una_dogger
Well-known member
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 27, 2010
Peaks: Passaconnaway, Whiteface, East and West Sleepers, South, Middle and North Tripyramids
Route: Oliverian Brook, Passaconnaway Cut-off, Walden Trail, Rollins Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Mt Tripyramid Trail, Pine Bend Brook.
Mileage: 16.8
Gain: 5459'
Hours: ~10
Conditions: 1-4 inches of snow, falling lightly throughout the day and then an accumulation of approx 2 inches during one near whiteout squall. Ice on rocks. Microspikes required for most of hike. Cold, overcast and light winds (~5-15 mph) with some stronger gusts (~15-20)until approximately 3:30pm, then sunny and crystal clear.
The Hikers: MichaelJ, Terra the Traildog, Silverfox, Rocket21, Eric Rathbun and Madison, Una_dogger.
We set off up Oliverian Brook Tr as a group and made our way to the Passaconnaway Summit where Terra the Traildog completed her second round of the NH 4ks. The dogs had bacon-cheese bisquits while the humans had cranberry bliss bars and chocolate brownie cookies in celebration. It was a raw cold day so after a quick summit party we headed onward to Whiteface. On the way down Passaconnaway we met with Pepper and Me. Pepper is your typical in-your-face fiesty little Terrier and he made quick work of sorting out pack order, which went something like Terra, Pepper, Madison.
Eric, Madison and I let the rest of the group know we'd be bolting ahead from Whiteface, as we planned to head over the Sleepers and Tripyramids on the way out and I was feeling a tad behind schedule. The few inches of snow that was lightly falling helped cover up and add a bit of extra traction to much of the ice that is present on all of the rocky ledges in the range right now.
The skies darkened as we made our way across the Sleepers. Only one set of footprints was ahead of us, and they disappeared down the Downe's Brook Trail. We actually did not take the spur to West Sleeper this day. When we reached the South Tripyramid Slide at ~3:00, the winds had picked up and a strong squall was blowing snow up the slide, limiting visibity. There was just enough snow on the slide to fill in the crevices between adjacent rocks, and cover icey areas. I had been feeling pretty low energy all day, but the excitement of the weather change and the concentration necessary to find a quick route up the slide got my adrenaline going and I finally hit my stride for the first time all day.
As we entered the woods at the top of the slide, Eric remarked "hiking with you is always an adventure" to which I replied, "Did I ever tell you the story about this time last year....". Somewhere during the story I felt the sun trying to push its way through the clouds, and as we reached the final pitch up South Tripyramid, the sun was high in a deep blue near winter sky -- quite a beautiful transition.
We enjoyed the sun and fresh white snowscape across the Tripyramids and saw a nice sunset from North Tripyramid where we stopped for a quick break at 4:09pm. As we headed down Pine Bend Brook Trail (redline), we lost light but were able to hike without headlamps for most of the descent due to the fresh snow and clear skies. Somewhere on the descent one of my microspikes broke. We put on headlamps somewhere near the Wilderness Boundary and walked the final, mostly flat 2.2 miles out quickly, and reached the Kancamangus Highway at 6:20 pm.
The dogs did really well today. I will have to look at our records, but I think that Terra is at or close to her 200th NE four thousand footer climb, and I am so happy to have had my little buddy along for so many fun hikes, backpacks, bike rides, and runs for the past seven plus years! We have four more peaks to have completed three rounds of the NH4ks together; Tecumsah, Wambuek and Wildcat A and D (and of course, another trip to Passaconnaway for her!).
Thanks to everyone who came along to celebrate today and to Eric for the great company and for sticking it out with me for yet another long day in the mountains!
Photo courtesy of Rocket21:
Terra and Eric take a break on the small slide that crosses the Passaconnaway Cut Off Trail
Peaks: Passaconnaway, Whiteface, East and West Sleepers, South, Middle and North Tripyramids
Route: Oliverian Brook, Passaconnaway Cut-off, Walden Trail, Rollins Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Mt Tripyramid Trail, Pine Bend Brook.
Mileage: 16.8
Gain: 5459'
Hours: ~10
Conditions: 1-4 inches of snow, falling lightly throughout the day and then an accumulation of approx 2 inches during one near whiteout squall. Ice on rocks. Microspikes required for most of hike. Cold, overcast and light winds (~5-15 mph) with some stronger gusts (~15-20)until approximately 3:30pm, then sunny and crystal clear.
The Hikers: MichaelJ, Terra the Traildog, Silverfox, Rocket21, Eric Rathbun and Madison, Una_dogger.
We set off up Oliverian Brook Tr as a group and made our way to the Passaconnaway Summit where Terra the Traildog completed her second round of the NH 4ks. The dogs had bacon-cheese bisquits while the humans had cranberry bliss bars and chocolate brownie cookies in celebration. It was a raw cold day so after a quick summit party we headed onward to Whiteface. On the way down Passaconnaway we met with Pepper and Me. Pepper is your typical in-your-face fiesty little Terrier and he made quick work of sorting out pack order, which went something like Terra, Pepper, Madison.
Eric, Madison and I let the rest of the group know we'd be bolting ahead from Whiteface, as we planned to head over the Sleepers and Tripyramids on the way out and I was feeling a tad behind schedule. The few inches of snow that was lightly falling helped cover up and add a bit of extra traction to much of the ice that is present on all of the rocky ledges in the range right now.
The skies darkened as we made our way across the Sleepers. Only one set of footprints was ahead of us, and they disappeared down the Downe's Brook Trail. We actually did not take the spur to West Sleeper this day. When we reached the South Tripyramid Slide at ~3:00, the winds had picked up and a strong squall was blowing snow up the slide, limiting visibity. There was just enough snow on the slide to fill in the crevices between adjacent rocks, and cover icey areas. I had been feeling pretty low energy all day, but the excitement of the weather change and the concentration necessary to find a quick route up the slide got my adrenaline going and I finally hit my stride for the first time all day.
As we entered the woods at the top of the slide, Eric remarked "hiking with you is always an adventure" to which I replied, "Did I ever tell you the story about this time last year....". Somewhere during the story I felt the sun trying to push its way through the clouds, and as we reached the final pitch up South Tripyramid, the sun was high in a deep blue near winter sky -- quite a beautiful transition.
We enjoyed the sun and fresh white snowscape across the Tripyramids and saw a nice sunset from North Tripyramid where we stopped for a quick break at 4:09pm. As we headed down Pine Bend Brook Trail (redline), we lost light but were able to hike without headlamps for most of the descent due to the fresh snow and clear skies. Somewhere on the descent one of my microspikes broke. We put on headlamps somewhere near the Wilderness Boundary and walked the final, mostly flat 2.2 miles out quickly, and reached the Kancamangus Highway at 6:20 pm.
The dogs did really well today. I will have to look at our records, but I think that Terra is at or close to her 200th NE four thousand footer climb, and I am so happy to have had my little buddy along for so many fun hikes, backpacks, bike rides, and runs for the past seven plus years! We have four more peaks to have completed three rounds of the NH4ks together; Tecumsah, Wambuek and Wildcat A and D (and of course, another trip to Passaconnaway for her!).
Thanks to everyone who came along to celebrate today and to Eric for the great company and for sticking it out with me for yet another long day in the mountains!
Photo courtesy of Rocket21:
Terra and Eric take a break on the small slide that crosses the Passaconnaway Cut Off Trail
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