Surmounting Several Santanoni's, Seeing Some Sights 1/29/11

DSettahr · Jan 31, 2011

Route Taken: Bradley Pond trail to Bradley Pond, Panther Brook herd path to Times Square, out and back to Couchsachraga, out and back to Panther, out and back to Santanoni, return via Panther Brook herd path and Bradley Pond trail

Trail Condition: Trail had been packed out by multiple groups the previous weekend and by several groups during the weekend; for the most part it was an obvious path with several inches of fresh powder on top; we encountered 1 or 2 confusing spots on the path out to Couchsachraga; the path to the summit of Santanoni was covered in deep fresh powder and difficult at times to pack out; the base of the “new old” herd path was broken out but the top was not- we looked for it on the ridgeline but could not find it despite our best attempts

Traction Devices Used: Snowshoes all day

Saturday morning saw the very beginning of a long day for my friend Danie and I with a 2:30 am wake up time and a 3:30 am departure from Saranac Lake. After a lengthy drive through the darkness on unplowed roads (the plows up here generally don't get started until about 6 am!), we pulled into the parking area shortly before 6. Before long, headlights signaled the arrival of our hiking companions- Highonife, Joe H., CommissionPoint, ADKJack, to name a few (I'm sure I'm missing some names- it was a great opportunity to meet lots of new people!).

We got started shortly after we'd all arrive, 8 of us heading up the trail on snowshoes in the darkness. At first, the trail followed a well-maintained road, and our path took us up the middle of a snowmobiles track, which had groomed the trail quite well, and the going went easily and quickly. Soon, in the early morning light, we found ourselves at the first junction, where the trail turns north off of the road and becomes a true path through the woods, free of any signs of mechanized passage.

According to the trail register, a group had signed in the previous day, indicating that they were spending the weekend camped out while hiking the Santanoni Range. 24 hours can make a bit of a difference, however, and even though the path was easy to follow thanks to their tracks (and the tracks of those who'd gone in during the week and the previous weekend), it still had several inches of fresh powder on it. Highonlife took point, setting a precedent that she would maintain for much of the day as being the toughest and most energetic hiker of our bunch.

The day continued to brighten, and after what seemed to take no time at all, we found ourselves at Bradley Pond. Ahead to the north, the trail appeared to have not been broken out at all, which I found curious as I would've expected that the overnight group that had headed in the day before would have chosen to camp in the lean-to a short ways down this trail. As it turned out, however, they'd chosen to camp a short ways down the herd path. We'd beaten them to the punch, as they were still in camp getting ready, and seemed excited that we'd shown up to break out the trail for them.

At first, the herd path meanders up and down as it makes it way around Bradley Pond towards Panther Brook. The trail was still quite easy to follow; even though it had not been broken out by the overnight group, the older tracks were quite easy to see beneath the fresh snow. We passed close to some really neat rocks and overhangs, covered in ice, and the trail even went right along the base of one of these cliffs. As we continued west, we caught some glimpses of Bradley Pond below us, and one view through the trees of some mountains in the distance to the south.

Soon, we reached Panther Brook, and here the herd path really started to gain a significant amount of elevation. As we ascended, the snow cover deepened, and we caught glimpses of Henderson Mountain behind us. At higher elevations, the trees were bowed over due to the weight of the snow, and the forest assumed an appearance that at times looked like something out of a Dr. Suess book. We encountered a few obstacles, some blowdown that necessitated clambering over or under, but nothing that significantly impeded our forward travel. The clouds also decided to part, and we caught some spectacular views of snow-covered mountain slops illuminated by the sun, with a deep blue sky as the backdrop.

We reached Times Square much sooner than I was expecting, and took a quick break here to hydrate, replenish calories, and let everyone regroup. Times Square itself was covered in drifts; the large boulder that serves as a significant backdrop to to the clearing was completely covered in snow! Thanks to the winds and blowing snow, the clearing looked like it'd not been visited by hikers in weeks.

Our first target of the day was Couchsachraga, chosen first of course not because the summit is difficult to reach, but because climbing back up to the ridge after reaching the summit is a significant climb in itself. Again, Highonlife took up position at the front of the group. The descent went quickly, and the once we lost elevation and were in the thicker woods again the trail was easy to follow, for the most part. We did encounter a couple of confusing spots, but each time we were quickly and easily able to sort out the correct path to take. One interesting complication was the depth of the snow- not that it was difficult to walk in, as there was a well packed path beneath the fresh powder. Rather, the snow depth resulted in taller members of our party, such as myself, being forced to walk with dense vegetation surrounding my head, which under normal non-winter circumstances would've been well above the height of most hikers. I think I got a few scratches on my face as a result.

Nevertheless, we persevered. Along the way, we got some nice sights of the Seward Range before the clouds came back up and obscured the views. Soon, we'd reached the clearing at the low point of the traverse, and began the climb back up to the summit of Couchsachraga itself. The climb was quite easy, and the few steep spots gave us little trouble at all, and before long, we were standing on the summit of of this lonely, remote little mountain. The sign, of course, was missing, but the tree with the nails sticking out was unmistakable. By now, the clouds had pretty much become ubiquitous again, and while we had some views down into the Cold River Valley, and could see the ridge line back up to the east that we would soon be forced to ascend again, there wasn't much else in the way of views.

After a quick break for water and snacks, we began our return to Times Square. The descent back down from Couchsachraga to the low point went smoothly enough, but the climb back up to the ridge is where I really started to feel the effects of the hike. With nearly 800 feet of elevation to regain, this is a formidable climb in itself, and as I gained elevation, I found myself hoping all too soon that the large snow-covered boulder in Times Square would materialize around each and every bend I encountered in the hike. Along the way, the two hikers who'd camped out passed by us, taking advantage of the (by now) well broken trail to Couchsachraga. When one asked how much further it was, and I responded that about 15 minutes had passed since we left the summit, he did not appear to be too pleased with the news!

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Continued...

DSettahr · Jan 31, 2011

Eventually, after putting one foot in front of the other for what seemed like forever, we returned to Times Square. Panther from here, of course, was like a walk in the park compared to the climb back up from Couch. I spent a short period of time on the summit, snapping some pictures, as the clouds had lifted enough that despite the monotonous gray, I could see the summit of Couch quite clearly, and just barely make out Santanoni to the south in the mist.

Upon returning to Times Square (for the third time that day!), we regrouped, as we'd gotten a bit spread out in the climb back up from Couchsachraga. Here, half of our group elected to continue back down, avoiding the climb to Santanoni, and I certainly don't blame them! The day had already provided us with more than enough exertion to be considered a hard winter day hike as it was. Four of us, however, the “masochists” of the group, decided we'd hadn't had enough yet, and would continue on to this final, tallest peak in the range.

Right away, it became apparent that Santanoni would not give up it's prize easily. We took the wrong path out of Times Square, and after some searching (both in the woods ahead of us, as well as our memories of what the path looks like in summer), we soon found the correct route and were on our way. Our difficulties did not stop with finding the right path, however. The herd path to Santanoni is much more open, and less protected by trees and vegetation than any of the other paths on the range. As a result, snowfall and winds had deposited a lot more fresh powder along this route than we'd encountered so far during our hike. The going became quite slow, and even though we were taking turns breaking trail, our progress slowed consierably.

We'd determined that this assault on the final peak was a “do or die” approach. There was no turning back, we'd summit, and then return via the “new old” trail. Along the way, we searched for the junction where this alternate herd path from the valley departed the ridge... to no avail. There was so much snow, that any sign of the “new old” trail had been completely obscured, and we were unable to find it.

Despite the amplitude of the fresh snow, we were still able to follow the herd path by feel... when we were on it, our feet only sunk 6 inches or maybe a foot into the snow, but as soon as we stepped off it, we sank in to at least our knees. Over the bumps and false summits we went, using this method of following the trail whenever we were unsure which way we needed to go, until finally, no matter which way we stepped, we could find no broken trail to continue following. Unsure of whether we'd reached the summit, we spread out, but none of us had any luck with finding any continuation of the herd path. Both Highonlife and I though that we still had a bit further to go, but she pulled out her GPS, and we let it tick away, calculating our position. Finally, we pulled up the map, and it showed us right smack on top the summit! “Good enough to count!” I exclaimed, and I think we all breathed a sigh of relief at having finally reached the top.

We looked again for the herd path on the way back down, and again without success. We decided rather than to attempt to follow an unknown path we could not find, and potentially end up in serious trouble with spruce traps and approaching darkness, the path that was known and broken out was a much safer choice, even if it added two extra miles to our return to the trailhead. And so, tired and weary, but happy with a successful summit on each of the three peaks, we returned to Times Square (for the fourth time that day!). After a quick lunch and some more water, we began our descent. Highonlife, ever full of energy, again took off down the trail in front. Danie and I took up the rear, and the descent went quickly, although the ups and downs where the herd path traverses around the north shore of Bradley Pond were not too much appreciated. When we passed the camp where the two overnighters had set up for the weekend, we could see the flicker light of their fire against the trees in the dying light, and it sure looked inviting.

Back on the marked trail, we continued our return to the trailhead. It seemed to take a really long time, and the mental battle to keep placing one foot in front of the other was aided with the thoughts of pizza, which I'd been thinking about since 10 o'clock that morning when Danie and I resolved that this would be our dinner after we got out of the woods. When we passed by the lower end of the “new old” trail, we saw fresh snowshoe tracks headed up it, so someone must have attempted to climb Santanoni this way during the day, but apparently without success as we left the summit pretty late and never saw any sign of them on the ridge.

I did have one final burst of energy, I think when my lunch finally finished digesting, during which I was able to catch back up to the group (who'd gotten ahead while I stopped for granola bars and water). I was pretty surprised when we finally reached the trailhead to find that it had only taken us 2 hours to travel the 6 miles back from Times Square. It certainly felt like it had taken us much longer.

In retrospect, I certainly wasn't feeling 100% that day, and it almost seemed like I was starting to get sick. I'd had an occasional cough all day, and as soon as we were in the car, my body was like “ok, you can cough for real now,” and was wracked with spasms for much of the ride back. Since then, however, I've felt fine, so hopefully it was just an “under the weather” day, and not a sign of an illness to come.

Highonlife is certainly a hiking animal! Her unstoppable energy never let up during the day, and she broke trail far more than her fair share, without complaint. It almost seemed like she enjoyed breaking trail so much! The entire group, in fact, was a pleasure to hike with for sure.

I'd say this ranks as the hardest winter day hike I've participated in so far. Definitely even harder than Allen was as a winter day hike, although for Allen I was aided by having skis. If I were to do this again, I would probably at least ski the road walk at the beginning of the hike, and would continue up the trail towards Bradley Pond as far as I felt comfortable. We did see ski tracks on the trail as we hiked out, so others have had this idea for sure. Given the difficulties in climbing all three of these peaks in a single day, there is definitely something to be said for the merits of camping out at Bradley Pond as well!

yvon · Jan 31, 2011

I was there with Annie also saturday and I came close to broke completely the Santanoni Express trail for you.
We started late, but half way up that trail, I had to turn back to the parking. Annie cannot go any further, she found it too difficult for her. To bad for me, because I was ready to open that trail up to the Santanoni summit.