skidoc22
New member
Allen,
The lonely mountain.
So you hike five miles and what do you see off in the distance?
Allen
You go another two miles (which feel like five miles) and what are you at the base of?
Allen
You climb over and under, in and out of the slide, up the steep face, through the narrow upper chute, over a small bump, to the peak of...
Allen.
A hearty group of nine met up at exit 12 in Malta, rearranged ourselves and headed off to Upper Works. After negotiating the slick road and a few near fender benders we were almost all safely parked at the trailhead. Little did we know one of the participants had slid into a snowbank and had to be extricated with the help of Pinpin and another fellow hiker.
Over hill and dale our merry band snowshoed, taking turns breaking trail until we arrived at the sand pit. The lion's share of the lead was shared by the indefatiguable Inge and Nick. While replenishing our internal energy stores there, Alain and Pinpin Jr. caught up to us. After the proper introductions, the group marched on with our new compatriot in the lead. The line stretched out and we eventually reconvened at the base of the mountain at Skylight Brook.
Now the climb would begin.
Led again by Alain we spread out on the trail up toward the frozen waterfall. The going was slower for some of us as the grade steepened up the increasingly snowy slide. As we entered the winter wonderland of the upper mountain the leader chose a zigzagging path over the traditional straight beeline to the top. Somewhere along the way I saw a figure of a man and his rabbit bounding down the slope until he stopped briefly to give encouragement -only about 1000 steps to go. 1000 steps?!?! That would take about another 30 minutes but then the path flattened out. Passing a few of the group (Inge, Josh, Nick and Peter), starting their descent our subgroup of four (John, Will, Dick and I), topped out - pleased to be at the peak. A quick break for photos and a snack and down the mountain we went. The buttsliding was quite good and made the trip significantly faster.
As we got to the base of the slide we met one of the group who was still on his way up. Not having suffered enough, one of the four of our summit group agreed to accompany him back up to the top. A noble gesture. Another fellow decided to wait for him near the waterfall area and hunkered down for the next couple of hours with his down jacket and a stove and soup.
The trip back along the broken path was somewhat less taxing except for the fatigue factor. Also we had to virtually break trail along a mile and a half section that we circumvented on the way in accidentally. Finally back at the car, we changed into dry clothes, stored our gear and off we went, back to the Pottersville nice and easy, and civilization.
Thanks to Peter for organizing and achieving the "critical mass" necessary for this successful outing. And many thanks to Alain for forging the trail up the mountain. Hope to hike with you all again in the future.
The lonely mountain.
So you hike five miles and what do you see off in the distance?
Allen
You go another two miles (which feel like five miles) and what are you at the base of?
Allen
You climb over and under, in and out of the slide, up the steep face, through the narrow upper chute, over a small bump, to the peak of...
Allen.
A hearty group of nine met up at exit 12 in Malta, rearranged ourselves and headed off to Upper Works. After negotiating the slick road and a few near fender benders we were almost all safely parked at the trailhead. Little did we know one of the participants had slid into a snowbank and had to be extricated with the help of Pinpin and another fellow hiker.
Over hill and dale our merry band snowshoed, taking turns breaking trail until we arrived at the sand pit. The lion's share of the lead was shared by the indefatiguable Inge and Nick. While replenishing our internal energy stores there, Alain and Pinpin Jr. caught up to us. After the proper introductions, the group marched on with our new compatriot in the lead. The line stretched out and we eventually reconvened at the base of the mountain at Skylight Brook.
Now the climb would begin.
Led again by Alain we spread out on the trail up toward the frozen waterfall. The going was slower for some of us as the grade steepened up the increasingly snowy slide. As we entered the winter wonderland of the upper mountain the leader chose a zigzagging path over the traditional straight beeline to the top. Somewhere along the way I saw a figure of a man and his rabbit bounding down the slope until he stopped briefly to give encouragement -only about 1000 steps to go. 1000 steps?!?! That would take about another 30 minutes but then the path flattened out. Passing a few of the group (Inge, Josh, Nick and Peter), starting their descent our subgroup of four (John, Will, Dick and I), topped out - pleased to be at the peak. A quick break for photos and a snack and down the mountain we went. The buttsliding was quite good and made the trip significantly faster.
As we got to the base of the slide we met one of the group who was still on his way up. Not having suffered enough, one of the four of our summit group agreed to accompany him back up to the top. A noble gesture. Another fellow decided to wait for him near the waterfall area and hunkered down for the next couple of hours with his down jacket and a stove and soup.
The trip back along the broken path was somewhat less taxing except for the fatigue factor. Also we had to virtually break trail along a mile and a half section that we circumvented on the way in accidentally. Finally back at the car, we changed into dry clothes, stored our gear and off we went, back to the Pottersville nice and easy, and civilization.
Thanks to Peter for organizing and achieving the "critical mass" necessary for this successful outing. And many thanks to Alain for forging the trail up the mountain. Hope to hike with you all again in the future.
