crazymama
New member
Street/Nye on Friday, October 16, 2004 (VFTT 6.5 gathering trip)
We started out about 8:20 am from the trailhead, it was –18F, a quiet overcast winter day. There were ten of us: me, SherpaKroto, Arm, Blue, Peak_bgr, Teejay, Audrey, Sli74, Bushwhacker, MichaelJ.
The trail down to the Indian Pass Brook was hard packed snow and we bare-booted it well beyond the brook. I enjoyed the comfortable downhill walk to the brook, oblivious to the necessary uphill walk I would have on the way back. The brook was frozen solid and we walked across without a problem. Peak_bgr, Bushwhacker, Arm and Blue pushed ahead, with me, Teejay, SherpaK, MichaelJ, Audrey, and Sli74 bringing up the rear. I was sorry to lose the company of Teejay, Sli74, and Audrey who each decided to turn back at different points beyond the brook.
I eventually donned my snowshoes (on the good advice of Audrey) , as I was having some difficulty with traction as the snow became softer and deeper and there were more uphills. I was having difficulty with my Camelbak as the tube had frozen. In frustration I took the whole thing out of my backpack and hung it on the front of me under my jacket –no problems from that point forward! I moved ahead of SherpaK and MichaelJ when they stopped to put on their snowshoes, as I got cold if I stopped moving for too long. For a while I found myself alone on the trail, hiking up what seemed an endless slope. I had not studied the route beforehand, and did not bring a map with me, so I had no idea how close I was to the top. (Yes I agree, very irresponsible of me.) I stopped to eat a frozen candy bar and frozen cookie (yum), and sip some water and wait for SherpaK and MichaelJ.
During the few minutes that I had my mittens off (I still had on liner gloves) my hands became absolutely frozen. I started to have some doubts about the hike. I started to think that my fingers were going to freeze. I started to think how mad my husband would be if I came home without my fingers. (Odd way to think, huh?) I started wondering where everyone else was. I started to think that maybe I should call it quits. My motivation was quickly slipping away. I turned around and headed down. Within 5 minutes I met MichaelJ and SherpaK. My hands had warmed up in the meantime, and just seeing them encouraged me to turn back around and keep on going.
Within another 5 minutes, we met the 4 who had gone first (Blue, Arm, Peak_bgr, and Bushwhacker), as they were returning from Nye. They informed us that we were only 5 minutes from the col junction, and that Nye was only about 15 minutes from there. That bit of news encouraged me even more. However, they all were covered in ice, and looked worn out (not encouraging). They had decided not to do Street because of the severe cold (-20F on the summit of Nye). But SherpaK was pumped and ready to tackle both peaks, and encouraged me to join him. To be honest, given the experience of the lead group, I really wasn’t sure if I could do it, but I was willing to try. Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. However that was not to be the case on this day.
Arm joined SherpaK and me for Street, while MichaelJ opted to go for Nye on his on (with a plan to leave us a message in the snow at the col to let us know he made it back from Nye safely).
Street probably took me about 40 minutes from the col. It was a beautiful walk, the sun was starting to shine a little. The mountaintop felt calm and sheltered in the trees. I was just able to see the ridge of the MacIntyres through the mist, beautiful!
Arm headed back down the mountain when we reached the col, and SherpaK and I went for Nye. It took us about 15 minutes to reach the summit. It was a very unimpressive summit to say the least. It didn’t seem like a mountaintop. Nevertheless, we were very glad to reach it. We had our Kodak moment, and then started back down the mountain.
On the long walk back, we each had the distinct pleasure of watching the other do a beautiful faceplant in the snow. But otherwise we trudged, enjoying the snowy woods and good company. SherpaK and I finally entered the campground about 5 pm, tired but very happy with ourselves. It was SherpaK’s 1st and 2nd Adirondack high peaks, my 22nd and 23rd. Woohoo!
Thanks to all nine fellow hikers for a wonderful day and a great hike!
We started out about 8:20 am from the trailhead, it was –18F, a quiet overcast winter day. There were ten of us: me, SherpaKroto, Arm, Blue, Peak_bgr, Teejay, Audrey, Sli74, Bushwhacker, MichaelJ.
The trail down to the Indian Pass Brook was hard packed snow and we bare-booted it well beyond the brook. I enjoyed the comfortable downhill walk to the brook, oblivious to the necessary uphill walk I would have on the way back. The brook was frozen solid and we walked across without a problem. Peak_bgr, Bushwhacker, Arm and Blue pushed ahead, with me, Teejay, SherpaK, MichaelJ, Audrey, and Sli74 bringing up the rear. I was sorry to lose the company of Teejay, Sli74, and Audrey who each decided to turn back at different points beyond the brook.
I eventually donned my snowshoes (on the good advice of Audrey) , as I was having some difficulty with traction as the snow became softer and deeper and there were more uphills. I was having difficulty with my Camelbak as the tube had frozen. In frustration I took the whole thing out of my backpack and hung it on the front of me under my jacket –no problems from that point forward! I moved ahead of SherpaK and MichaelJ when they stopped to put on their snowshoes, as I got cold if I stopped moving for too long. For a while I found myself alone on the trail, hiking up what seemed an endless slope. I had not studied the route beforehand, and did not bring a map with me, so I had no idea how close I was to the top. (Yes I agree, very irresponsible of me.) I stopped to eat a frozen candy bar and frozen cookie (yum), and sip some water and wait for SherpaK and MichaelJ.
During the few minutes that I had my mittens off (I still had on liner gloves) my hands became absolutely frozen. I started to have some doubts about the hike. I started to think that my fingers were going to freeze. I started to think how mad my husband would be if I came home without my fingers. (Odd way to think, huh?) I started wondering where everyone else was. I started to think that maybe I should call it quits. My motivation was quickly slipping away. I turned around and headed down. Within 5 minutes I met MichaelJ and SherpaK. My hands had warmed up in the meantime, and just seeing them encouraged me to turn back around and keep on going.
Within another 5 minutes, we met the 4 who had gone first (Blue, Arm, Peak_bgr, and Bushwhacker), as they were returning from Nye. They informed us that we were only 5 minutes from the col junction, and that Nye was only about 15 minutes from there. That bit of news encouraged me even more. However, they all were covered in ice, and looked worn out (not encouraging). They had decided not to do Street because of the severe cold (-20F on the summit of Nye). But SherpaK was pumped and ready to tackle both peaks, and encouraged me to join him. To be honest, given the experience of the lead group, I really wasn’t sure if I could do it, but I was willing to try. Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. However that was not to be the case on this day.
Arm joined SherpaK and me for Street, while MichaelJ opted to go for Nye on his on (with a plan to leave us a message in the snow at the col to let us know he made it back from Nye safely).
Street probably took me about 40 minutes from the col. It was a beautiful walk, the sun was starting to shine a little. The mountaintop felt calm and sheltered in the trees. I was just able to see the ridge of the MacIntyres through the mist, beautiful!
Arm headed back down the mountain when we reached the col, and SherpaK and I went for Nye. It took us about 15 minutes to reach the summit. It was a very unimpressive summit to say the least. It didn’t seem like a mountaintop. Nevertheless, we were very glad to reach it. We had our Kodak moment, and then started back down the mountain.
On the long walk back, we each had the distinct pleasure of watching the other do a beautiful faceplant in the snow. But otherwise we trudged, enjoying the snowy woods and good company. SherpaK and I finally entered the campground about 5 pm, tired but very happy with ourselves. It was SherpaK’s 1st and 2nd Adirondack high peaks, my 22nd and 23rd. Woohoo!
Thanks to all nine fellow hikers for a wonderful day and a great hike!
