The Feathered Hat
Active member
Snapped on the powder tails at the trailhead at 8:45 a.m. and got underway on a nicely packed trail, which had me thinking: I'll make the ridge in 3 hours, maybe less. The trail was packed enough so that someone who had left crampon prints seemed to be having no trouble with postholing, despite the fresh snow.
In a half hour or so I met up with Crampon Man, a hale and friendly fellow whose proper first name turned out to be Sean. He explained that the packed trail continued for another 100 yards or so, then veered off across Skookumchuck Brook and up a small hill -- the packing had been done by a couple of young guys who were camped just on the other side of the hill. Sean was hoping to climb up to the ridge and then head down to the Garfield summit so he could add it to his Winter 48 list, but he said that he wasn't interested in breaking trail by himself all the way up to the ridge. But we agreed that with two of us, the chore might not be so bad.
So we followed the Skookumchuck route beside the brook, then made the big turn to the left to climb the steep section away from the brook -- the section that in summer is a big, steep staircase. Sean broke the trail and it was hefty work, with lots of stomping and sliding. At the top of the steep I took over breaking for the next mile or so and another 700 feet in elevation gain, until we got to the spot that, in summer, is a tiny meadow, at about 3,000 feet elevation.
The snow stayed deep -- with every step our snowshoes plunged 8 to 12 inches down into the fresh snow, even with powder tails. Up around 3,500 feet we lost the trail (which isn't all that hard to do on this part of the Skookumchuck even in summer), found it again, lost it again. We traded off breaking trail frequently; the work was difficult at best. At a place that I'm sure was not on the proper Skookumchuck route we found an old horizontal blaze on a tree -- a white one, which must date from many years ago, before the Appalachian Trail was marked with white blazes only.
Now the snow got seriously deep -- every step was a plunge into the snow of a couple of feet. The snow was heavy, too, since last week's storm had been a relatively warm one. We trudged on, stopped for a little lunch and to rest for a few minutes, then trudged on some more. The trail was very difficult to follow up at this level, and we finally lost it for good around 4,000 feet elevation.
We clambered over a few more drifts with great difficulty and made our way through some thick trees. The snow loads on the branches was huge; by this time Sean and I were both covered in white. Exhausted from the tough trail breaking and not sure where to pick up the trail again, we decided to turn back. Damn! But, as they say, discretion is the better part of valor. Garfield would wait another day for Sean, and I'll return to this trail, which is one of my favorites in the Whites, a little later in the winter when the snow's easier to negotiate and the trail a little easier to follow.
A few photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157613191379691/
Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
In a half hour or so I met up with Crampon Man, a hale and friendly fellow whose proper first name turned out to be Sean. He explained that the packed trail continued for another 100 yards or so, then veered off across Skookumchuck Brook and up a small hill -- the packing had been done by a couple of young guys who were camped just on the other side of the hill. Sean was hoping to climb up to the ridge and then head down to the Garfield summit so he could add it to his Winter 48 list, but he said that he wasn't interested in breaking trail by himself all the way up to the ridge. But we agreed that with two of us, the chore might not be so bad.
So we followed the Skookumchuck route beside the brook, then made the big turn to the left to climb the steep section away from the brook -- the section that in summer is a big, steep staircase. Sean broke the trail and it was hefty work, with lots of stomping and sliding. At the top of the steep I took over breaking for the next mile or so and another 700 feet in elevation gain, until we got to the spot that, in summer, is a tiny meadow, at about 3,000 feet elevation.
The snow stayed deep -- with every step our snowshoes plunged 8 to 12 inches down into the fresh snow, even with powder tails. Up around 3,500 feet we lost the trail (which isn't all that hard to do on this part of the Skookumchuck even in summer), found it again, lost it again. We traded off breaking trail frequently; the work was difficult at best. At a place that I'm sure was not on the proper Skookumchuck route we found an old horizontal blaze on a tree -- a white one, which must date from many years ago, before the Appalachian Trail was marked with white blazes only.
Now the snow got seriously deep -- every step was a plunge into the snow of a couple of feet. The snow was heavy, too, since last week's storm had been a relatively warm one. We trudged on, stopped for a little lunch and to rest for a few minutes, then trudged on some more. The trail was very difficult to follow up at this level, and we finally lost it for good around 4,000 feet elevation.
We clambered over a few more drifts with great difficulty and made our way through some thick trees. The snow loads on the branches was huge; by this time Sean and I were both covered in white. Exhausted from the tough trail breaking and not sure where to pick up the trail again, we decided to turn back. Damn! But, as they say, discretion is the better part of valor. Garfield would wait another day for Sean, and I'll return to this trail, which is one of my favorites in the Whites, a little later in the winter when the snow's easier to negotiate and the trail a little easier to follow.
A few photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157613191379691/
Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
Last edited:
