Valley Way Question

[sapblatt]

As the much awaited traverse lies on the less than 36 hour horizon I was wondering if one of you more experienced types could tell me how difficult (or hopefullly, how easy) the Valley Way is to follow in the dark with a head lamp?
Hoping to get a very early start and looking at the map there seems to be a jumble of trails about a mile up, near where the Randolph Path comes in and a bunch of smaller trails that goe to various water falls etc. I know the Valley Way is something of a highway, but I want to be sure that it is reasonably easy to follow for a couple of hikers with little to no darkness experience.
Thanks for any help!

 

[GeorgeFitch]

You are right, that area has a real high density of trails in it. Just looking at the topo map confirms this.

Shouldn't be a problem for you, but it might be a good idea to flash your light aways up the trail now and then so you pick up the trail signs before you walk past them.

The only thing I found tricky hiking at night was a wide stream crossing. It had plenty of stepping stones, but the flashlight just couldn't illuminate where the trail resumed on the opposite bank. I spent a good deal of time walking back and forth before I found it.

Best of Luck.

 

[sapblatt]

Thank you

George and Kevin -
Thank you so much for the input!
aOne of the reasons we are starting early is because of the T-storm threat...I figure if there are afternoon storms we should be near done, in the forest, or at least at a good bail out poing (Ammo or Edmand's Path.) We are skipping Clay, Washington and Monroe but plan on hitting all of the others. Book time for this is around 12 hours. I would much prefer to start in the dark than end in the dark!
Good luck on the Bonds! I have to hit them this year and I am thinking about doing the traverse over the Twins.

 

[jfb]

Once back in the woods Valley Way is a wide swath that stays left.
Kevin

After crossing under the power lines and entering the woods again, Valley Way goes slightly left but then Maple Walk branches left after about 100 ft. and leads to the Fallsway which goes back to Valley Way.

 

[GeorgeFitch]

Alpine Starts

I believe the term for this is "Alpine Start". Better to start in the dark then finish in the dark. Also used on glaciers to get most of the climbing out of the way while the snow is still firm. People who climb Ranier usually start for the summit from 10,000 foot Camp Muir at one or two in the morning. Kind of neat to see a string of headlamps moving slowly in the dark. And like Kevin says, you get to see a glorious sunrise and I always get a really good feeling to know that I have put some miles behind me while everyone back home is still in bed.

Clarification on my above post: The stream I mentioned is NOT on Valley Way, it was just an example of the only time I have had trouble following a trail below treeline in the dark. Above treeline in the Northern Presis it can be a little tricky in the dark because the grey cairns just blend in with all the other grey rocks, but with care it is not a biggie.

 

[JeffAndrews]

I have the amazing ability to take just about every wrong turn I come across. But I had no problem following Valley Way up in the dark.

I actually find it easier to follow trails in the dark. Probably because there isn't much else to look at so I don't get distracted. I can just focus on the trail in front of me and making sure that I stay on the right one.