una_dogger
Well-known member
Distance: 20.8 miles
Gain: 5605 ft
Hiked with: Eric Rathbun, Terra the Trail Dog
Not many people that I know like long hikes, and even fewer seem to enjoy redlining. That's why I'm so glad to have met Eric. He likes both. And he has a dog.
I sent out an email earlier last week, to a select few friends, the subject line read, "The Few, The Proud, The Machines", in which I outlined a big loop encompassing the Dry River Wilderness and the Southern Presidentials. Some couldn't make it do to work, another was tapering prior to an ultra, and then there were "the losers" who were to wimpy to come along after reading the Obs forecast.
That left me, Eric and Terra. (Madison, Eric's dog, couldn't come, under vet's orders, because she is recovering from a non hiking related injury).
So we met at the Highland Center, spotted the Mini, and headed on down to the start of our hike, at the Dry River Trailhead.
The Hike, deconstructed:
Dry River Trail: 9.3 miles, 3900' gain : redlined to Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
The trail itself is in great condition for a wilderness trail. A very small landslide on the section after the new bridge. Some minor blowdown. Dry River crossings mostly rock hoppable, some ice on rocks, some areas where branches and small logs are lain to bridge gaps. My foot went in up to my knee on the last crossing, soaking my foot and boot. Some concern about how that would affect our decision when we hit treeline, so I changed into a dry sock and hoped for the best. I was redlining after the Isolation Tr junction, Eric was after the Mt Eisenhower Tr junction.
The trail is very wet as it inches up along Oaks Gulf. It makes some funny turns around rock outcrops, losing and gaining elevation, before steeply heading up to treeline. There was a very icy ledge with water running over and under the ice, just before treeline. Terra ducked into the woods. We called her for a couple of minutes, then heard a small whine. We looked up, and there she was, on top of the ledge, wondering what was taking us so long!
At treeline, we added some layers. Large cairns marked the way. The winds were picking up, and there was a light snow falling. The snow depth was approximately 3-5 inches with some drifting. No views today, though there are definatley spots along this stretch of trail that are likely to have fine views.
Our highest elevation was 5100' and the winds were ripping at approximately 45 mph, a steady strong wind, though not cold. We pushed ahead, moving from cairn to cairn. The visibility was about two cairns.
At the lake, a large drift of snow had built up against a rock headwall, somewhat obscuring the trail ahead. We checked our map, verifying that we were to cross along the lakes' outlet, and then carefully kicked steps across the snow drift, lest we slip and end up in the frozen lake.
Around the bend, we saw Lakes of the Cloud Hut, and headed down. I was adding some lower layers, and we heard voices. Two guys were heading down, stating that they had made it to about 5400' on Mt Washington and turned back due to wind speeds. They were hoping to get Monroe, but had no traction.
I would definatley hike this trail again. Wet in spots, with some easily gotten over or around blowdown, and while sketchy in places, overall easy to follow and well graded. Could use some water bars.
Crawford Path to Mt Eisenhower Tr Jct:2 miles. I had never been across Monroe Flats, so I was still redlining at this point. The snow on the ridge between Lakes and the Mt Eisenhower Trail was 4-6 inches with drifts of approximately 18 inches. This was pretty surprising considering it all had fallen friday night after the warm up thursday and friday. We pushed on through the snow. We were walking into the winds, which was a surprise as the Obs called for the winds coming from the Northwest. The sustained winds were in the 30-40 mph range, with occaisional stronger bursts that while not the type to push one down, required me to brace myself into the wind and stand ground until they subsided. At points the winds were quite calm. A stinging ice/snow mix was falling. Most of the Crawford Path is drifted over and travel was cairn to cairn, with visibility still at a two cairn distance. There was a lone set of bootprints ahead of us, heading south. We never saw the traveler. It was an exhilarating day above treeline, and a good one to push one's tolerance level, but not advisable for those without proper gear, navigational skills, and a familiarity with the area.
Mt Eisenhower Trail: 2.7 miles. The wind really picked up just before we reached the junction of the Mt Eisenhower Trail. The trail quickly drops below treeline, and we were totally sheltered. The trail is in great shape (thanks, Bryan!). Brushed narrowly as per Wilderness standards, we pushed through snowy branches but the trail was clear and easy to follow. Traction was needed on descent until approximately 3200'. Snow depths were approximately 4 inches on the ridge, decreasing to 2' at approx 3000', below that, only a light dusting remained. We reached the Dry River Cutoff Jct, decision time!! Would we return to the ridge, allowing me to redline the Dry River Cutoff Trail and bag Pierce for October and for Fall? It was 3:28 pm. Sure! Why not! I was happy that Eric was game, because I had told MichaelJ that I wouldn't do this stretch solo.
We continued my redline of the Mt Eisenhower Trail until we reached the Dry River, which was running strong -- so I have 0.1 mile left to complete this trail. We headed back up hill, and started up the Dry River Cutoff. I would definately hike this trail again.
Dry River Cut-off To Pierce: 2.2 miles to Mitzpah Hut and Webster Cliff Trail, 0.8 miles to Mt Pierce; 1700' gain:
Yes, we reclimbed the ridge. That's just what redliners who also peakbag do. Finding the longest way to reach a peak has become a fond notion of mine lately. 17.1 miles and 5605' to Mt Pierce fit nicely into my day. Eric redlined down to the tentsites at Mitpah, so he "could say he'd been there". I turned on my phone and texted MichaelJ twice. First text "at mitzpah. 4:56pm. headed to pierce. down crawford path.". Second text, "not alone. with eric." A few bites of food and we headed up. Eric said, "this will be fifteen minutes of 'arghh' and then easy." My legs were complaining on the final climb, the ladders were helpful. The Dry River Cutoff is a well maintained, moderately graded and easy to follow path through dense woods. I would hike this trail again.
We passed over Pierce without alot of fanfare. Eric admitted to Pierce being his most climbed peak, having been there 16 or 17 times in the past five years. I was very grateful he was willing to come along. He said he was happy to have the bragging rights. We both laughed about the ludicrous idea of reclimbing the ridge. But hey...its great to be outside.
Pierce to Highland Center via Crawford Path, 3.1 miles: We lost light quickly on our way down, but the contrast of the light snow made it possible to hike without headlamps until about 2500' feet. We could hear the Gibbs Brook getting louder and louder to our west, and we knew we were only a mile from the car. Headlamps came on as the snow line vanished. The Gibbs Falls sign was a welcome sight. Then the footbridge to the Mt Clinton Rd Parking area -- yahoo! The five minute bridge!! I stated that this hike wasn't a deathmarch, but an epic for sure. We ended the day 11 hours 45 minutes after we started, feeling sore and worked out, but in good spirits. I find this section of the Crawford Path demoralizing unless under a well packed snow shoe track. Although I would like to think I can avoid it, I am certain that I will hike the Crawford Path between the Highland Center and Pierce many, many more times.
Big congrats to Eric who has relined the entire Dry River Wilderness. As for me, the Mt Clinton trail remains. And that pesky 0.1 on the Mt Eisenhower Trail!
A great day in the woods with Eric and Terra the Traildog. Can't wait to hike again!
Props to MichaelJ who had a hot pizza, bowl of chili, and a chilled bottle of wine waiting for me back at the camper!
Gain: 5605 ft
Hiked with: Eric Rathbun, Terra the Trail Dog
Not many people that I know like long hikes, and even fewer seem to enjoy redlining. That's why I'm so glad to have met Eric. He likes both. And he has a dog.
I sent out an email earlier last week, to a select few friends, the subject line read, "The Few, The Proud, The Machines", in which I outlined a big loop encompassing the Dry River Wilderness and the Southern Presidentials. Some couldn't make it do to work, another was tapering prior to an ultra, and then there were "the losers" who were to wimpy to come along after reading the Obs forecast.
That left me, Eric and Terra. (Madison, Eric's dog, couldn't come, under vet's orders, because she is recovering from a non hiking related injury).
So we met at the Highland Center, spotted the Mini, and headed on down to the start of our hike, at the Dry River Trailhead.
The Hike, deconstructed:
Dry River Trail: 9.3 miles, 3900' gain : redlined to Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
The trail itself is in great condition for a wilderness trail. A very small landslide on the section after the new bridge. Some minor blowdown. Dry River crossings mostly rock hoppable, some ice on rocks, some areas where branches and small logs are lain to bridge gaps. My foot went in up to my knee on the last crossing, soaking my foot and boot. Some concern about how that would affect our decision when we hit treeline, so I changed into a dry sock and hoped for the best. I was redlining after the Isolation Tr junction, Eric was after the Mt Eisenhower Tr junction.
The trail is very wet as it inches up along Oaks Gulf. It makes some funny turns around rock outcrops, losing and gaining elevation, before steeply heading up to treeline. There was a very icy ledge with water running over and under the ice, just before treeline. Terra ducked into the woods. We called her for a couple of minutes, then heard a small whine. We looked up, and there she was, on top of the ledge, wondering what was taking us so long!
At treeline, we added some layers. Large cairns marked the way. The winds were picking up, and there was a light snow falling. The snow depth was approximately 3-5 inches with some drifting. No views today, though there are definatley spots along this stretch of trail that are likely to have fine views.
Our highest elevation was 5100' and the winds were ripping at approximately 45 mph, a steady strong wind, though not cold. We pushed ahead, moving from cairn to cairn. The visibility was about two cairns.
At the lake, a large drift of snow had built up against a rock headwall, somewhat obscuring the trail ahead. We checked our map, verifying that we were to cross along the lakes' outlet, and then carefully kicked steps across the snow drift, lest we slip and end up in the frozen lake.
Around the bend, we saw Lakes of the Cloud Hut, and headed down. I was adding some lower layers, and we heard voices. Two guys were heading down, stating that they had made it to about 5400' on Mt Washington and turned back due to wind speeds. They were hoping to get Monroe, but had no traction.
I would definatley hike this trail again. Wet in spots, with some easily gotten over or around blowdown, and while sketchy in places, overall easy to follow and well graded. Could use some water bars.
Crawford Path to Mt Eisenhower Tr Jct:2 miles. I had never been across Monroe Flats, so I was still redlining at this point. The snow on the ridge between Lakes and the Mt Eisenhower Trail was 4-6 inches with drifts of approximately 18 inches. This was pretty surprising considering it all had fallen friday night after the warm up thursday and friday. We pushed on through the snow. We were walking into the winds, which was a surprise as the Obs called for the winds coming from the Northwest. The sustained winds were in the 30-40 mph range, with occaisional stronger bursts that while not the type to push one down, required me to brace myself into the wind and stand ground until they subsided. At points the winds were quite calm. A stinging ice/snow mix was falling. Most of the Crawford Path is drifted over and travel was cairn to cairn, with visibility still at a two cairn distance. There was a lone set of bootprints ahead of us, heading south. We never saw the traveler. It was an exhilarating day above treeline, and a good one to push one's tolerance level, but not advisable for those without proper gear, navigational skills, and a familiarity with the area.
Mt Eisenhower Trail: 2.7 miles. The wind really picked up just before we reached the junction of the Mt Eisenhower Trail. The trail quickly drops below treeline, and we were totally sheltered. The trail is in great shape (thanks, Bryan!). Brushed narrowly as per Wilderness standards, we pushed through snowy branches but the trail was clear and easy to follow. Traction was needed on descent until approximately 3200'. Snow depths were approximately 4 inches on the ridge, decreasing to 2' at approx 3000', below that, only a light dusting remained. We reached the Dry River Cutoff Jct, decision time!! Would we return to the ridge, allowing me to redline the Dry River Cutoff Trail and bag Pierce for October and for Fall? It was 3:28 pm. Sure! Why not! I was happy that Eric was game, because I had told MichaelJ that I wouldn't do this stretch solo.
We continued my redline of the Mt Eisenhower Trail until we reached the Dry River, which was running strong -- so I have 0.1 mile left to complete this trail. We headed back up hill, and started up the Dry River Cutoff. I would definately hike this trail again.
Dry River Cut-off To Pierce: 2.2 miles to Mitzpah Hut and Webster Cliff Trail, 0.8 miles to Mt Pierce; 1700' gain:
Yes, we reclimbed the ridge.
That's just what redliners who also peakbag do. Finding the longest way to reach a peak has become a fond notion of mine lately. 17.1 miles and 5605' to Mt Pierce fit nicely into my day. Eric redlined down to the tentsites at Mitpah, so he "could say he'd been there". I turned on my phone and texted MichaelJ twice. First text "at mitzpah. 4:56pm. headed to pierce. down crawford path.". Second text, "not alone. with eric." A few bites of food and we headed up. Eric said, "this will be fifteen minutes of 'arghh' and then easy." My legs were complaining on the final climb, the ladders were helpful. The Dry River Cutoff is a well maintained, moderately graded and easy to follow path through dense woods. I would hike this trail again.We passed over Pierce without alot of fanfare. Eric admitted to Pierce being his most climbed peak, having been there 16 or 17 times in the past five years. I was very grateful he was willing to come along. He said he was happy to have the bragging rights. We both laughed about the ludicrous idea of reclimbing the ridge. But hey...its great to be outside.
Pierce to Highland Center via Crawford Path, 3.1 miles: We lost light quickly on our way down, but the contrast of the light snow made it possible to hike without headlamps until about 2500' feet. We could hear the Gibbs Brook getting louder and louder to our west, and we knew we were only a mile from the car. Headlamps came on as the snow line vanished. The Gibbs Falls sign was a welcome sight. Then the footbridge to the Mt Clinton Rd Parking area -- yahoo! The five minute bridge!! I stated that this hike wasn't a deathmarch, but an epic for sure. We ended the day 11 hours 45 minutes after we started, feeling sore and worked out, but in good spirits. I find this section of the Crawford Path demoralizing unless under a well packed snow shoe track. Although I would like to think I can avoid it, I am certain that I will hike the Crawford Path between the Highland Center and Pierce many, many more times.
Big congrats to Eric who has relined the entire Dry River Wilderness. As for me, the Mt Clinton trail remains. And that pesky 0.1 on the Mt Eisenhower Trail!
A great day in the woods with Eric and Terra the Traildog. Can't wait to hike again!
Props to MichaelJ who had a hot pizza, bowl of chili, and a chilled bottle of wine waiting for me back at the camper!
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