Tom Rankin
Well-known member
A group of VFTT'ers and friends met Friday night at the Ark just north of Keene. H. and M.M. were celebrating birthdays and we had a lot of fun that night. 9 of us set out Saturday morning to do as much of the Great Range as possible. 2 turned back soon after starting to persue other interests.
We met Pinpin at the trailhead! It was an honor to meet this legend of the ADKs. He told us he was going to do Dial and Nippletop AND Colvin and Blake, and he did! (See Trail Conditions for his reports).
There was some new snow, and more fell as we hiked. The wind was almost dead calm. The temperatures were in the teens and 20's. Most wore crampons, and some wore snowshoes from time to time. I wore my MSRs almost the entire trip.
We 'easily' did Lower and Upper Wolf Jaws, and then went over to Armstrong. Here a curious Pine Marten was flitting around, hoping to get a free meal. The views here were the best of the day for me.
At the Saddle between Armstrong and Gothics, our party split into '3' and '4', the '3' going on to Gothics, and the '4' going out. We made it out by about 6:00, almost totally in the dark, but we did not quite need the headlamps. The '3' almost caught up to the '4'.
After a late night celebration with a wide variety of 'propellants', 3 of us headed back to finish off the range. H. needed Sawteeth, I needed Gothics, and N. needed both. I was soooooooooooooooo tired from a cold and the late night that I almost bagged the hike altogether. Hiking up to the saddle between Sawteeth and Gothics was torture. My heart was racing, and I had to keep taking short breaks. (Why do we do this again?
) I estimated that I was doing about 5 minutes per 100 feet of vertical (slow for me), but this lead me to believe that if I could at least keep doing this pace, I would eventually get to Gothics and be back down before it got dark. That gave me some hope.
Getting to the saddle before I actually thought we would helped a little, but the trail to Gothics was not broken! I almost gave up again. H. and N. decided to go do Sawteeth, which was broken. We agreed that I would start up Gothics (1200' more of ascent!) and if I turned around, they would turn back too. Now, the hike hung on my shoulders! Great! Just what I needed!
There was 6-10" of powder to break, so it wasn't too bad, but I made slow progress, especially over the steep, icy sections. Hiking alone, I was all the more cautious. The first 100 yards of the trail were the toughest mentally. I almost bagged it again. But I thought of how disappointed the other 2 would be if I turned around. I willed myself to continue several times.
Somehow, when I got within sight of Pyramid (a large bump between Gothics and Sawteeth), I was encouraged, and my strength started to return. When I was almost to the summit, the clouds came rolling in. That was a little bit of a bummer, but I kept going. I was feeling better and better. I drew "I CAN" in the snow just after the summit of Pyramid and went down the steep slope to the saddle between Pyramid and Gothics.
At this point, I was not to be denied. There was no turning back. When I came to the junction that leads down to the JBL, the path was somewhat broken out. But it didn't matter, I was almost there, and I pressed on to the summit of Gothics. The clouds were well below me now, and the higher summits of the ADKs were revealed in their snow-capped splendor. I could see Marcy, Skylight, Haystack, Whiteface and many other peaks in all directions. Thousands of feet below me, I could see the AMR boathouse at the edge of the lake. The wind was almost calm. It was a moment of exultation. I drew "C U @ JCT" in the snow for my friends and continued on to the saddle between Armstrong and Gothics.
Just as I got to the saddle, I heard H. and N. talking! Were they right behind me?! I yelled out and they yelled back, but we could not understand each other. The direction of their voices made me think that they were in the saddle between Pyramid and Gothics, but I doubted normal voices could be heard at such a great distance. It turned out this was correct! Don't speak any secrets in the high peaks! Eventually they joined me at the saddle. We were all so elated by our success, that we high-fived and hugged each other.
The hike back down and out was uneventful, but there was a lot of good butt-sliding conditions along the trail. We got back to the cars an hour earlier than the day before, said our good byes and headed home. What a great weekend!
We met Pinpin at the trailhead! It was an honor to meet this legend of the ADKs. He told us he was going to do Dial and Nippletop AND Colvin and Blake, and he did! (See Trail Conditions for his reports).
There was some new snow, and more fell as we hiked. The wind was almost dead calm. The temperatures were in the teens and 20's. Most wore crampons, and some wore snowshoes from time to time. I wore my MSRs almost the entire trip.
We 'easily' did Lower and Upper Wolf Jaws, and then went over to Armstrong. Here a curious Pine Marten was flitting around, hoping to get a free meal. The views here were the best of the day for me.
At the Saddle between Armstrong and Gothics, our party split into '3' and '4', the '3' going on to Gothics, and the '4' going out. We made it out by about 6:00, almost totally in the dark, but we did not quite need the headlamps. The '3' almost caught up to the '4'.
After a late night celebration with a wide variety of 'propellants', 3 of us headed back to finish off the range. H. needed Sawteeth, I needed Gothics, and N. needed both. I was soooooooooooooooo tired from a cold and the late night that I almost bagged the hike altogether. Hiking up to the saddle between Sawteeth and Gothics was torture. My heart was racing, and I had to keep taking short breaks. (Why do we do this again?
) I estimated that I was doing about 5 minutes per 100 feet of vertical (slow for me), but this lead me to believe that if I could at least keep doing this pace, I would eventually get to Gothics and be back down before it got dark. That gave me some hope. Getting to the saddle before I actually thought we would helped a little, but the trail to Gothics was not broken! I almost gave up again. H. and N. decided to go do Sawteeth, which was broken. We agreed that I would start up Gothics (1200' more of ascent!) and if I turned around, they would turn back too. Now, the hike hung on my shoulders! Great! Just what I needed!
There was 6-10" of powder to break, so it wasn't too bad, but I made slow progress, especially over the steep, icy sections. Hiking alone, I was all the more cautious. The first 100 yards of the trail were the toughest mentally. I almost bagged it again. But I thought of how disappointed the other 2 would be if I turned around. I willed myself to continue several times.
Somehow, when I got within sight of Pyramid (a large bump between Gothics and Sawteeth), I was encouraged, and my strength started to return. When I was almost to the summit, the clouds came rolling in. That was a little bit of a bummer, but I kept going. I was feeling better and better. I drew "I CAN" in the snow just after the summit of Pyramid and went down the steep slope to the saddle between Pyramid and Gothics.
At this point, I was not to be denied. There was no turning back. When I came to the junction that leads down to the JBL, the path was somewhat broken out. But it didn't matter, I was almost there, and I pressed on to the summit of Gothics. The clouds were well below me now, and the higher summits of the ADKs were revealed in their snow-capped splendor. I could see Marcy, Skylight, Haystack, Whiteface and many other peaks in all directions. Thousands of feet below me, I could see the AMR boathouse at the edge of the lake. The wind was almost calm. It was a moment of exultation. I drew "C U @ JCT" in the snow for my friends and continued on to the saddle between Armstrong and Gothics.
Just as I got to the saddle, I heard H. and N. talking! Were they right behind me?! I yelled out and they yelled back, but we could not understand each other. The direction of their voices made me think that they were in the saddle between Pyramid and Gothics, but I doubted normal voices could be heard at such a great distance. It turned out this was correct! Don't speak any secrets in the high peaks! Eventually they joined me at the saddle. We were all so elated by our success, that we high-fived and hugged each other.
The hike back down and out was uneventful, but there was a lot of good butt-sliding conditions along the trail. We got back to the cars an hour earlier than the day before, said our good byes and headed home. What a great weekend!
