Summary | |
Owner | MITOC Gallery Administrator |
Creation Date | 2004-09-18 15:12:31 UTC-0400 |
Description |
Mt. Eisenhower Winter School Hike Date: 1/28/01 Location: Mt. Eisenhower Via Edmands Path Sometimes good conditions require payback of another sort. I paid in advance this weekend as I drove up toward Intervale for some Sherburne skiing. As I pulled out of the Hooksett tolls, I heard way too much exhaust noise coming from the back of my car. I made it to Plymouth, and spent a few hours reinforcing a rusted tailpipe with metal flashing and hose clamps (big thanks to the fine folks at Reed's Hardware for helping me out). My ski day shot, I did a tour of local ski shops, found a $75 set of tele skis at Lahout's, and earned a few quick turns in Franconia Notch to test them out. Driving to the cabin, however, the Camelot Access Rd. judged my automotive handiwork and found it wanting--321 frost heaves later, my muffler was trashed. {Sigh} I don't even own that car anymore, technically. This may get expensive. Anyway, it all paid off, as Sunday dawned cool and sunny. After meeting the rest of the team in Lincoln, we headed to Crawford Notch. We consolidated out gear in Nathan's Subaru, and drove past the gate onto the "not maintained for winter travel" Clinton Rd., which is perfectly passable if you have reasonable ground clearance. We cruised into the Edmunds Path parking area, woke up some snow campers sleeping under one of the plow berms (after that incident at Stratton last year, you think people would learn?), and were on the trail by 10am. Going to a hard-to-reach trailhead paid off, since the light snow and drifting from the night before had covered and smoothed out the trail for us. An old boot track was visible, but we still had to break through shin-deep fluff. It was so light, though, that snowshoes were pointless. About halfway up, I started to realize that bringing a 35lb pack was a stupid idea, and traded the lead with Shawn and Alex who managed to break a fine trail, even with mouse boots. The Edmunds Path, just as in the summer, is a perfectly-graded ascent though dense woods, with only moderate steep sections and no ledges or flats. In the summer, you'd see elaborate erosion control and perfect rock cribbing along the switchbacks (laid by Edmunds himself over 100 years ago), but on this day all of that was covered by deep snow. So deep, in fact, that my trekking poles were useless even at their full length. Stepping six inches off the old boot track meant crotch-deep postholes. As we approached the ridge, the path turned left to circle the bround, round mass of Eisenhower. We got our first views as the trail traversed across several steep slide paths that hold streams and waterfalls in the summer. Always AVY aware, we took basic precautions at each crossing ("one at a time!"), since even a 100' slide could put an end to the day. The snow was even deeper up high, and we found ourselves up in the tree canopy that hovers 8'-10' above the summer trail surface. This sucks, really, since you expend as much effort pushing against frozen branches as you do driving uphill. Our packs (and necks) were soon covered by snapped twigs, pine needles, and lumps of snow. Soon after, we started to lose the trail in deep snow and bent trees. Our heads now stuck out above the vegetation (although we were still "below treeline" by summer standards!) and we could see where we wanted to go, but the perfectly-level traverse path could not be found under deep drifts. After some argument as to the best way to go, Shawn and Alex forged ahead through the path of least resistance and broke through to treeline just a few yards downhill of where the summer trail exits the scrub. {Note: it helps to have a working knowledge of the topography, the trail layout, and numerous waypoints when hiking in the winter. You can't always count on a broken trail, especially when high winds can fill a boot track in minutes! The lack of open snow slopes in New England makes it even harder, since the only difference between "the trail" and "not the trail" is how much resistance the scrub provides!} We hiked up the col to Red Pond, and entered a perfect Winter Wonderland. The last of the evil clouds had blown off of Washington, giving us expansive views in all directions. It was in the teens, with perfect sun, blue skies, and light winds (~30 mph, light by local standards). Single, double, and triple lenticular clouds hoved over the high summits, but we were clearly in the best location of the day. Lack of triple-digit windchill made the whole facemask-goggles problem easier, since there wasn't that "alpine bite" you get in more typical conditions. After exploring the col, we located the Crawford Path under deep snowdrifts (the Eisenhower loop sign was completely buried!) and charged up the dome-shaped summit. Conditions were perfect, with either soft windpack or rough scoured snow and very little ice, and bare boots held fine. On the summit, the wind picked up just a bit, but there was little punishment in exchange for incredible views. I've never seen such friendly conidtions in four years of winter hiking! We milled around for ten minutes, snapped pictures, and headed down by 2pm. The walk out went smoothly, since we now had a broken path to follow through deep drifts (we didn't even try to locate the summer trail--who needs more postholing!). The soft snow spoiled any good glissading opportunities, but those with worn knees appreciated the even grade. We made it out by 4pm, recovered our cars, and enjoyed a fine dinner in Woodstock. My ears are still ringing from 170 miles of highway driving with the muffler in the back seat rather than on the tailpipe. Thanks, everyone, for coming out--it was an awesome day! -Matt http://www.mit.edu/~reagan/outdoor.html |