sapblatt
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2004
- Messages
- 2,177
- Reaction score
- 286
I first met Eric (Tuco) about 2 ½ years ago on a day where novices were pretending they knew what they were doing on snow and ice on the Trypyramids. We also had the pleasure of meeting DoubleBow and Rols on that day which was an early hint at all of the death marches we would endure in the coming years. Eric kept plodding away at his 48 – getting some here and there, doing lots of traverses and repeat peaks. As all us 48’rs know, you eventually get to a point where you are so close to finishing you just get obsessed and will hike in any conditions to get done – Eric had earmarked this day and hiked on a pretty rough day a few weeks pack to get the Wildcats so he would be all set to finish today.
We gathered a small, intimate group of 12 (but we were never all together in a wilderness area at once, and if anyone took a group shot of 12 people, rest assured it was stitched together from multiple prints on PhotoShop!) Along for this day were Rols, LittleBear, Bobby, LarryD, Marty, Ray, Ridgewalker, Mad Townie, Andy(and his very cool rescued dog), and BigEarl – the last three I had never met before today. We met up at Ferncroft for 7 AM on the trail to hit Whiteface and Passaconaway via the pretty standard route of the Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail and Dicey’s Mill Trail. Temps were around 20 at the start and would get no higher than 25 except for part of the descent in the mid afternoon. Winds were light and nobody had any real issues with the weather except for getting a quick chill during breaks.
We took an early break and photo op on the first ledges and we continued up – Larry and I marveled at how we always forget how difficult a particular hike may be. The ledges on this trail leading up to the south summit ledges are amongst the most challenging areas in the Whites – especially with a mix of snow and ice on them. We all made it up and over and took a break before hitting the Rollins Trail – at this point everyone was wearing traction and would continue to do so until returning to the junction of Dicey’s Mill and the Rollins on the descent.
Everyone made it across the Rollins fairly quickly – it was a pretty easy shot with Stabilicers, YakTrax of Marty’s new, and proudly endorsed Kathoola MicroSpikes. We all pushed onto Passaconaway for Eric’s 48th and started our descent around 2:00 PM. We made exceptional time getting down the hill – we all got back to Ferncroft between 4 and 4:30 and made quick calls and enjoyed a 21 degree beer. Eight of us headed over to the Yankee Smokehouse to feast on various forms of meat – it hit the spot.
This was a great day with very nice early winter conditions and a tremendous group of friends who enjoyed a great day. It was nice to finally meet Andy, Peter (MadTownie) and BigEarl – I hope to see all of you again real soon. Lastly, congratulations to Eric – who really stuck with the 48 for a number of years while balancing work, family and a debilitating hiking obsession – I truly understand. It has been great being part of your journey and I look forward to many more future hikes.
I trust a lot of you took a lot more pics than I did - please post them - I look forward to seeing them all!
PICTURES
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CauGbVozaKI1g
We gathered a small, intimate group of 12 (but we were never all together in a wilderness area at once, and if anyone took a group shot of 12 people, rest assured it was stitched together from multiple prints on PhotoShop!) Along for this day were Rols, LittleBear, Bobby, LarryD, Marty, Ray, Ridgewalker, Mad Townie, Andy(and his very cool rescued dog), and BigEarl – the last three I had never met before today. We met up at Ferncroft for 7 AM on the trail to hit Whiteface and Passaconaway via the pretty standard route of the Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail and Dicey’s Mill Trail. Temps were around 20 at the start and would get no higher than 25 except for part of the descent in the mid afternoon. Winds were light and nobody had any real issues with the weather except for getting a quick chill during breaks.
We took an early break and photo op on the first ledges and we continued up – Larry and I marveled at how we always forget how difficult a particular hike may be. The ledges on this trail leading up to the south summit ledges are amongst the most challenging areas in the Whites – especially with a mix of snow and ice on them. We all made it up and over and took a break before hitting the Rollins Trail – at this point everyone was wearing traction and would continue to do so until returning to the junction of Dicey’s Mill and the Rollins on the descent.
Everyone made it across the Rollins fairly quickly – it was a pretty easy shot with Stabilicers, YakTrax of Marty’s new, and proudly endorsed Kathoola MicroSpikes. We all pushed onto Passaconaway for Eric’s 48th and started our descent around 2:00 PM. We made exceptional time getting down the hill – we all got back to Ferncroft between 4 and 4:30 and made quick calls and enjoyed a 21 degree beer. Eight of us headed over to the Yankee Smokehouse to feast on various forms of meat – it hit the spot.
This was a great day with very nice early winter conditions and a tremendous group of friends who enjoyed a great day. It was nice to finally meet Andy, Peter (MadTownie) and BigEarl – I hope to see all of you again real soon. Lastly, congratulations to Eric – who really stuck with the 48 for a number of years while balancing work, family and a debilitating hiking obsession – I truly understand. It has been great being part of your journey and I look forward to many more future hikes.
I trust a lot of you took a lot more pics than I did - please post them - I look forward to seeing them all!
PICTURES
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CauGbVozaKI1g
