1971 White Mountain Backpacking Trip

[askus3]

In June 1971, I went on a backpacking trip thru the southern section of the White Mountains doing a double loop out of Waterville Valley. I nor my friends had virtually any backpacking experience. We never climbed any 4,000 footers other than Slide and Hunter in the Catskills. Our equipment was pathetic. But we were three teenagers out for our first trip with no adults and had a great memorable experience. We had a cheap camera, but the poor quality photos with some notes survived the years and I thought I'd share. Three of the shelters we stayed in and one fire tower that we climbed are no longer existing. Please make sure you scroll down on every photo to read the accompanying trip report when viewing the photos on Webshots.

This actually was posted before on VFTT, however it was lost in the crash of 2004. So it was requested of me to post this trip report again, so I apologize to those that remember seeing this in the past.

 

[bubba]

Aaron,

Most enjoyable journey. Thanks for sharing it.

Amazing how the technology has changed all around us - clothes, footwear, packs, tents, cameras, etc. That was a rather large chunk of hiking for amateurs. Even better that you remained friends through/after the ordeal!

Most amazing part of hiking... it stays with you for a lifetime. It surprises me that I can call to memory most all of my hikes over the years -- even my first WMNF hike up the AT on Webster Cliffs trail (with about 40lbs on my back).

 

[David Metsky]

Great stuff. Love the gear.

BTW, I took one of the shots and ran it through PhotoShop. They can be cleaned up a bit - what do you think?

 

[skiguy]

ditto on alot of what bubba has already said. Actually I don't think your gear was all that pathetic..it was probably about the best that technology had to offer at the time. Did you stay in the old Osceola Firetower? I remember sleeping there in 1970 up in the attic which had an opening that you could pear down from right over the side of the cliff into Waterville. thanks for posting this it brings back alot of old memories for me as well.

 

[askus3]

Bubba: "Even better that you remained friends through/after the ordeal!" . That comment made me dig up this photo of my friend Steve who joined me on my completion of my Catskill peaks (Westkill Mt - June 23, 2005) 35 years to the day after he hiked with me up Hunter Mountain. He now lives in Michigan and hooked up with me for celebrate that event. http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1402721957063208931UZhVWU Notice, that I am wearing the official VFTT belt!

David: Thank you for the suggestion. It looks nice. Unfortunately, I only know how to crop, rotate and brighten/darken photos using photoshop, which I do. But it also is very time consuming to fix each photo. Plus there is something to be said for original photo quality. It goes with the sneakers, packs, denim jeans, etc. of 1971.

Skiguy: We hiked from Greeley Pond over Osceola to Tripoli Road. Hitched back to our car in Waterville Valley and then continued to hike to Norway Rapids off the livermore Trail where we camped under the stars (no tent) the next night. We walked around the outside of the cab of the tower. I don't believe we could get in. But the views from Osceola were impressive then with the tower and now without. East Peak Osceola was my first 4,000 footer in the Whites.

 

[DougPaul]

I have a pack that looks like that...

BTW, For N Tripyramid slide, 1300 ft in .5 mi is a grade of 49% or 26 degrees. It only feels like 65 deg at spots...

Doug

 

[Mongoose]

Nice report. It's interesting how much some things change and some don't. Those shelters looked really close to the water. I'm guessing shelters aren't allowed to be built that close to water anymore?

 

[David Metsky]

I'm guessing shelters aren't allowed to be built that close to water anymore?

When's the last time a shelter was built in the Whites? I think Beaver Brook may be the most recent one.

 

[eddie]

Great stuff...

... and great memories. I enjoyed your reminiscence and was wondering, who actually planned this trip?
It reminds me of my first backpacking trip at age 19 in the Adirondacks where we hiked/bagged Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois, Skylight, Haystack, Basin, Saddleback, LWJ, UWJ, Armstrong, Marcy with full packs in a huge loop from the Loj in five days. I only wish I had photos.

 

[askus3]

DougPaul: I guess I misfigured but looking at photos 14-15B I can't be blamed for the exaggeration.

Eddie: I have been planning hikes, circular outings and trips from the age of 13 (mostly around Harriman Park based on Short Line bus schedules) using Bill Hoeferlein Trail Walker maps. I actually planned this trip for the Presidentials and my brother (8 years older) discouraged me from doing it because I would run into significant snow, so I revised my trip to south Whites and lower elevations. What was most amazing is I never heard of AMC or knew of their guidebook. When I met the mother with two children at Camp Heermance on Whiteface, I got to see the guidebook for the first time. That was after my killer day over the Tripyramids. I inked this loop on a White Mountain National Forest map of 1970 which showed all trails and shelter locations. I now lead two trips a year for AMC/ADK. I have my regulars that keep coming back year after year, so I must be doing something right. However, my trips are usually a bit on the strenuous side. However, I go at a moderate (not speedy anymore) pace.

If anyone cares to see my trip report from a contemporary trip or itinerary for my Long Trail II Plus trip for 2008, e-mail me at [email protected].

 

[DougPaul]

DougPaul: I guess I misfigured but looking at photos 14-15B I can't be blamed for the exaggeration.

Certain spots are certainly steeper than the average. I think I recognize the spot in the photo--if so, that spot is certainly steeper than 26 deg.

And steep spots always feel steeper than they really are...

Doug

 

[Waumbek]

When's the last time a shelter was built in the Whites? I think Beaver Brook may be the most recent one.

DOC's Hexacuba, Moose Mountain, Ore Hill and Velvet Rocks are all post-2000 rebuilds, but they are technically not in the Whites. Beaver Brook is probably the newest rebuild in the Whites. As for the newest shelter originally constructed in the Whites, I guess it would be DOC's Jeffers Brook (1981) if that's actually in the Whites. Before that, the earliest ones I can think of are Spruce Brook, Rattle River, Flat Mountain Pond (mid-60s), although Three Ponds may be '70s, and then a whole clutch in the '50s: Ethan Pond, Perkins Notch, Sawyer Pond, Blue Brook, etc. Some of these from the '50s-'70s may also be rebuilds, however.

In any event, nice report, askus, which brings back my 60's-70s memories of 60-40 cloth, the hot fabric then, external frame packs, and REI as the bold new retailer of outdoor gear.

 

[Oldsmores]

Thanks for the memories!

At almost exactly the same time as your trip I was on my first real backpacking trip in the Adirondacks with some high school buddies. Seeing the pix really brought back some great memories - just goes to show that you don't need high-tech, high cost gear to enjoy backpacking (though I probably wouldn't go back to jeans, keds, and that 8 lb, 45° sleeping bag).

 

[Mad Townie]

Aaron, thanks for the trip! It all looks so familiar--the gear, the footwear, the hairstyles.

 

[David Metsky]

DOC's Hexacuba, Moose Mountain, Ore Hill and Velvet Rocks are all post-2000 rebuilds, but they are technically not in the Whites. Beaver Brook is probably the newest rebuild in the Whites. As for the newest shelter originally constructed in the Whites, I guess it would be DOC's Jeffers Brook (1981) if that's actually in the Whites.

I've worked on all but three recent ones (Moose, Ore Hill, and VR). In fact, my very first work trip with Cabin and Trail at Dartmouth was clearing the site for Jeffers Brook in the fall of 1981. Pictures from that trip would be equally interesting. But I don't think that is technically in the Whites, so that would leave Beaver Brook. We had a lot of FS paperwork to do in order to get that one built.

 

[Ed Poyer]

Thank you so much!

Hi Aaron:
Your photos brought back so many memories of my first backpacking trip in the Whites, alson in June 1971 (Skookumchuck, FRT, Liberty Spring to Flume). I also recall the views from the Osceola firetower, and especially the gear!
Great trip report.
Ed

 

[Sleeping Giant]

What's the deal with the UFO right in the center of slide 17?

 

[Waumbek]

. . .Jeffers Brook . . .I don't think that is technically in the Whites

Jeffers Brook is in the WMNF, or so the WMNF claims. Which proves what I forget. Oh yes, that the most recent new construction shelter in WMNF is 26 going on 27 years old.

 

[ROCKYSUMMIT]

Wow, that was great! Really enjoyed the report. My earliest shots go back to 1980, and are fun to check out and remember. Sometimes it doesn't seem so far back, but then you check out the old gear, and then it does seem a WAYS back! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bolivia]

Greeley Pond Leanto

Great pix.

I still look back fondly to that leanto and think of it as one of my favorite campsites.

Did it in '59 with a US Army rucksack that had 'Made in 1942' stenciled inside the flap. Unfortunately, I don't have any pix from the trip.