Sept. 19/20. This little adventure strung together four trails I had never been on. Ryan and I headed out a little after 11 from PNVC and made quick progress to the Huntington Ravine trail. Before too long we were getting great views of the climb up ahead. The base of the climb -"the fan" - was fun boulder-hopping a la many of the other trails in the area. At the top of the fan the real vertical climb begins. At this point we met a group of three other hikers, two of whom seemed a bit nervous, while the third was doing his best to encourage them (drill sargeant style
). I'm not sure he was any more confident than they were, however, because he expressed a fair bit of amazement when we walked right up the slabs and out of sight. I had had my own concerns ahead of time, but in dry conditions, this section is quite straighforward, as long as you trust your shoes.
We continued to climb and reached a scramble where the first rime ice of the day was found covering the rocks. We knew the forecast was for high winds, and could see plenty of frost on all the upper slopes, and knew we were in for a new kind of adventure once we reached the top of the headwall. Not long after the Alpine Garden junction we bundled up a bit and headed up into the wind. The .8 mile on the Nelson Crag trail was an adventure in staying upright, for sure. The rough, rocky path was covered with rime but was surprisingly grippy. Despite the wind, we weren't too cold, either. The hardest part was keeping our balance when the wind slowed, as we were leaning into it so hard. That, and the projectile loosened rime ice I was pelted with from time to time being second in line! We crossed the auto road, getting the usual open-mouthed looks from the cars (they were probably more amazed to see that we were laughing and having fun with it all), and made our way up to the summit. The computer showed that the 15-minute peak wind was just shy of 70mph...so now I know what that feels like!
After a break for some soup at the summit, we bundled up again and headed out directly into the wind towards the Great Gulf trail. Fortunately, the winds abated once we had dropped down a couple hundred feet into the gulf. The downclimb was not as difficult as I had feared...some loose rock (covered in ice) but for the most part quite stable. There's a fair bit of water flowing as you get farther down. We made steady progress and arrived at the campsites near the Wamsutta junction a little after 5pm. There were signs of recent bear activity in the area.
The plan for Sunday had been to go up the Madison Gulf trail and down the Osgood. But we opted instead to climb another trail neither of us had seen - the Buttress Trail. This trail begins about a half mile along the Six Husbands trail and heads up the side of the GG to just southwest of Star Lake. It was an excellent trail that provided fantastic views of the Auto Road at many points. Star Lake is one of my favorite spots, and the weather was stellar, making this a very enjoyable walk. The hut being closed, we just went directly to the next leg of the trip - the descent via Madison Gulf Trail.
The upper sections of this trail are seriously steep, and very fun (if you like that sort of thing!). It would not be the least bit enjoyable if wet. I remember a trip report from a group of friends who went down it last winter and I just kept shaking my head wondering how that was possible! Down down down we went, then it was a straightforward walk out. The suspension bridge was still out, but crossing was not difficult at all. They should be all done this week. Skipped Lowe's Bald Spot, and regret it now.
Huntington's and the Great Gulf with a Moat Mountain chaser. Fun times. Here are some pics.
). I'm not sure he was any more confident than they were, however, because he expressed a fair bit of amazement when we walked right up the slabs and out of sight. I had had my own concerns ahead of time, but in dry conditions, this section is quite straighforward, as long as you trust your shoes. We continued to climb and reached a scramble where the first rime ice of the day was found covering the rocks. We knew the forecast was for high winds, and could see plenty of frost on all the upper slopes, and knew we were in for a new kind of adventure once we reached the top of the headwall. Not long after the Alpine Garden junction we bundled up a bit and headed up into the wind. The .8 mile on the Nelson Crag trail was an adventure in staying upright, for sure. The rough, rocky path was covered with rime but was surprisingly grippy. Despite the wind, we weren't too cold, either. The hardest part was keeping our balance when the wind slowed, as we were leaning into it so hard. That, and the projectile loosened rime ice I was pelted with from time to time being second in line
! We crossed the auto road, getting the usual open-mouthed looks from the cars (they were probably more amazed to see that we were laughing and having fun with it all), and made our way up to the summit. The computer showed that the 15-minute peak wind was just shy of 70mph...so now I know what that feels like!After a break for some soup at the summit, we bundled up again and headed out directly into the wind towards the Great Gulf trail. Fortunately, the winds abated once we had dropped down a couple hundred feet into the gulf. The downclimb was not as difficult as I had feared...some loose rock (covered in ice) but for the most part quite stable. There's a fair bit of water flowing as you get farther down. We made steady progress and arrived at the campsites near the Wamsutta junction a little after 5pm. There were signs of recent bear activity in the area.
The plan for Sunday had been to go up the Madison Gulf trail and down the Osgood. But we opted instead to climb another trail neither of us had seen - the Buttress Trail. This trail begins about a half mile along the Six Husbands trail and heads up the side of the GG to just southwest of Star Lake. It was an excellent trail that provided fantastic views of the Auto Road at many points
. Star Lake is one of my favorite spots, and the weather was stellar, making this a very enjoyable walk. The hut being closed, we just went directly to the next leg of the trip - the descent via Madison Gulf Trail. The upper sections of this trail are seriously steep, and very fun (if you like that sort of thing!). It would not be the least bit enjoyable if wet. I remember a trip report from a group of friends who went down it last winter and I just kept shaking my head wondering how that was possible! Down down down we went, then it was a straightforward walk out. The suspension bridge was still out, but crossing was not difficult at all. They should be all done this week. Skipped Lowe's Bald Spot, and regret it now.
Huntington's and the Great Gulf with a Moat Mountain chaser. Fun times. Here are some pics.
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