Spruce & Savage, but no Teapot

[onestep]

Saturday morning mhrsebago & I headed over to Groveton NH to meet up with Pig Pen. Our plan was to bushwhack Spruce, Savage, and Teapot. A trio of NH 3k's.

On our drive over from Maine we started noticing 'white stuff' up in the higher elevations. The last weather report I heard was for Portland ME, "rain would end Friday night and a sunny day for Saturday, highs in the 50's". O.k. I thought, maybe 40's in the mountains... sounds good!

We met Pig Pen and headed up Rt 3 towards North Stratford. Man it's cold up here I was thinking to myself. We turned East off Rt 3 along a narrow dirt road and headed towards the base of Spruce Mtn - 3010'. Reality set in when we parked in the logging yard at the end of the road. I don't think I'm prepared for these conditions. It was below freezing and there was several inches of snow on the ground. Kinda looks and feels like winter!

We geared up and headed off up the mountain. The trees where loaded with snow. As we 'whacked our way up towards the summit ridge our waterproof breathable shells where earning their keep. When we reached the summit & jar my core was warm/wet, but the extremities where definitely chilled. I added another dry layer.

We headed across the ridge over towards Savage Mtn - 3510'. The woods where reasonable until we reached the col. From there up things where somewhat thick for the most part. We finally reached the flattish summit area and searched around for the summit bump. It was then we all realized how wet and cold we really where! We signed the register and had a quick bite to eat. A group decision was made NOT to continue on over aptly named "Goback" Mtn and on to Teapot Mtn - 3390'.

We followed out tracks in the snow back to the col. From there we dropped off the mountain to the W into the valley where we parked the car. Not too far down the mountain we came upon a logging road which we then followed S. A short time later we came upon the spot where we crossed the road on our ascent of Spruce. We followed our tracks back to the car. Tomorrow I'll be better prepared!

A picture or two here

Onestep

 

[dms]

Kurt, bushwacking in snow laden spruce trees is not exactly a lot of fun. Just looking at your pics gave me a chill! The col over to Goback is thick, I think you made the right decision. By the way there used to be a teapot hanging next to the register on Teapot.

 

[Pig Pen]

Every year I'm shocked, SHOCKED! to learn that it starts to get colder and it snows around late October. So invariably I always have one or two hikes where my hydration hose freezes and I go home wet and cold. Oh well, at least we got a couple.

 

[mhrsebago]

Let's see... overcast grey skies, snow down my neck and up my sleeves, flat and viewless summits, frozen camelback hoses, cold fingers and toes --- what a BLAST!! It sure beats my day job!!

 

[Double Bow]

Way to go Kurt! You made a smart decision and had fun. Who knew you could do both at the same time???

I cut my whacking short on Saturday too and did Middle Osceola instead of West. I wasn't prepared to get that wet from the spruce. Hey, it's not like I could do them both on the same hike for Trailwrights anyway!

 

[RoySwkr]

By the way there used to be a teapot hanging next to the register on Teapot.

There used to be a register inside the teapot on Teapot

 

[dms]

There also used to be a saying that "you'll never go back to Goback", a commentary on the condtions found on that peak and the col next to it.

 

[Nate]

Kurt, thank you for the trip report. It's assuring to know I wasn't the only one slowed by the sloppy conditions. Due to a late start, I only had time to whack to the top of Umpire on Saturday. Since I wasn't quite properly dressed for the wet, snowy conditions, I was quite chilled by the time I arrived in the summit area. Shivering away certainly added to the drama as I was unable to locate a canister on the first summit bump I came to. Thankfully I poked around the woods some more until I located the higher bump. Unfortunately, water had permeated the jar, reducing the register to a soggy mess, which had then been frozen solid into an unreadable mass by the wintery conditions. Just overall, Umpire wouldn't have been bad at all if it hadn't been for the early winter conditions.

I know what brought them on, too. I originally planned to spend this whole week peakbagging in Vermont in the late autumn conditions. Naturally the snow swept in Friday night, the day before my arrival.

You're welcome.