docross
In Memoriam to a Deceased Member
Knowing that Coreys Road is open to the parking lot, 3 of us drove over from NH to get these peaks. We scouted out Coreys Road the evening before, so we were primed to get on the trail at 6 am or so. The day proved to be fair and nearly windless, with a high temp of about +10 F or so.
At the parking lot we got useful beta from some hikers just leaving that snowshoes were not required, so we left them in the car. For traction we brought microspikes and full crampons, and boy, we needed them. We did not bring ice axes and didn't need them, though we saw one party who did have them.
The first 3.3 miles or so to the beginning of the herd path at Calkins Brook were uneventful except for a fair amount of mud. The herd path was easily found and we donned the "mikes" when the going got steep and slippery.
Reaching the junction below Donaldson, we headed over to Seward, to get the major elevation out of the way when we were relatively fresh. It was a beautiful day, with terrific views forever. Below the peak of Seward we were faced with a sheer wall of ice, so on went the crampons, and with a bit of difficulty we climbed up and over, and made the summit by 11:55. Not too bad for 3 guys close to 70!
Back over to Donaldson, and a couple of us were really starting to flag, especially on the many uphills. But we persevered, and tagged Donaldson, and then on over to Emmons. We were glad we had left the crampons on, since there were many short sections of ice where the spikes gave a lot more confidence than the mikes would have.
The return to the junction was uneventful, and we started down around 15:55. The return trip to the road and then to the lot, while without incident, was one of the longest and most tedious hikes any of us had recently done. We were especially dismayed by the very long uphill section on the road after getting off the herd path; we hadn't realized how much elevation we had lost!
From the GPS, the total mileage was 15.6, time was 13:20 elapsed, something like 5200 feet elevation gained. We used headlamps at the start and especially at the end of the hike.
It was a memorable hike to three isolated peaks. We were hurting by the end of it!
At the parking lot we got useful beta from some hikers just leaving that snowshoes were not required, so we left them in the car. For traction we brought microspikes and full crampons, and boy, we needed them. We did not bring ice axes and didn't need them, though we saw one party who did have them.
The first 3.3 miles or so to the beginning of the herd path at Calkins Brook were uneventful except for a fair amount of mud. The herd path was easily found and we donned the "mikes" when the going got steep and slippery.
Reaching the junction below Donaldson, we headed over to Seward, to get the major elevation out of the way when we were relatively fresh. It was a beautiful day, with terrific views forever. Below the peak of Seward we were faced with a sheer wall of ice, so on went the crampons, and with a bit of difficulty we climbed up and over, and made the summit by 11:55. Not too bad for 3 guys close to 70!
Back over to Donaldson, and a couple of us were really starting to flag, especially on the many uphills. But we persevered, and tagged Donaldson, and then on over to Emmons. We were glad we had left the crampons on, since there were many short sections of ice where the spikes gave a lot more confidence than the mikes would have.
The return to the junction was uneventful, and we started down around 15:55. The return trip to the road and then to the lot, while without incident, was one of the longest and most tedious hikes any of us had recently done. We were especially dismayed by the very long uphill section on the road after getting off the herd path; we hadn't realized how much elevation we had lost!
From the GPS, the total mileage was 15.6, time was 13:20 elapsed, something like 5200 feet elevation gained. We used headlamps at the start and especially at the end of the hike.
It was a memorable hike to three isolated peaks. We were hurting by the end of it!
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