Suebiscuit
New member
After meeting in Plymouth at 5 am (5:10 actually – a few white out squalls slowed down the driving progress a bit) Frodo, Hamtero, NH_Mt_Hiker and I decided we’d spot a car at Nancy Pond Trailhead, hoping we’d have enough time to complete a point-to-point via Desolation and Nancy Pond Trail, then started out for Vose spur from Sawyer road. Not much snow – 6-8 inches – along the lower portion of Signal Ridge Trail or Carrigain Notch Trail so the going was quick. NH lost one of his Mountain Dews along the way, looking clearly concerned that his Dew levels might drop precipitously low during the hike – a serious problem to be low on antifreeze on such a frigid day… We passed the big boulder, and started up towards Vose spur. NH was keen on following the herd path, but Frodo led the way up the funner freeform route. In the notch the wind had been howling, but on the talus field, we enjoyed a wind-free rest surprised by the fairly clear conditions. We continued our way up, with NH repeatedly saying “blah, blah herd path” while we ignored him (actually I learned that as a woman, my vote counted more than all of their’s put together, so “This way looks appealing” set the course for the moment and perhaps a lifetime of getting my way), using as much of the talus field as possible to gain ground. About 20 minutes later, found the canister, had a quick noonish break, but it was getting chillier as the day progressed, so we didn’t linger long.
We dove and crashed our way down into the col to the little talus patch, then plowed our way up the steep slope. Snow depth was about a foot at this point, and fairly slippery, but wasn’t enough to need snowshoes. 600 feet of steep and thick got us panting, but by the time we reached the start of the ridge to Carrigain, temps had dropped more, and despite the tree coverage, we were getting some wind action, so it was getting quite chilly (somewhere around 5-10 below). Wardrobe and food stops were required, so progress slowed a bit, but by 2:45 or so we were on the summit of Carrigain. We had decided it was too late to head down Desolation into the potential black hole of Stillwater junction (Frodo said the trail is hard to follow even in summer, and very few people go down there in winter) and the bushwhack had been a challenge, so we scurried down Signal Ridge, enjoying the smooth ride of several inches of perfect fresh snow on packed snow. Passed a group of 5-6 people heading up to camp somewhere – hope they were warm enough – the temp was still dropping. The wind was quiet as we crossed Signal Ridge – very pleasant! Hamtero stopped about a half mile down the trail, realizing he had lost a snowshoe – most likely on the bushwhack - so we stopped to lament. Too late, too far and too cold to go searching… If anyone wants to be a hero and go rescue it, I think he’d put up a reward! Really – it was easy going up there (not!) We practiced cycling pacelines on Sawyer Road (‘drafting’ actually worked to block the wind!), so made good time. Back at the car around 5:30, souvlaki sandwich from HG pizza in Lincoln in the belly by 7:30, home by 10:00…nice day out!
We dove and crashed our way down into the col to the little talus patch, then plowed our way up the steep slope. Snow depth was about a foot at this point, and fairly slippery, but wasn’t enough to need snowshoes. 600 feet of steep and thick got us panting, but by the time we reached the start of the ridge to Carrigain, temps had dropped more, and despite the tree coverage, we were getting some wind action, so it was getting quite chilly (somewhere around 5-10 below). Wardrobe and food stops were required, so progress slowed a bit, but by 2:45 or so we were on the summit of Carrigain. We had decided it was too late to head down Desolation into the potential black hole of Stillwater junction (Frodo said the trail is hard to follow even in summer, and very few people go down there in winter) and the bushwhack had been a challenge, so we scurried down Signal Ridge, enjoying the smooth ride of several inches of perfect fresh snow on packed snow. Passed a group of 5-6 people heading up to camp somewhere – hope they were warm enough – the temp was still dropping. The wind was quiet as we crossed Signal Ridge – very pleasant! Hamtero stopped about a half mile down the trail, realizing he had lost a snowshoe – most likely on the bushwhack - so we stopped to lament. Too late, too far and too cold to go searching… If anyone wants to be a hero and go rescue it, I think he’d put up a reward! Really – it was easy going up there (not!) We practiced cycling pacelines on Sawyer Road (‘drafting’ actually worked to block the wind!), so made good time. Back at the car around 5:30, souvlaki sandwich from HG pizza in Lincoln in the belly by 7:30, home by 10:00…nice day out!
