bryan
New member
date: 2/17/14
trails: east pasture x-c trail, bald land trail, east branch logging road, bushwhacks, east branch trail, logging roads
conditions: great plowed parking at the end of black mountain road in jackson. east pasture trail was plowed to start then groomed. bald land trail groomed as well as was the first part of the east branch road as part the x-c loop. where the loop trail headed up jackson we continued north on the road and began breaking trail. initially we would sink anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 feet in heavy unconsolidated snow. in some of the old landings a couple feet was not unusual. we followed the road until it makes a prominent turn to the west up a minor ridge on black mountain and continued north through open woods at first paralleling then briefly following the east branch trail. 3+ feet of snow in the woods and we continued to go in up to a couple feet. the travel in the open woods was actually nicer than the road which had more blown snow on it. when east branch trail began heading up towards perkins notch we hit the woods on a direct line towards the mountain entering a long stretch of open coniferous forest. some moose tracks headed our way gave us a bit of a reprieve making breaking easier. farther up the drainage we hit a logging road (presumably the extension of the east branch road) which we followed up to a landing. 3-4 feet of snow on the road which buried many of the small spruce trees in the corridor which made for many surprise stomach deep drops. from the landing we continued north through good woods picking up another road which led right up the southern drainage and when it petered out we continued into beautiful open woods with steeper going and some mature conifers up to the ledgy summit. we happily retraced our steps on the way out and though the heavy snow was difficult to break out it solidified pretty well underneath our feet and our return trip took less than half the time it took us to get in to the peak. water crossings along the road still have bridges. we crossed one tributary of the east branch that was frozen solid.
equipment: snowshoes.
comments: a gorgeous day for this hike. we knew we would be in for it breaking out our route, but it was a much harder day conditions wise than we had predicted. thankfully it was beautiful today and amidst the huffing and puffing and occasional cursing (by me, cynthia kept it clean) we enjoyed nice woods and good views all along the route. such a fine summit. incredible views particulary across to the carter range, wildcats and washington. the close up view to the west side of north and south baldface is stunning as well. unique looks to black, sable and moriah too. perfect day to take it in. this area begs to be explored more in the future. thanks to cynthia for a great hike.
bryan
[email protected]
trails: east pasture x-c trail, bald land trail, east branch logging road, bushwhacks, east branch trail, logging roads
conditions: great plowed parking at the end of black mountain road in jackson. east pasture trail was plowed to start then groomed. bald land trail groomed as well as was the first part of the east branch road as part the x-c loop. where the loop trail headed up jackson we continued north on the road and began breaking trail. initially we would sink anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 feet in heavy unconsolidated snow. in some of the old landings a couple feet was not unusual. we followed the road until it makes a prominent turn to the west up a minor ridge on black mountain and continued north through open woods at first paralleling then briefly following the east branch trail. 3+ feet of snow in the woods and we continued to go in up to a couple feet. the travel in the open woods was actually nicer than the road which had more blown snow on it. when east branch trail began heading up towards perkins notch we hit the woods on a direct line towards the mountain entering a long stretch of open coniferous forest. some moose tracks headed our way gave us a bit of a reprieve making breaking easier. farther up the drainage we hit a logging road (presumably the extension of the east branch road) which we followed up to a landing. 3-4 feet of snow on the road which buried many of the small spruce trees in the corridor which made for many surprise stomach deep drops. from the landing we continued north through good woods picking up another road which led right up the southern drainage and when it petered out we continued into beautiful open woods with steeper going and some mature conifers up to the ledgy summit. we happily retraced our steps on the way out and though the heavy snow was difficult to break out it solidified pretty well underneath our feet and our return trip took less than half the time it took us to get in to the peak. water crossings along the road still have bridges. we crossed one tributary of the east branch that was frozen solid.
equipment: snowshoes.
comments: a gorgeous day for this hike. we knew we would be in for it breaking out our route, but it was a much harder day conditions wise than we had predicted. thankfully it was beautiful today and amidst the huffing and puffing and occasional cursing (by me, cynthia kept it clean) we enjoyed nice woods and good views all along the route. such a fine summit. incredible views particulary across to the carter range, wildcats and washington. the close up view to the west side of north and south baldface is stunning as well. unique looks to black, sable and moriah too. perfect day to take it in. this area begs to be explored more in the future. thanks to cynthia for a great hike.
bryan
[email protected]
