rhihn
New member
On Monday, four of us (Valerie, highonlife, JoeCedar, and I) went for a stroll up Nye and Street Mtns. Weather could not have cooperated better: temps in the high 20's (guessing), half clouds, half bright blue sky, with some sun, no wind). We crossed paths a few times with only two other hikers that day. Immediately after leaving the Loj, we encountered a narrow "highway" of packed snow which led us down to and across Indian Pass Brook, and all the way to the summits of Street and Nye. Snowshoe traction was excellent, poles were largely useless (in my opinion), as the snow on the sides was too deep and soft. It was Joe's 4th or 5th time up there (I think he lost count!). He seemed to know every twist and turn and, more important, when the trail deviated from the usual path, and checked his compass frequently. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a simple matter to "follow the yellow brick road" all the way to both summits.
There was some blowdown, though minimal, most of it during the last few hundred feet toward Nye (a few belly-crawls were necessary!). As we reached higher altitudes the trees seemed to close in on us, and clumped with so much snow on the branches and trunks, it was a true fairyland vision. At times (many times for me!) we stopped, listened, and the cushioned silence - the sound of almost nothing - was exquisite! The summit of Nye ranks at the bottom for vistas at the summit (that is, no views), but there were some beautiful ones on the way up, a particularly nicely framed one of Whiteface.
The prize for the view of the day went to the lookout on Street. Perched as we were on the tops of many of the trees due to the heavy snow depth, the so-so view that one gets in summer was transformed into an almost 180-degree panorama of peaks from the Sewards and Sawtooth ranges to the Dixes! Perfect weather permitted us to spend some time there. We lunched. Fortified, we headed homeward. It is a gravity-defying mystery to me how one can descend steep slopes on snowshoes and go as fast as my companions went, without doing cartwheels! No way would I be able to keep up with them, so I didn't try. They were nice to wait for me at periodic intervals. Though I did drink fluids (Gatorade), I still developed a slight leg cramp, which slowed me even more. I'm finding I need to drink more at my age (60) than I used to. Of course, I enjoyed the company of Val, Nancy, and Joe very much, but I also enjoyed the solitude of walking alone.
Val posted some pics in the Forum Photos section of Adkforum. Looking forward to seeing Joe's and Nancy's pics, if they are willing to share. Thanks to my companions for a most pleasant day, and I hope we can do it again!
Dick
There was some blowdown, though minimal, most of it during the last few hundred feet toward Nye (a few belly-crawls were necessary!). As we reached higher altitudes the trees seemed to close in on us, and clumped with so much snow on the branches and trunks, it was a true fairyland vision. At times (many times for me!) we stopped, listened, and the cushioned silence - the sound of almost nothing - was exquisite! The summit of Nye ranks at the bottom for vistas at the summit (that is, no views), but there were some beautiful ones on the way up, a particularly nicely framed one of Whiteface.
The prize for the view of the day went to the lookout on Street. Perched as we were on the tops of many of the trees due to the heavy snow depth, the so-so view that one gets in summer was transformed into an almost 180-degree panorama of peaks from the Sewards and Sawtooth ranges to the Dixes! Perfect weather permitted us to spend some time there. We lunched. Fortified, we headed homeward. It is a gravity-defying mystery to me how one can descend steep slopes on snowshoes and go as fast as my companions went, without doing cartwheels! No way would I be able to keep up with them, so I didn't try. They were nice to wait for me at periodic intervals. Though I did drink fluids (Gatorade), I still developed a slight leg cramp, which slowed me even more. I'm finding I need to drink more at my age (60) than I used to. Of course, I enjoyed the company of Val, Nancy, and Joe very much, but I also enjoyed the solitude of walking alone.
Val posted some pics in the Forum Photos section of Adkforum. Looking forward to seeing Joe's and Nancy's pics, if they are willing to share. Thanks to my companions for a most pleasant day, and I hope we can do it again!
Dick
