rocksnrolls
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strange enough thread title??
The two rolls are me, Rocksnrolls, and the only person who agreed to join me on this expedition: Rolly. The Trip-LI is Mt LIberty, LIttle Haystack and Mt LIncoln.
Our ascent route was the Liberty Springs Tr. Very nicely packed-out and a sweet snowshoeing experience. We had a group of three guys from the Springfield Mass area catch up with us a short way up the trail and we spent alot of the trip to Liberty hiking and chatting with them. One of them, an older gent, had only started hiking peaks a year or two back and was already nearing 40 of the 48
Very cool!
Liberty Spring was completely snowbound. We had thought it might be a mound of ice and one of the Springfielders had hoped to filter some water there, but no such luck.
Rolly and I were contemplating adding Mt Flume to the day - he has never been on that one - but once we hit the ridge and saw that we would be breaking trail out to Little Haystack we decided Flume would be a bit much to add. So we quickly headed up to the summit of Liberty, snapped some pictures and turned around to start our NoBo trek. On the little steep section just off the summit I managed to tweak a thigh muscle. Not too bad but it would bother me the rest of the weekend.
Heading up Francoina Ridge was a blast! The snow was at least 4 feet deep. It was neat to see the AT blazes at ankle-to-knee height. We had about a foot or so of snow to plow through, with some hardpack under that from whenever the last hikers had been through. The trees were well covered with piles of snow and the scenary was just wonderful. At one point Rolly climbed up onto a little bump off the trail to admire the view to the west. When I tried to follow I ended up with one leg sinking into a small spruce trap up to my crotch. Th eother leg was sticking straight out and I guess I must be pretty flexible since I didn't hurt myself. I passed my camera to Rolly to capture my predicament and then shrugged off my backpack so that I could roll out of the hole. Fun
The last push heading up to Little Haystack was on the tough side. The were times where I was making very little progress. It seemed I was sliding back ten inches for every foot of advance. With such awesome weather and clear views to the Bonds and Owl's Head to admire, you can be sure I didn't mind pausing frequently to catch my breath. The ankle on the same leg with the tweaked leg muscle started to bother me at this time. Again, not too bad - just annoying .
Just before we got to the summit we met a young man and woman heading south on the trail - without snowshoes ! We tried to disourage them but they were determined to bareboot their way through the nicely broken trail we had left. <sigh>
The hike from Haystack to Lincoln was a blast! Literally! Some of the strongest winds I'd ever felt had me going pretty slow at times, pausing and hunkering down during the stronger gusts. We had stowed our snowshoes and decided to bareboot this section. There was hardly enough ice to make crampons a necessity, and snow in only a few isolated spots, and we were able to rock hop most of the way without trouble. If the temps had been colder this would have been alot more difficult, but it was quite exilerating
We spent a little time on Lincoln enjoying the views and snapping pictures and then the clouds started to move in. We decided to get going and Rolly was soon hurrying off in front of me. He's more experienced (and confident) in winter hiking than I am so I was really lagging behind, carefully picking my way along and using my poles to brace myself against the wind. Once we got to Little Haystack we started to don our crampons for the descent down Falling Waters. I had gotten one crampon on when a group of Canadians came up the trail. They informed us that the trail was thick snow all the way down and that crampons weren't really necessary. Happy to hear that we stashed the points and started down.
What a blast! Did a little bootskiing, one or two glissades, but otherwise a nice quick descent. It had been a couple years and MANY trail mile since Ih ad last been on Falling Waters Tr and I had forgotten how gorgeous it was around the falls and cliffs. Rolly had headed off in front of me and I spent alot of time soaking in the sites and enjoying a little alone time. It was interesting to note the large amount of tracks going up the largest of the falls. Looks like a popular spot with ice climbers.
Finally getting to the trailhead I was surprised Rolly had only been waiting less than 10 minutes. I guess he had been just barely out of sight most of the descent when I felt all alone out there. We then headed to the Station for seafood specials (yum!) and to see if we could spot any familiar faces, but none were apparent.
The next day, after having a bunkroom to myself over at Lyon's, I headed into Lincoln for breakfast. Finally getting to try out Flapjacks without a long wait for a table, I'd have to say it didn't live up to the reviews I had heard from other hikers. Guess I'll stick with Mr Ws next time.
Pouring over maps while I ate, I decided to give a try on a small peak that doesn't seem to be on a list - Webster Slide Mtn, off the AT south of Moosilauke. I stopped by the Mtn Wanderer (to get a 4000'er shirt and a couple Vermont guidebooks) and Steve Smith gave this peak a good review. Unfortunately my thigh and ankle started barking at me soon after hitting the trail so I turned it into a slow easy stroll in the woods instead. The snow was getting mushy from the warming temps and the rain the night before made for some good snowshoe postholing. I was finding the going very difficult but was enjoying stopping frequently to close my eyes and listen to the woodland sounds around me. So many little sounds, bird calls, wind in the trees, water dripping, etc, that I might not notice much normally. Made for a magical experience.
I decided to take Rt 25 west and then Rt 10 south to just beyond Hannover. Such a beautiful drive, I don't think I'd been on it before. Hitting Rt 91 in Vermont, I quickly hit traffic thanks to one of those Border guard highway stop setups. Tax money well spent???
The two rolls are me, Rocksnrolls, and the only person who agreed to join me on this expedition: Rolly. The Trip-LI is Mt LIberty, LIttle Haystack and Mt LIncoln.
Our ascent route was the Liberty Springs Tr. Very nicely packed-out and a sweet snowshoeing experience. We had a group of three guys from the Springfield Mass area catch up with us a short way up the trail and we spent alot of the trip to Liberty hiking and chatting with them. One of them, an older gent, had only started hiking peaks a year or two back and was already nearing 40 of the 48
Very cool!Liberty Spring was completely snowbound. We had thought it might be a mound of ice and one of the Springfielders had hoped to filter some water there, but no such luck.
Rolly and I were contemplating adding Mt Flume to the day - he has never been on that one - but once we hit the ridge and saw that we would be breaking trail out to Little Haystack we decided Flume would be a bit much to add. So we quickly headed up to the summit of Liberty, snapped some pictures and turned around to start our NoBo trek. On the little steep section just off the summit I managed to tweak a thigh muscle. Not too bad but it would bother me the rest of the weekend.
Heading up Francoina Ridge was a blast! The snow was at least 4 feet deep. It was neat to see the AT blazes at ankle-to-knee height. We had about a foot or so of snow to plow through, with some hardpack under that from whenever the last hikers had been through. The trees were well covered with piles of snow and the scenary was just wonderful. At one point Rolly climbed up onto a little bump off the trail to admire the view to the west. When I tried to follow I ended up with one leg sinking into a small spruce trap up to my crotch. Th eother leg was sticking straight out and I guess I must be pretty flexible since I didn't hurt myself. I passed my camera to Rolly to capture my predicament and then shrugged off my backpack so that I could roll out of the hole. Fun
The last push heading up to Little Haystack was on the tough side. The were times where I was making very little progress. It seemed I was sliding back ten inches for every foot of advance. With such awesome weather and clear views to the Bonds and Owl's Head to admire, you can be sure I didn't mind pausing frequently to catch my breath. The ankle on the same leg with the tweaked leg muscle started to bother me at this time. Again, not too bad - just annoying
.Just before we got to the summit we met a young man and woman heading south on the trail - without snowshoes
! We tried to disourage them but they were determined to bareboot their way through the nicely broken trail we had left. <sigh>The hike from Haystack to Lincoln was a blast! Literally! Some of the strongest winds I'd ever felt had me going pretty slow at times, pausing and hunkering down during the stronger gusts. We had stowed our snowshoes and decided to bareboot this section. There was hardly enough ice to make crampons a necessity, and snow in only a few isolated spots, and we were able to rock hop most of the way without trouble. If the temps had been colder this would have been alot more difficult, but it was quite exilerating
We spent a little time on Lincoln enjoying the views and snapping pictures and then the clouds started to move in. We decided to get going and Rolly was soon hurrying off in front of me. He's more experienced (and confident) in winter hiking than I am so I was really lagging behind, carefully picking my way along and using my poles to brace myself against the wind. Once we got to Little Haystack we started to don our crampons for the descent down Falling Waters. I had gotten one crampon on when a group of Canadians came up the trail. They informed us that the trail was thick snow all the way down and that crampons weren't really necessary. Happy to hear that we stashed the points and started down.
What a blast! Did a little bootskiing, one or two glissades, but otherwise a nice quick descent. It had been a couple years and MANY trail mile since Ih ad last been on Falling Waters Tr and I had forgotten how gorgeous it was around the falls and cliffs. Rolly had headed off in front of me and I spent alot of time soaking in the sites and enjoying a little alone time. It was interesting to note the large amount of tracks going up the largest of the falls. Looks like a popular spot with ice climbers.
Finally getting to the trailhead I was surprised Rolly had only been waiting less than 10 minutes. I guess he had been just barely out of sight most of the descent when I felt all alone out there. We then headed to the Station for seafood specials (yum!) and to see if we could spot any familiar faces, but none were apparent.
The next day, after having a bunkroom to myself over at Lyon's, I headed into Lincoln for breakfast. Finally getting to try out Flapjacks without a long wait for a table, I'd have to say it didn't live up to the reviews I had heard from other hikers. Guess I'll stick with Mr Ws next time.
Pouring over maps while I ate, I decided to give a try on a small peak that doesn't seem to be on a list - Webster Slide Mtn, off the AT south of Moosilauke. I stopped by the Mtn Wanderer (to get a 4000'er shirt and a couple Vermont guidebooks) and Steve Smith gave this peak a good review. Unfortunately my thigh and ankle started barking at me soon after hitting the trail so I turned it into a slow easy stroll in the woods instead. The snow was getting mushy from the warming temps and the rain the night before made for some good snowshoe postholing. I was finding the going very difficult but was enjoying stopping frequently to close my eyes and listen to the woodland sounds around me. So many little sounds, bird calls, wind in the trees, water dripping, etc, that I might not notice much normally. Made for a magical experience.
I decided to take Rt 25 west and then Rt 10 south to just beyond Hannover. Such a beautiful drive, I don't think I'd been on it before. Hitting Rt 91 in Vermont, I quickly hit traffic thanks to one of those Border guard highway stop setups. Tax money well spent???
