Chip
Well-known member
Sunday my wife, niece and boys dropped me at the 19 Mile Brook trailhead at about 9:45 on their way to meet up with other friends and ski Wildcat. My plan was to hike up 19 Mile with my skis through Carter Notch, summit the Wildcats and meet them by late afternoon after skiing down the resort.
19 Mile was well packed out by the hut dwellers. Carrying skis and wearing snowshoes, this was a steady, moderate ascent in pleasant conditions, patches of blue sky broken by summit snow clouds. Towards Carter Notch the snow fall picked up to the point where I'd say it was coming down at 2 or 3 inches per hour. The intersection sign for the hut and Wildcat Ridge Trail pointed down the packed trail to the hut in one direction and to the Wildcat Ridge "trail" in the other. There was no trail, just 2 to 4 feet of fresh powder and one blaze on a tree. After some food, water and layer changes I headed into the powder, past the blaze. I spent about 15 minutes going 15 yards in the direction I thought the trail went, looking up at the ascent in front of me, before making the easy decision to turn back. There was friends, family and beer at Wildcat and I didn't feel like pushing my luck. I was back to the trailhead by 1:30, ready to hike down 16 to the resort. Just then a gentleman came out of the woods and into the lot. I asked if he was heading south, he said no, but if I needed a lift it wouldn't be a problem. It turns out he was a VFTT member - dclynch - and he had attempted the same hike. He was ahead of me earlier, and had gone to the hut to try to see if anyone else was heading up Wildcat Ridge. He then turned back and was behind me on the way out.
Anyway, thanks for the lift dclynch ! Too bad we missed each other on the trail ! It was a good hike and good exercise and the correct decision to turn back.
19 Mile was well packed out by the hut dwellers. Carrying skis and wearing snowshoes, this was a steady, moderate ascent in pleasant conditions, patches of blue sky broken by summit snow clouds. Towards Carter Notch the snow fall picked up to the point where I'd say it was coming down at 2 or 3 inches per hour. The intersection sign for the hut and Wildcat Ridge Trail pointed down the packed trail to the hut in one direction and to the Wildcat Ridge "trail" in the other. There was no trail, just 2 to 4 feet of fresh powder and one blaze on a tree. After some food, water and layer changes I headed into the powder, past the blaze. I spent about 15 minutes going 15 yards in the direction I thought the trail went, looking up at the ascent in front of me, before making the easy decision to turn back. There was friends, family and beer at Wildcat and I didn't feel like pushing my luck. I was back to the trailhead by 1:30, ready to hike down 16 to the resort. Just then a gentleman came out of the woods and into the lot. I asked if he was heading south, he said no, but if I needed a lift it wouldn't be a problem. It turns out he was a VFTT member - dclynch - and he had attempted the same hike. He was ahead of me earlier, and had gone to the hut to try to see if anyone else was heading up Wildcat Ridge. He then turned back and was behind me on the way out.
Anyway, thanks for the lift dclynch ! Too bad we missed each other on the trail ! It was a good hike and good exercise and the correct decision to turn back.
