that continually transformed into trees.
Turkey dinner was had, and after a small amount of re-negotiation of leanto real estate, all of us were asleep. I slept hard until awakened by a cell phone at 445. I woke to find 2 inches of snow on the ground, and decided it was better to return to my slumber, and woke again around 8 ready to face reality.
Sunday- A long 5 mile slog (much longer than the 5 mile inbound jaunt) left us soaked, and happy to be at the car.
Pictures to follow.
-percious
