una_dogger
Well-known member
Friday, MichaelJ, HikerBob, Lawnsale and I met up at the Zealand Trailhead. Our initial plan was to hike into Zealand Hut friday, then out over the Bonds to Lincoln Woods on saturday. As the week progressed and the weather forecast deteriorated, we began to wonder if it was possible. By friday morning, the Higher Summits forecast was calling for 100 mile hour winds and windchill of -20 degrees on Washington for Saturday......like I said, we remained optimistic. A hut stay and a hike in the mountains is always fun!
Upon arrival at Zealand TH, the thermometer in my car registered about 27 degrees. HikerBob and MJ soon arrived and we began to gear up. We had plans to meet Lawnsale directly at the hut, but were pleasantly surprised to meet up with him as we crossed Rt 302. We headed up Zealand road on foot as Lawnsale parked and geared up, and soon thereafter he met us out on the road.
We passed about three active logging worksites on the way up Zealand Rd. The temperatures quickly dropped during our hike in, and when we reached the clearing near the hut, blowing snow obscured our view of the Twinway and Zeacliff, making for an eerie winterscape. We arrived at the hut about 3pm, claimed our bunks, and signed up for our kitchen slot. A group of four college students who had camped out thursday night poked their heads into the hut and asked, "do you take credit cards?". The were VERY happy to learn the AMC would take thier plastic and rushed off to break down their camp.
The night wore on, with MichaelJ, HikerBob and Lawnsale embroiled in a cribbage hoedown. We got into the kitchen first and cooked up a hearty dinner of mashed potatoes, chicken sausages and gravy (AKA Bangers and Mash, special for HikerBob). Lawnsale brought along a tube of Toll House Cookie dough and made desert. Yum!
The hut soon filled with several groups of hikers, many interested in a winter Bonds Traverse. The night went on, many hands of cribbage were played, while groups ate and talked and laughed and waited out the night and the official morning forecast from Mt Washington.
The walls of the hut reverberated with the contented snores of sleeping hikers......
Morning broke and the forecast was for 90 mph sustained winds, with gusts greater than 120 mph, temps of -5 with windchills in the -20s. The thermometer at the hut wavered between 0 and 1 degree! HikerBob, who's been on Zeacliff, Zealand and Hale in every season as well as the month of January, opted to have "a lie in" at the hut. We made plans to meet him after Zeacliff and/or Zealand back at the hut in four hours.
We set off a little later, realizing that we wouldn't be making the traverse. I had my NEW MSR Denali Evo Ascents to break in, and I was hellbound to break trail.
Off we set into the bitter cold. It took about two minutes for my hands, which were enclosed within thick liners and puffy windblock glittens to FREEZE. I took out my big killer gortex mittens, and stuffed my aching hands inside. Within a few minutes they began to burn and come back to life, but I had to ditch my trekking poles on the trail because I couldn't grip the handles with so much insulation on my hands!
We arrived at Zeacliff shortly after, and were greeted by a mystical view of blowing snow creating a "fuzz filter", the TwinWay and the valley were visible but the surrounding summits formed a dark hulking backdrop. The winds were really beginning to pick up and it was difficult to stand still for more than a minute or two. Unbroken trail lay ahead, and I happily jumped into my MSRs and plowed through the snow drifts along the Twinway bound for Zealand. The snowpack was about 1 foot with drifts about three feet tall. Along the Twinway from Zeacliff to Zealand, the wind had sculpted beautiful flowing drifts. The trees creaked and the woods were peaceful and silent. We began to climb, and I hoisted up my televators.
While searching for snowshoes, I got alot of mixed reviews about televators. All I can say is I am soooo glad I spent the extra fourty bucks for the televator model. I practically sprinted up hill with very little effort on these snowshoes -- I highly recommend anyone who is about to make a snow shoe investement for use on steep trails to go for the MSR Denali Evo Ascents, these snowshoes are extremely light and I adapted to them immediately. Heck, I even went up and down the ladder with them on!! I love my new snowshoes...just ask anyone on the hike!!! I can't wait for my next opportunity to wear them!
On the final pitch to Zealand, the winds were howling ! We made the turn to the Zealand spur and immediately faced into the winds. We stopped at the summit for pictures and snacks. I took off my gloves and within seconds my hands froze, I fumbled with my pack straps, angry and frustrated and cursing my hands for not working. Lawnsale helped me get my thermos of cocoa out, and I took a few sips. The wind was rushing through my body like it was made of cheesecloth. After a few minutes of stopping, even after drinking piping hot cocoa, I had to move. I told MichaelJ and Lawnsale that I had to move to get warm and had to do it quick. I don't think I have ever expereienced that type of cold before. I wasn't shivering, just felt like my chest was hollow and filled with cold air. At the Zealand/Twinway junction, Lawnsale reached for his wind gauge and recorded 50 mph gusts. My initial reaction was "Wow!" quickly followed by "Why the hell am I standing here!?" . I happily hotfooted it (yes, my feet were warm!) down the trail, and soon met up with the first group heading up from the hut. They thanked us for breaking trail and we all agreed "its cold out here!".
We made it back down to the hut in about an hour or so, MichaelJ practicing his one-booted glissade, the ever-smiling Lawnsale proclaiming "its ALL good!" at every opportunity , and me...well I was dishing out all the abuse I thought my new snowshoes could take, and hoping they could take it (they did!)
We arrived back at the hut and the temperatures had dropped into the negatives. It was good to be back in the warm hut, where Sean the Caretaker had whipped up a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies....yummy!
Initially we had discussed heading out over Hale. I had warmed back up but had some reservations about hiking anytime today after dark, and returning to the frigid temps and winds at elevation, I didn't feel right about pushing my body back down to such a cold core temperature again. MichaelJ wasn't feeling his strongest, and HikerBob...well he'd been there, done that. The ever-positive Lawnsale agreed the mountains would wait for him; and after a quick lunch we headed back out the Zealand Trail. The temperatures had continued to fall throughout the day. We reached the road and made it back out to the cars in about an hour, we were cruising down Zealand Road! It felt good to really move out and get into the Zone.
I got into my car at the Zealand Parking Lot and the outside thermometer read 1 degree.
This weekend was one of those hikes that really reminded me how fragile we are against the extremes of winter. I've done lots of winter hiking, but never have I expereinced the combination of high winds, overcast skies and subzero temperatures -- Mother Nature had other plans for us this weekend, and it wasn't to traverse the Bonds. But we had a wonderful time getting to know one another, sharing a hut expereince together, and best of all.....I got to wear my new snowshoes!
Pics to come...
Upon arrival at Zealand TH, the thermometer in my car registered about 27 degrees. HikerBob and MJ soon arrived and we began to gear up. We had plans to meet Lawnsale directly at the hut, but were pleasantly surprised to meet up with him as we crossed Rt 302. We headed up Zealand road on foot as Lawnsale parked and geared up, and soon thereafter he met us out on the road.
We passed about three active logging worksites on the way up Zealand Rd. The temperatures quickly dropped during our hike in, and when we reached the clearing near the hut, blowing snow obscured our view of the Twinway and Zeacliff, making for an eerie winterscape. We arrived at the hut about 3pm, claimed our bunks, and signed up for our kitchen slot. A group of four college students who had camped out thursday night poked their heads into the hut and asked, "do you take credit cards?". The were VERY happy to learn the AMC would take thier plastic and rushed off to break down their camp.
The night wore on, with MichaelJ, HikerBob and Lawnsale embroiled in a cribbage hoedown. We got into the kitchen first and cooked up a hearty dinner of mashed potatoes, chicken sausages and gravy (AKA Bangers and Mash, special for HikerBob). Lawnsale brought along a tube of Toll House Cookie dough and made desert. Yum!
The hut soon filled with several groups of hikers, many interested in a winter Bonds Traverse. The night went on, many hands of cribbage were played, while groups ate and talked and laughed and waited out the night and the official morning forecast from Mt Washington.
The walls of the hut reverberated with the contented snores of sleeping hikers......
Morning broke and the forecast was for 90 mph sustained winds, with gusts greater than 120 mph, temps of -5 with windchills in the -20s. The thermometer at the hut wavered between 0 and 1 degree! HikerBob, who's been on Zeacliff, Zealand and Hale in every season as well as the month of January, opted to have "a lie in" at the hut. We made plans to meet him after Zeacliff and/or Zealand back at the hut in four hours.
We set off a little later, realizing that we wouldn't be making the traverse. I had my NEW MSR Denali Evo Ascents to break in, and I was hellbound to break trail.
Off we set into the bitter cold. It took about two minutes for my hands, which were enclosed within thick liners and puffy windblock glittens to FREEZE. I took out my big killer gortex mittens, and stuffed my aching hands inside. Within a few minutes they began to burn and come back to life, but I had to ditch my trekking poles on the trail because I couldn't grip the handles with so much insulation on my hands! We arrived at Zeacliff shortly after, and were greeted by a mystical view of blowing snow creating a "fuzz filter", the TwinWay and the valley were visible but the surrounding summits formed a dark hulking backdrop. The winds were really beginning to pick up and it was difficult to stand still for more than a minute or two. Unbroken trail lay ahead, and I happily jumped into my MSRs and plowed through the snow drifts along the Twinway bound for Zealand. The snowpack was about 1 foot with drifts about three feet tall. Along the Twinway from Zeacliff to Zealand, the wind had sculpted beautiful flowing drifts. The trees creaked and the woods were peaceful and silent. We began to climb, and I hoisted up my televators.
While searching for snowshoes, I got alot of mixed reviews about televators. All I can say is I am soooo glad I spent the extra fourty bucks for the televator model. I practically sprinted up hill with very little effort on these snowshoes -- I highly recommend anyone who is about to make a snow shoe investement for use on steep trails to go for the MSR Denali Evo Ascents, these snowshoes are extremely light and I adapted to them immediately. Heck, I even went up and down the ladder with them on!! I love my new snowshoes...just ask anyone on the hike!!!
I can't wait for my next opportunity to wear them! On the final pitch to Zealand, the winds were howling ! We made the turn to the Zealand spur and immediately faced into the winds. We stopped at the summit for pictures and snacks. I took off my gloves and within seconds my hands froze, I fumbled with my pack straps, angry and frustrated and cursing my hands for not working. Lawnsale helped me get my thermos of cocoa out, and I took a few sips. The wind was rushing through my body like it was made of cheesecloth. After a few minutes of stopping, even after drinking piping hot cocoa, I had to move. I told MichaelJ and Lawnsale that I had to move to get warm and had to do it quick. I don't think I have ever expereienced that type of cold before. I wasn't shivering, just felt like my chest was hollow and filled with cold air. At the Zealand/Twinway junction, Lawnsale reached for his wind gauge and recorded 50 mph gusts. My initial reaction was "Wow!" quickly followed by "Why the hell am I standing here!?"
. I happily hotfooted it (yes, my feet were warm!) down the trail, and soon met up with the first group heading up from the hut. They thanked us for breaking trail and we all agreed "its cold out here!".We made it back down to the hut in about an hour or so, MichaelJ practicing his one-booted glissade, the ever-smiling Lawnsale proclaiming "its ALL good!" at every opportunity
, and me...well I was dishing out all the abuse I thought my new snowshoes could take, and hoping they could take it (they did!) We arrived back at the hut and the temperatures had dropped into the negatives. It was good to be back in the warm hut, where Sean the Caretaker had whipped up a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies....yummy!
Initially we had discussed heading out over Hale. I had warmed back up but had some reservations about hiking anytime today after dark, and returning to the frigid temps and winds at elevation, I didn't feel right about pushing my body back down to such a cold core temperature again. MichaelJ wasn't feeling his strongest, and HikerBob...well he'd been there, done that. The ever-positive Lawnsale agreed the mountains would wait for him; and after a quick lunch we headed back out the Zealand Trail. The temperatures had continued to fall throughout the day. We reached the road and made it back out to the cars in about an hour, we were cruising down Zealand Road! It felt good to really move out and get into the Zone.
I got into my car at the Zealand Parking Lot and the outside thermometer read 1 degree.
This weekend was one of those hikes that really reminded me how fragile we are against the extremes of winter. I've done lots of winter hiking, but never have I expereinced the combination of high winds, overcast skies and subzero temperatures -- Mother Nature had other plans for us this weekend, and it wasn't to traverse the Bonds. But we had a wonderful time getting to know one another, sharing a hut expereince together, and best of all.....I got to wear my new snowshoes!
Pics to come...
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