1HappyHiker
Well-known member
Although the title of this report is a bit of an exaggeration, it's not too far from the truth! On the day of this hike, the conditions were such that you could walk on top the snow with no fuss, no muss, and no sinking! Boiler plate conditions were created by recent rain and warm weather combined with a hard overnight freeze.
With the solidly frozen snowpack, it was a pure hiking delight to roam throughout the woods, both on-trail and off-trail. Since it was like walking on a pavement, it took little time to cover big distances.
My trek started in the Crawford Notch on the Ethan Pond Trail, and from there I hiked to Shoal Pond located in the Pemi. Along the way, I made a stop at Ethan Pond. In addition to those two on-trail destinations, I also did two off-trail forays. This included a short bushwhack to "little" Ethan Pond (just a bit east of the main Ethan Pond), plus a longer bushwhack to a 3K ledge located about a mile west of Ethan Pond.
So, here are a few snapshots taken during this trek.
View of Mt. Willey from Short Bushwhack to "little" Ethan Pond
Westward View from the actual Ethan Pond (Bond, Guyot, South Twin on Horizon)
The next three photos (shown below) were taken from the top of a 3K ledge that was reached by about a 0.3 mile bushwhack off the Ethan Pond Trail. I'm grateful to Steve Smith for suggesting this ledge to me. The views from here were fantastic, plus it was on a sunny south-facing ledge which made for a perfect lunch spot!
The view that I found most fascinating from this ledge was the vista of Ethan Pond at the base of the cliffs on Mt. Willey, along with Stairs Mountain and Mt. Resolution clearly visible on the horizon. But by far, the most dominant view from this ledge was that of the Carrigain Notch and the awesome mountains surrounding it.
Ledge View of Mt. Willey, Ethan Pond and Stairs Mountain
Ledge View of Carrigain Notch (slightly zoomed)
Ledge View of Mt. Carrigain and the Hancocks
After the bushwhack to the 3K ledge, I continued my "sidewalk" journey on top of the snow. Shoal Pond was my next destination. Up to this point, my hiking had been right up against the northern edge of the Pemi, but Shoal Pond is actually in the Pemi! I stayed on the Ethan Pond Trail for awhile, but since the snow conditions were so fantastic, I opted to take a shortcut to Shoal Pond. I sort of angled southwesterly off-trail and very shortly intersected the Shoal Pond Trail just a bit north of the pond.
It's probably just a matter of personal taste, but I really love the views from Shoal Pond. Below are two snapshots taken from the pond.
South View from Shoal Pond Toward Mt. Carrigain
North View from Shoal Pond Toward the Zealand Notch
After spending considerable time soaking in the views from Shoal Pond, I contemplated trekking on over to Thoreau Falls, but in the end, decided not to do this. However, since I was making such good time on my return trip, I began to feel a bit guilty about not taking the time to go to Thoreau Falls. So, to rid some of my guilt feelings, I went Ripley Falls toward the end of my trek. It's just a short 0.4 miles off the Ethan Pond Trail, not far from the trailhead in Crawford Notch. Although this might have been a questionable substitute for Thoreau Falls, it was still worthwhile. Below is a snapshot of Ripley Falls.
Ripley Falls
What a great day! Considering the numerous off-trail portions of this trek, it's difficult to be precise, but I'd roughly guesstimate that this was perhaps a 13 to 14 mile journey overall.
1HappyHiker
With the solidly frozen snowpack, it was a pure hiking delight to roam throughout the woods, both on-trail and off-trail. Since it was like walking on a pavement, it took little time to cover big distances.
My trek started in the Crawford Notch on the Ethan Pond Trail, and from there I hiked to Shoal Pond located in the Pemi. Along the way, I made a stop at Ethan Pond. In addition to those two on-trail destinations, I also did two off-trail forays. This included a short bushwhack to "little" Ethan Pond (just a bit east of the main Ethan Pond), plus a longer bushwhack to a 3K ledge located about a mile west of Ethan Pond.
So, here are a few snapshots taken during this trek.
View of Mt. Willey from Short Bushwhack to "little" Ethan Pond
Westward View from the actual Ethan Pond (Bond, Guyot, South Twin on Horizon)
The next three photos (shown below) were taken from the top of a 3K ledge that was reached by about a 0.3 mile bushwhack off the Ethan Pond Trail. I'm grateful to Steve Smith for suggesting this ledge to me. The views from here were fantastic, plus it was on a sunny south-facing ledge which made for a perfect lunch spot!
The view that I found most fascinating from this ledge was the vista of Ethan Pond at the base of the cliffs on Mt. Willey, along with Stairs Mountain and Mt. Resolution clearly visible on the horizon. But by far, the most dominant view from this ledge was that of the Carrigain Notch and the awesome mountains surrounding it.
Ledge View of Mt. Willey, Ethan Pond and Stairs Mountain
Ledge View of Carrigain Notch (slightly zoomed)
Ledge View of Mt. Carrigain and the Hancocks
After the bushwhack to the 3K ledge, I continued my "sidewalk" journey on top of the snow. Shoal Pond was my next destination. Up to this point, my hiking had been right up against the northern edge of the Pemi, but Shoal Pond is actually in the Pemi! I stayed on the Ethan Pond Trail for awhile, but since the snow conditions were so fantastic, I opted to take a shortcut to Shoal Pond. I sort of angled southwesterly off-trail and very shortly intersected the Shoal Pond Trail just a bit north of the pond.
It's probably just a matter of personal taste, but I really love the views from Shoal Pond. Below are two snapshots taken from the pond.
South View from Shoal Pond Toward Mt. Carrigain
North View from Shoal Pond Toward the Zealand Notch
After spending considerable time soaking in the views from Shoal Pond, I contemplated trekking on over to Thoreau Falls, but in the end, decided not to do this. However, since I was making such good time on my return trip, I began to feel a bit guilty about not taking the time to go to Thoreau Falls. So, to rid some of my guilt feelings, I went Ripley Falls toward the end of my trek. It's just a short 0.4 miles off the Ethan Pond Trail, not far from the trailhead in Crawford Notch. Although this might have been a questionable substitute for Thoreau Falls, it was still worthwhile. Below is a snapshot of Ripley Falls.
Ripley Falls
What a great day! Considering the numerous off-trail portions of this trek, it's difficult to be precise, but I'd roughly guesstimate that this was perhaps a 13 to 14 mile journey overall.
1HappyHiker
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