| Summary | |
| Owner | MITOC Gallery Administrator |
| Creation Date | 2006-10-31 11:58:36 UTC-0500 |
| Description | Wading up & down the North Twin, October 28, 2006
Dave Wentzlaff, Patrick Lam and Vesna Damljanovic Quite a different hike from the one completed en masse last summer with Mike Kokko... We knew what we were getting ourselves into--the weather forecast was mayhem in the lowlands as well as tree-line--but we liked the idea of being with the elements. We liked it till we got there: downpour followed by sleet followed by hail followed by snow. In 7 hours it took us to get to the top and back, we didn't have one dry moment. We ate our lunch trying to shelter under the fir trees that only channelled the water directly into our sandwitches and behind our necks. A hike that was a fun play this summer was yesterday a wicked obstacle course. The trail was first mud then bog then slush then snow, finishing with last 500 vertical feet of postholing through knee-deep snow. But all that water was quite easy to bear, if it wasn't for the hurricane wind that made each drop or ice ball feel like a needle at lower elevations. Just before the top, we had to cross a very exposed rocky patch and I got blown over on my back turtle-like and had to kick and grope around to stand up again. If the rule of thumb is that you can't stand on your feet any more when the speed of wind in mph is higher than half your weight in lbs, and considering that I weigh 120 lbs the wind gusts were definitely over 60 mph . Of all the hooplah, I was mainly worried of being killed by a falling tree--a very high possibility considering so many trees that were freshly knocked over barred our way. The river crossings that were so fun in the summer turned into dippy deals, progressively worse as the day was advancing: we avoided 2 out of 3 major river crossings on the way up and felt quite cool for outsmarting the nasty nature until we had to repeat it on the way down, with the water level swollen by ~2 feet in the meantime. The log we used to cross the toughest part by stradling it with our feet dangling some 2 feet above the water was now partly submerged in the water in the middle of the fastest eddy AND covered by the layer of ice! If we were not quite soaked till then, we were positively drenched when we finally landed on tera firma! Which wasn't very firm any more, to tell the truth--our trail has turned into a river of its own, so being soaked already, we gave up trying to find raised patches of land, and rather charged directly through it, at times shin-high in water. Due to being lazy to put on my gaitors, I eventually joined the Wet Feet Club of the other two guys when we started postholing--the snow got into my pants, soaked my socks, which then conducted all the newly arriving snow directly into my 100% waterproof boots. I don't remember when was the last time I had a bath-tub situation in my boots, but this is the time I will hardly forget. Positively everything we worn or carried that day was soaked! Overall, what a day!! It was the best hike I had in years! We started 1hr later than planned, so Dave had to give up his Sat evening theater plans and we sealed the adventure with a sumptuous dinner in the boiler Room above the smaller fireplace at the Common Man in Plymouth and finally made it home by 11pm (left Boston at 6am). This trip took at least 2 hrs longer than the same trip plus South Twin & Galehead this summer... Amazing how a bit of a sprinkle can make the time fly! |