alexmtn
Member
Zachary (ColdRiverCampCook) and I set our sights on Goose Eye as the day's objective (first day of winter) in the event of favorable conditions above tree line. We had a plan for attacking from Ketchum, but were delighted* to discover (via some Sunday night pre-scouting) that Success Pond Road was passable to the trailhead, offering us a substantially shorter route in the likely face of unbroken conditions. Beware though, that first hill's tough without 4WD. Even with this shorter route, it was still just the two of us, and we knew we were in for a workout. We packed lots of water, food, and light.
The forecast held for a mostly cloudy day with light winds, so off we went. On arrival at the trailhead, we were shocked (in a nice way) to encounter a car already ensconced at the trailhead, with a set of tracks leading in. Who knew that another party would be hiking Goose Eye on a Monday morning? Perhaps because of Christmas week. We succeeded at getting our car enough to the side of the road that trucks could pass, though it would have been easier had we been the only car there -- the pull-off at the trailhead was there, but pretty narrow and short.
From the existing tracks on the trail, we could see that we would be encountering a single person. The first half of the route consisted of 3-6" of heavy powder atop a consolidated base -- not a bad beginning! Still, all three of us (Zachary, me and the mysterious hiker in front) opted for snowshoes. I took point at the outset, and was happy to have the tracks to follow. Looking behind, we were leaving a fairly nice snowshoe track in our wake. As we gained elevation, the base loosened up under us, and we started working harder. Just as I was thinking that thought, Zachary offered to take over the lead, taking us all the rest of the way to the ledges. Great timing!
Shortly after the position change, we encountered a backpack at the side of the trail -- we surmised that the person ahead had chosen to slack pack the last mile or so of the hike. This was confirmed when shortly thereafter, we met luckylaura as she cheerfully gallivanted down the trail to us. She had successfully summited, but warned us of thin snow on the ledges above. We thanked Laura for her advance tracks, we all wished each other a great rest of the day, and continued on our respective ways.
At the start of the ledges, Zachary made the ascent look easy as he scooted up with his Evo's if full televator mode. Unfortunately though, the Styrofoam snow between him and the ledge fell away behind him, leaving me with powdery ledge. It took a little more effort, but the crampons on my Evo's ultimately were able to find purchase in the texture of the rock. The final scramble was more open in character, with fewer handholds, and Zachary deployed his ice ax, climbing successfully without having to don his crampons. I found my Evo's alone still to be enough, though I did enjoy a sizable slide-back or two. (I'm sure that if I hadn't been carrying my crampons and ice ax, then they definitely would have been needed).
We were treated to great views of the peaks of the north country as we climbed, and we had fun debating and deducing their identities. As we summited, the clouds closed in to our disappointment, but happily opened up somewhat for us a few minutes later. The view across to the east peak and to the adjacent peaks on the ridge was great, though with the inevitable black & white feel that you get on a cloudy winter day. After a brief stay, we opted to head down rather than layer up, enjoying some fun showshoe 'skiing' and glissading down the ledges and upper trail sections that followed. I got a nice video of Zack on a nice, long glissade.
We were back to the car shortly after 2pm, feeling satisfied and victorious. We were drenched, as the inevitable result of all the snow loaded spruce boughs we brushed past and under, and happily, dry clothes were at hand. It had been a challenging hike, and my legs were feeling it after having visited Moriah on the day before -- but still we knew that the challenge could have been much larger had we been forced to the east side, or had the snow base been less consolidated. Hearty thanks to luckylaura for her part in taking some of the edge off the route ahead of us!
My feeling of elation subsided somewhat, though, when I realized that unbeknownst to me my camera had somehow managed to escape its pouch on my shoulder strap. Not only did I lose today's photos and cool glissading video, but had also been slow to offload photos from some past trips. I could think of a couple of spots fairly high up where on descent I broke down through the snow base and fell forward, but hadn't noticed any fallen camera - nor over many years had this ever happened before. Since I didn't think the odds of retrieving it were favorable even if we retraced our steps, I grieved and moved on to finish the day with happier thoughts, talking with Zachary on the way back to Gorham about the Baxter trip we're planning. And who knows, perhaps someone will encounter the camera when the snows melt and remember this report and/or post the camera as found. While I doubt the camera will survive for long, I think the pictures stand a chance.
Alex
*Zachary was a tad less delighted because the Wright Trail was calling to him from his redlining list, though he did agree that a 3-season redline of that route would be a much easier way to take care of it, and that for today, the Goose Eye Trail would not be the Wrong Trail.
LOST: Blue-and-sliver Panasonic Lumix camera (TZ5 point-and-shoot)
[email protected]
The forecast held for a mostly cloudy day with light winds, so off we went. On arrival at the trailhead, we were shocked (in a nice way) to encounter a car already ensconced at the trailhead, with a set of tracks leading in. Who knew that another party would be hiking Goose Eye on a Monday morning? Perhaps because of Christmas week. We succeeded at getting our car enough to the side of the road that trucks could pass, though it would have been easier had we been the only car there -- the pull-off at the trailhead was there, but pretty narrow and short.
From the existing tracks on the trail, we could see that we would be encountering a single person. The first half of the route consisted of 3-6" of heavy powder atop a consolidated base -- not a bad beginning! Still, all three of us (Zachary, me and the mysterious hiker in front) opted for snowshoes. I took point at the outset, and was happy to have the tracks to follow. Looking behind, we were leaving a fairly nice snowshoe track in our wake. As we gained elevation, the base loosened up under us, and we started working harder. Just as I was thinking that thought, Zachary offered to take over the lead, taking us all the rest of the way to the ledges. Great timing!
Shortly after the position change, we encountered a backpack at the side of the trail -- we surmised that the person ahead had chosen to slack pack the last mile or so of the hike. This was confirmed when shortly thereafter, we met luckylaura as she cheerfully gallivanted down the trail to us. She had successfully summited, but warned us of thin snow on the ledges above. We thanked Laura for her advance tracks, we all wished each other a great rest of the day, and continued on our respective ways.
At the start of the ledges, Zachary made the ascent look easy as he scooted up with his Evo's if full televator mode. Unfortunately though, the Styrofoam snow between him and the ledge fell away behind him, leaving me with powdery ledge. It took a little more effort, but the crampons on my Evo's ultimately were able to find purchase in the texture of the rock. The final scramble was more open in character, with fewer handholds, and Zachary deployed his ice ax, climbing successfully without having to don his crampons. I found my Evo's alone still to be enough, though I did enjoy a sizable slide-back or two. (I'm sure that if I hadn't been carrying my crampons and ice ax, then they definitely would have been needed).
We were treated to great views of the peaks of the north country as we climbed, and we had fun debating and deducing their identities. As we summited, the clouds closed in to our disappointment, but happily opened up somewhat for us a few minutes later. The view across to the east peak and to the adjacent peaks on the ridge was great, though with the inevitable black & white feel that you get on a cloudy winter day. After a brief stay, we opted to head down rather than layer up, enjoying some fun showshoe 'skiing' and glissading down the ledges and upper trail sections that followed. I got a nice video of Zack on a nice, long glissade.
We were back to the car shortly after 2pm, feeling satisfied and victorious. We were drenched, as the inevitable result of all the snow loaded spruce boughs we brushed past and under, and happily, dry clothes were at hand. It had been a challenging hike, and my legs were feeling it after having visited Moriah on the day before -- but still we knew that the challenge could have been much larger had we been forced to the east side, or had the snow base been less consolidated. Hearty thanks to luckylaura for her part in taking some of the edge off the route ahead of us!
My feeling of elation subsided somewhat, though, when I realized that unbeknownst to me my camera had somehow managed to escape its pouch on my shoulder strap. Not only did I lose today's photos and cool glissading video, but had also been slow to offload photos from some past trips. I could think of a couple of spots fairly high up where on descent I broke down through the snow base and fell forward, but hadn't noticed any fallen camera - nor over many years had this ever happened before. Since I didn't think the odds of retrieving it were favorable even if we retraced our steps, I grieved and moved on to finish the day with happier thoughts, talking with Zachary on the way back to Gorham about the Baxter trip we're planning. And who knows, perhaps someone will encounter the camera when the snows melt and remember this report and/or post the camera as found. While I doubt the camera will survive for long, I think the pictures stand a chance.
Alex
*Zachary was a tad less delighted because the Wright Trail was calling to him from his redlining list, though he did agree that a 3-season redline of that route would be a much easier way to take care of it, and that for today, the Goose Eye Trail would not be the Wrong Trail.
LOST: Blue-and-sliver Panasonic Lumix camera (TZ5 point-and-shoot)
[email protected]
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