spider solo
New member
Well after a slow start we finally got some good snow storms and the off trail travelling was at it's best. Three times this week I headed for the Rocky Branch Trail off rte 16 NH, with it's nice open woods. The 1st time was with a nice big pair of wooden snowshoes and carrying a smaller modern pair in case I needed the extra traction they offered. I climbed to the height of the land..an unnamed peak with a nice view of Mt Isolation and Davis.
The next week I read that people had 'broken' out a section of the Rocky Branch Trail and part of a bushwhack that I had heard about over the years and was curious where it was and what it was all about.
So a few days later I came back with thoughts of climbing Isolation. Extending the bushwhack off toward that direction I wind up on another unnamed spur of Isolation referred to as North Isolation..but to myself I refer to it as 'Spider's folly'... for after much a huff and a puff I find that I am looking over to the true summit of Mt Isolation ...about a mile or so away and I call it a day.
Three days later,yesterday, the 17th, I came back full of resolve and an even earlier start: by 6:20a.m. I'm on the trail , which I lose in an hour, but regain it using information from the 1st bushwhack. I head on down to a spot now called... 'ms browns turn around'... and set out a new track to cross the Rocky Branch stream at a better spot and head on up.
Sure enough the woods are lovely and I allow myself to drift off course till I'm crowded against some ledges and I know I'm not where I should be.
Out comes my collapsible snow shovel and I dig giant snowshoe steps to see where the heck I am..it's not a pretty sight. Well, actually it is a pretty sight, but.. I'm nowhere near where I coulda shoulda been. Yep, I'm over by "Spiders folly"...like a moth to the flame I've started to climb the nearest high ground, but nooo ...I don't want to be here, I want to be there ..and there's plenty nasty bushwhackin I need to do to get there.. so off I go into the thick of it..about fifteen minutes later I decide it's time to put the shovel away.. I figure now's a good time, plenty of room to stand up after eating a face full of twigs every time I move around. Well "sproing"... the shovel push the button down thing, takes a permanent holiday into the shaft of the handle and will stay -Mr Full Length- for the rest of the day....Hmmm I better have a look at that and I take out my glasses and whoops!! out pops one of the lenses and lands in the snow! ..Oh now, thats not such a good thing... kinda need that to read the map and this new gps thingy...well , I'll just grap my handy dandy magnifying glass here..somewhere...oh ..the one I left in my other pack.
USFS..."You Standing in Forest Silly"...my wifes words echo in my mind as I'm knee deep ...tree deep in the snow..having a systems break down..a near clothing malfunction at that!
Oh well, details, details I pick the lens out of the snow, tie the shovel down and off I go to where I shoulda outta be.
Upon arrival I see 'life is good' and I reach the ridge where I stand proudly ...take a nice big step forward and... down, down, down I go..only waist deep this time. I wrestle free take a step and repeat the performance again, and again, and again, for I have entered the enchanted land of spruce traps and I realize it's St Patricks day and the little 'wee folk' are grabin my ankles and trying to pull me under..and doin a "mighty fine job of it!!"
I wrestle free, take out my map which I can't see anyways (remember the lens?) and look for the Davis Trail.. which is supposed to be up here somewere..I don't find it..mostly cuz I'm standing on it... and off I go to find it...Yes, to "boldly go where no man has gone before!! " (or at least not in a week or two). I find my way to the summit and there ,clear as can be, on the wind swept summit I see packed snow and foot prints... no trail in any direction but clearly people have been here...people who by all available clues have been transported here...perhaps by aliens...perhaps for experimentation.
I shudder at the thought..perhaps I'm just cold ..so I take a bearing East and plunge off the top, a few yards later... what do you know??.. a perfectly preserved section of trail, just as pretty as can be, with no entrance at either end .It's great to shoe it...no branches in the face beautiful snow laden trees beside it..now I know where all that wind swept snow went.. to the trees that I have to go through... trees that seem to each have about one ton of snow per square inch.
It's important I hold true to my compass bearing as I can't afford to lose my way on the mountain...in the wilderness...alone.
I take my hiking pole and start knockng the snow off the lower branches so I can plow my way through. The pole makes a hollow thwhacking sound and a drop of snow falls off. "Thwack".. "thwhack.".. I knock the snow off..the trees do not want to give up their burdens to easily..their winter blankets of security.
Yes, I've transformed into a fine bush thwhacker indeed!!
I push my way through and there, near the end of my story, I see this lovely
little clearing..luring me away from the trees. I go for it hook line and sinker...for that is what it is... the mother lode of spruce traps... under a perfect disguise of serenity. I enter it cautiously my hand on an overhanging stump of a tree. All seems well I venture out another step, just beyond my tree friend, and 'whoof ' down I go.
It's not a good one, it's not good at all... "in fact it was inappropriate"... bad stuff ... I fall up to my waist.. then my shoulders. I'm about neck deep and I lean back packing the snow behind me then.. I scoop away the snow in front of me, making the area as big as I can. Next I take my back pack off over my head like a shirt and grab for my shovel..today my best friend. I unclip it and loosen the hood of the pack to free it. Things start to fall out ..this is not good . I want all those things in there for a reason. I shovel as much snow under me as I can, packing it down all the while . Slowly I'm only waist high and I put the poles end for end and bridge the hole I've fallen into. I then take my pack and put it on top of them. I hoist my weight onto it and I hear ...spritzzz...I do it again and I hear it once more ....sprittzz' ...What is that?? Then I remember ....it's "PAM"
Yep, I snitched PAM out of my wife's cabinet.. you see I heard that if the snow gets wet and sticky you can spray your snowshoes to keep the snow from sticking...So it's me ...sprittzzy "PAM"... and the wee folk down in the spruce trap.
Well with a mighty heave, ho, "sprittz," .. "PAM" and I make our escape... and I'm here to report it was all down hill from there. We were back to the car by 8:30........
Happy trails.
The next week I read that people had 'broken' out a section of the Rocky Branch Trail and part of a bushwhack that I had heard about over the years and was curious where it was and what it was all about.
So a few days later I came back with thoughts of climbing Isolation. Extending the bushwhack off toward that direction I wind up on another unnamed spur of Isolation referred to as North Isolation..but to myself I refer to it as 'Spider's folly'... for after much a huff and a puff I find that I am looking over to the true summit of Mt Isolation ...about a mile or so away and I call it a day.
Three days later,yesterday, the 17th, I came back full of resolve and an even earlier start: by 6:20a.m. I'm on the trail , which I lose in an hour, but regain it using information from the 1st bushwhack. I head on down to a spot now called... 'ms browns turn around'... and set out a new track to cross the Rocky Branch stream at a better spot and head on up.
Sure enough the woods are lovely and I allow myself to drift off course till I'm crowded against some ledges and I know I'm not where I should be.
Out comes my collapsible snow shovel and I dig giant snowshoe steps to see where the heck I am..it's not a pretty sight. Well, actually it is a pretty sight, but.. I'm nowhere near where I coulda shoulda been. Yep, I'm over by "Spiders folly"...like a moth to the flame I've started to climb the nearest high ground, but nooo ...I don't want to be here, I want to be there ..and there's plenty nasty bushwhackin I need to do to get there.. so off I go into the thick of it..about fifteen minutes later I decide it's time to put the shovel away.. I figure now's a good time, plenty of room to stand up after eating a face full of twigs every time I move around. Well "sproing"... the shovel push the button down thing, takes a permanent holiday into the shaft of the handle and will stay -Mr Full Length- for the rest of the day....Hmmm I better have a look at that and I take out my glasses and whoops!! out pops one of the lenses and lands in the snow! ..Oh now, thats not such a good thing... kinda need that to read the map and this new gps thingy...well , I'll just grap my handy dandy magnifying glass here..somewhere...oh ..the one I left in my other pack.
USFS..."You Standing in Forest Silly"...my wifes words echo in my mind as I'm knee deep ...tree deep in the snow..having a systems break down..a near clothing malfunction at that!
Oh well, details, details I pick the lens out of the snow, tie the shovel down and off I go to where I shoulda outta be.
Upon arrival I see 'life is good' and I reach the ridge where I stand proudly ...take a nice big step forward and... down, down, down I go..only waist deep this time. I wrestle free take a step and repeat the performance again, and again, and again, for I have entered the enchanted land of spruce traps and I realize it's St Patricks day and the little 'wee folk' are grabin my ankles and trying to pull me under..and doin a "mighty fine job of it!!"
I wrestle free, take out my map which I can't see anyways (remember the lens?) and look for the Davis Trail.. which is supposed to be up here somewere..I don't find it..mostly cuz I'm standing on it... and off I go to find it...Yes, to "boldly go where no man has gone before!! " (or at least not in a week or two). I find my way to the summit and there ,clear as can be, on the wind swept summit I see packed snow and foot prints... no trail in any direction but clearly people have been here...people who by all available clues have been transported here...perhaps by aliens...perhaps for experimentation.
I shudder at the thought..perhaps I'm just cold ..so I take a bearing East and plunge off the top, a few yards later... what do you know??.. a perfectly preserved section of trail, just as pretty as can be, with no entrance at either end .It's great to shoe it...no branches in the face beautiful snow laden trees beside it..now I know where all that wind swept snow went.. to the trees that I have to go through... trees that seem to each have about one ton of snow per square inch.
It's important I hold true to my compass bearing as I can't afford to lose my way on the mountain...in the wilderness...alone.
I take my hiking pole and start knockng the snow off the lower branches so I can plow my way through. The pole makes a hollow thwhacking sound and a drop of snow falls off. "Thwack".. "thwhack.".. I knock the snow off..the trees do not want to give up their burdens to easily..their winter blankets of security.
Yes, I've transformed into a fine bush thwhacker indeed!!
I push my way through and there, near the end of my story, I see this lovely
little clearing..luring me away from the trees. I go for it hook line and sinker...for that is what it is... the mother lode of spruce traps... under a perfect disguise of serenity. I enter it cautiously my hand on an overhanging stump of a tree. All seems well I venture out another step, just beyond my tree friend, and 'whoof ' down I go.
It's not a good one, it's not good at all... "in fact it was inappropriate"... bad stuff ... I fall up to my waist.. then my shoulders. I'm about neck deep and I lean back packing the snow behind me then.. I scoop away the snow in front of me, making the area as big as I can. Next I take my back pack off over my head like a shirt and grab for my shovel..today my best friend. I unclip it and loosen the hood of the pack to free it. Things start to fall out ..this is not good . I want all those things in there for a reason. I shovel as much snow under me as I can, packing it down all the while . Slowly I'm only waist high and I put the poles end for end and bridge the hole I've fallen into. I then take my pack and put it on top of them. I hoist my weight onto it and I hear ...spritzzz...I do it again and I hear it once more ....sprittzz' ...What is that?? Then I remember ....it's "PAM"
Yep, I snitched PAM out of my wife's cabinet.. you see I heard that if the snow gets wet and sticky you can spray your snowshoes to keep the snow from sticking...So it's me ...sprittzzy "PAM"... and the wee folk down in the spruce trap.
Well with a mighty heave, ho, "sprittz," .. "PAM" and I make our escape... and I'm here to report it was all down hill from there. We were back to the car by 8:30........
Happy trails.
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