Wow, this a trip report for the books!

[B the Hiker]

"I guess everyone needs to spend at least one sleepless 10-degree night in the deep woods, with wet clothes, shoes & socks and less than 8 oz left to drink. The hike just became a comedy of circumstances and unlucky choices on the way down. And yes, my toes have finally thawed out!"

https://newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/viewreport.php?entryid=52579

Trip started at 9am on Friday (February 19, 2021), and finished 7:15 on Saturday morning!

 

[Mike P.]

Glad you are okay, The Jewell does have small cairns that blend in the fog and when snow covered are hard to see. At first I thought you said you got to the hut at 1:45 in the afternoon but re=read it and saw you made good time to the hut.

A solo version of the "Three Bonds in a Day" report that Mo filed years ago on a group he led. Your trip was a little shorter as they went past 24 hours.

 

[egilbe]

That doesn't sound like fun at all!

 

[B the Hiker]

Glad you are okay,

I'm great! But then again, my name is Brian and the author of this trip report is named Bob. I stood on Moosilauke and Flume last weekend. Both offered their challenges, in their own ways, but nothing like what this gentleman encountered.

Brian

 

[iAmKrzys]

I wonder if the poster of this report has a (real) hiking GPS. In very low visibility it could help him retrace his steps even if he did not have good trail maps on it.

 

[Scubahhh]

I wonder if the poster of this report has a (real) hiking GPS. In very low visibility it could help him retrace his steps even if he did not have good trail maps on it.

I wonder if he has any idea how lucky he is to be alive.

 

[peakbagger]

I wonder if he has any idea how lucky he is to be alive.

I second that thought.

 

[Grey J]

Give the dude credit, he had stamina that's for sure.

 

[Mike P.]

I'm great! But then again, my name is Brian and the author of this trip report is named Bob. I stood on Moosilauke and Flume last weekend. Both offered their challenges, in their own ways, but nothing like what this gentleman encountered.

Brian

They both begin with a B. and you and Bob were hiking and the times he posted were pretty good.

Trying to understand his leaving the Cog cut (that is the ski trail, right?) and opting for the Jewell. couldn't read it? Was he worried about the pitch being steep enough to slide? Or, maybe he couldn't see if there were any drops he didn't want to negotiate in snowshoes?

I believe the WMG mentions the upper Jewell is difficult to follow in poor visibility & or snow covered due to small cairns. Curious if a smaller percentage of hikers today have a WMG and how often they use it, either the paper version or online version.

 

[skiguy]

They both begin with a B. and you and Bob were hiking and the times he posted were pretty good.

Trying to understand his leaving the Cog cut (that is the ski trail, right?) and opting for the Jewell. couldn't read it? Was he worried about the pitch being steep enough to slide? Or, maybe he couldn't see if there were any drops he didn't want to negotiate in snowshoes?

I believe the WMG mentions the upper Jewell is difficult to follow in poor visibility & or snow covered due to small cairns. Curious if a smaller percentage of hikers today have a WMG and how often they use it, either the paper version or online version.

The area around Jacobs Ladder can be dicey especially in low visibility. There are a few other spots where the potential and exposure to Burnt Ravine is significant. A women from Bartlett took a slide there not that long ago and had to be rescued. https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news...cle_97ce2ac8-6d52-11ea-9ef8-5fc8c68864e9.html

 

[maineguy]

This is a great trip report. Thanks for the link to it. This is what an experienced hiker does when he gets into trouble...he gets himself out of it. No 911 calls. Just a text to the wife saying he'll be late.

Wow!! Of course, he must be in phenomenal shape to survive that kind of an ordeal. If you are going to embark on that kind of hike, you better be! He also was a little lucky with the weather, but maybe he knew the forecast. I think that this is way better than the 3 Bonds in a day trip, which confounded me with the decisions that led to them getting benighted. But, they also got themselves out without any assistance.

 

[TEO]

I'm great! But then again, my name is Brian and the author of this trip report is named Bob. I stood on Moosilauke and Flume last weekend. Both offered their challenges, in their own ways, but nothing like what this gentleman encountered.

Brian

Sure, Brian, we see right through you. ;-)

P.s. Awesome TR!

 

[mirabela]

This is a great trip report. Thanks for the link to it. This is what an experienced hiker does when he gets into trouble...he gets himself out of it. No 911 calls. Just a text to the wife saying he'll be late.

Wow!! Of course, he must be in phenomenal shape to survive that kind of an ordeal. If you are going to embark on that kind of hike, you better be! He also was a little lucky with the weather, but maybe he knew the forecast. I think that this is way better than the 3 Bonds in a day trip, which confounded me with the decisions that led to them getting benighted. But, they also got themselves out without any assistance.

Yes, they did OK once they were in a predicament ... that said, I feel like this person had many opportunities to avoid getting in this kind of trouble.

 

[Mike P.]

Yes, they did OK once they were in a predicament ... that said, I feel like this person had many opportunities to avoid getting in this kind of trouble.

I would agree, we don't have many details, he was pretty quick and appears to know the area well as he describes it, the back and forth between going and not going up Monroe and then getting on the Tuckerman Crossover that maybe just doing Monroe was enough. That day there are two other Ammo trips which stopped at the Hut.

Had it been nice, would he have had company from other groups. If you are on Cabot on a Wednesday and you don't see someone that might be coincidence. A Saturday in the Presidentials, the lack of people should have been a sign about conditions. Here is one of the Monroe attempts: https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/viewreport.php?entryid=52588

 

[sierra]

I'm curious about one thing. I've never gone down via the Cog route, doesn't it follow the tracks? How do you lose a RR track, no matter what the weather.

 

[B the Hiker]

This is what an experienced hiker does when he gets into trouble...he gets himself out of it. No 911 calls. Just a text to the wife saying he'll be late.

I'm not here to cast shade on this gent, but he hardly struck me as carrying the gear or making the decisions someone "experienced" would:

He didn't have a pad.
He didn't have a sleeping bag.
He didn't have a bivy.
He didn't have a stove.

Having recently hiked down Cog route myself for the first time, while steep in some sections, it is by far and away the quickest and easiest route off Mt. Washington, and there's a shelter on the way down if things got really bad. If one couldn't follow the tracks right next to it, I have no idea why anyone would believe the Jewell Trail would be anything but harder.

Reasonable people can disagree, but I think there is a strong argument to be made that this individual survived despite his actions, not because of them.

 

[DayTrip]

Yes, they did OK once they were in a predicament ... that said, I feel like this person had many opportunities to avoid getting in this kind of trouble.

List fever. Summit fever. I like how he specifically mentioned bagging #43 and #44 for his solo Winter list in his trip report. I think that is a valuable window into his thought process for trying 2 and 3 times for summits.

I agree with whoever said that he survived in spite of himself, not because of it. I think he made a lot of bad decisions which he overcame with fitness and tenacity. Hats off to him for pushing through but I think he was pretty lucky considering the decisions he made.

 

[DayTrip]

I'm not here to cast shade on this gent, but he hardly struck me as carrying the gear or making the decisions someone "experienced" would:

He didn't have a pad.
He didn't have a sleeping bag.
He didn't have a bivy.
He didn't have a stove.

Having recently hiked down Cog route myself for the first time, while steep in some sections, it is by far and away the quickest and easiest route off Mt. Washington, and there's a shelter on the way down if things got really bad. If one couldn't follow the tracks right next to it, I have no idea why anyone would believe the Jewell Trail would be anything but harder.

Reasonable people can disagree, but I think there is a strong argument to be made that this individual survived despite his actions, not because of them.

I'd be very curious what percentage of people have a sleeping bag and a stove on Winter day hikes. I'd bet it's a very small percentage.

I personally never have either. I do carry a hard core down puffy and down pants because I'd rather have insulation I can move in versus something I have to stop and get into to be effective. And inside my Gore Tex bivy the coat and pants perform quite well like a sleeping bag would (I've tested in my yard as low as - 35 deg F for 30 minutes).

As far as the stove, my theory has always been that if I find myself needing to hunker down the weather is either too ridiculous for a stove to be of much use or I'd be too injured to be able to use. I find the argument for having something to light a fire to be similarly impractical for the same reasons. I'm not collecting enough firewood with a broken leg for a practical fire and if I'm hunkered down in 80mph winds a fire is not an option either. If I'm Ok health wise and it's just dark I'd be likely to keep moving downhill versus stopping until daylight (with a headlamp of course which I always carry including a back up).

 

[mirabela]

I'd be very curious what percentage of people have a sleeping bag and a stove on Winter day hikes. I'd bet it's a very small percentage.

I personally never have either. I do carry a hard core down puffy and down pants because I'd rather have insulation I can move in versus something I have to stop and get into to be effective. And inside my Gore Tex bivy the coat and pants perform quite well like a sleeping bag would (I've tested in my yard as low as - 35 deg F for 30 minutes).

As far as the stove, my theory has always been that if I find myself needing to hunker down the weather is either too ridiculous for a stove to be of much use or I'd be too injured to be able to use. I find the argument for having something to light a fire to be similarly impractical for the same reasons. I'm not collecting enough firewood with a broken leg for a practical fire and if I'm hunkered down in 80mph winds a fire is not an option either. If I'm Ok health wise and it's just dark I'd be likely to keep moving downhill versus stopping until daylight (with a headlamp of course which I always carry including a back up).

Always a pad, sleeping bag of some type, and tarp here. Not necessarily a full winter -20F bag but something that in combination with puffy, etc., will help keep one from dying. I've generally left the stove behind in recent years. One thing I'd encourage every serious winter hiker to try is a full night out in the cold with just what's in your day pack. Any way you do it, it will be a soft test inasmuch as you won't start out exhausted, or damp, or injured, but you'll learn a great deal. I did this in early 2011 and the experience and lessons I learned were very worth it.

Edited to add: I lead a lot of groups, and I'm usually the only one carrying this stuff, which is fine. I'm not planning on a mass casualty event -- just want to be able to keep an immobilized person warm while we do something about it. I carry pretty much the same stuff when I'm alone.

 

[sierra]

I'd be very curious what percentage of people have a sleeping bag and a stove on Winter day hikes. I'd bet it's a very small percentage.

I personally never have either. I do carry a hard core down puffy and down pants because I'd rather have insulation I can move in versus something I have to stop and get into to be effective. And inside my Gore Tex bivy the coat and pants perform quite well like a sleeping bag would (I've tested in my yard as low as - 35 deg F for 30 minutes).

As far as the stove, my theory has always been that if I find myself needing to hunker down the weather is either too ridiculous for a stove to be of much use or I'd be too injured to be able to use. I find the argument for having something to light a fire to be similarly impractical for the same reasons. I'm not collecting enough firewood with a broken leg for a practical fire and if I'm hunkered down in 80mph winds a fire is not an option either. If I'm Ok health wise and it's just dark I'd be likely to keep moving downhill versus stopping until daylight (with a headlamp of course which I always carry including a back up).

I carry similar gear as you do. Heavy parka is my last line of defense. I do carry storm proof matches though. I've never carried a bag or a stove, I actually don't carry a pad either to be honest. This being said, I'm not knocking anyone who carries all of the above, to each his own. I've been hiking over 40 years, many years never missing a week and I'm still here, so my system is adequate.