Oncoman
Active member
Though for some this may not seem to be a big exploit, all 46 ADK peaks having been done in less than 8 days, for me it represents quite an accomplishment and afterall that is all that really matters. My 8 days adventure can be summarized by the following words: tough, self-gratifying, pride, friendship, mutual aid, gratitude and humbleness.
Day 1: Sat. 25th Feb. - Panther
I had joined Tom Rankin’s group of near 15 brave hikers that day. Including other parties we were close to 20 on the Santanoni range that day. The objective was to do all 3 peaks, but Mother Nature, as always, sets the agenda and not us. We left shortly after 06h00 and by late morning only 4 of us remained roaming around on the Couch ridge, all the others having turned back due to the bad weather with heavy snowing and strong winds.
We were very determined to find the summit of Couch, but by mid-afternoon after 2 hrs of wandering with no visibility and thus no possibility of getting a clear compass line, doubts started to settle in. We attempted a bushwhack in what seemed to be the proper direction but to our horror we ended up making a full 360 degree circle. By now the snow was so heavy that it would cover up our tracks in at most 2 hrs.
Prudence dictated that we call it quits and we urgently returned to Time Square. We then searched around for tracks towards Santanoni but found none. We therefore backtracked and decided to do Panther as consolation prize. Luckily for us fresh tracks were still clear to follow. We summitted around 14h15. Due to the strong winds, snow and cold, there was no lingering around. The return trip was fast and actually quite enjoyable under the heavy snow. I had the impression of being on a Christmas eve stroll in the park. We were back to the parking by 16h00 with one foot of fresh snow on our cars. We all promised to try again for Couch & Santa the following weekend.
Day 2: Sun. 26th Feb. - Nipple Top & Dial
Réjean from Montréal, one of the 4 musketeers circling around on the Couch ridge with me the day before, accompanied me on this hike as well as Margaret. Due to the bad blow down on Bear Den and the heavy snowing of the previous day, we decided to go up via the Gill Brook trail and Elk Pass. The going was fairly easy up to the junction for Colvin, but thereafter the trail breaking was more difficult, especially near the higher sections near the Dial/Nipple Top junction, with 8-12” of snow. The wind again was strong and cold on the summit of Nipple Top. We however had fairly good views of the nearby peaks including the slides on Dix.
We then headed for Dial and halfway we met 2 guys coming from Bear Den. Though we had initially planned to come back by the same way we had came in, we let ourselves convinced that it would be shorter to follow those guys tracks over Dial & Bear Den back to the Lake Road. However when we reached the severe blow down section near Bear Den, we found only a maze of snowshoe tracks.
And then catastrophe hit me as Réjean’s ice pick caught the side of my glasses during a quick turn about and flew off my glasses in an unknown direction and distance in 12-18" of fresh fluffy snow. After 15 min. of unsuccessful searching and with darkness approaching fast, we reluctantly decided to play it safe and retrace our steps and not waste any more time trying to find the trail over Bear Den, especially with a half-blind hiker seeing barely 3-4 ft in front of him and everything being blurred up.
Needless to say that I felt very insecure and frustrated at being a burden to my friends. This was the first time in my life that I lost confidence in my hiking capabilities and felt so totally dependent on others for my safety. Quite a humbling experience for me, and a foretaste of what awaits me later on in life. Hopefully I’ll still be able to climb mountains then.
Thank you Margaret & Réjean for your constant reassurance, calm, moral support and mostly for bringing me off that mountain safe and sound. Eternal gratitude to both of you!
It was a long day, a 15 hrs hike, out at 23h15 and back to Montréal at 03h00 in the morning. Thank you Réjean for driving me home. Without glasses I had to leave my car behind and recover it 2 days later with the help of my brother-in-law.
Let this be a lesson to all visually impaired hikers. Always wear fixation straps unto your glasses when hiking and perhaps for extra precaution carry spares. One never knows. Since my unfortunate incident, I have heard of a hiker loosing a contact lens when a branch hit him violently in the face. Be warned!
Days 3-4-5:
Rest days. Well sort of. Up at 05h30 every morning for the hockey practices of my youngest son. Household chores, dancing lessons with my loved one, playing with my 4 kids on this March break vacation week. Youpie! Trip back to the ADK to recover my vehicle. I only managed to get 20 hrs of sleep in 4 nights. Not much of a rest period I'm afraid.
Day 6: 2nd March - Esther & Whiteface
I left the Wilmington Reservoir parking, solo, at 10h00 already tired from the lack of sleep during the last few days. Unfortunately the trail was not broken since the last snowfall. I thus had knee high snow banks to break through in the upper sections of the trail. I summitted Esther, at last, around 13h30 and after a short rest I decided to go for Whiteface. At the junction, I noticed that another hiker had broken the trail towards Whiteface. Thank you my friend. What a relief for my quadriceps.
At the wall, my benefactor had decided to continue on the road while I chose instead to follow the official trail. Fortunately at this point there was minimal snow on the trail. The upper slopes were however quite icy but nothing I couldn’t manage with my snowshoes. On the summit of Whiteface there was only a mild wind. I met no one. The return trip was rapid and easy. I caught up with my trail breaking saviour shortly before the Esther junction and was back to my car by 17h15 tired but happy. Only 3 more peaks to go before my 46W badge.
Day 7: 3rd March - Couchsachraga & Santanoni
The same 4 brave warriors who had attempted Couch & Santa last Sat. decided to meet again as a group for a 2nd attempt on this more clement day, though there were mild snow flurries and a light wind. No one had been on the trail since our unsuccessful attempt. We left the parking at 07h00 all filled with hope and very determined to succeed this time. I warned my partners that I was tired and only at 75% of my usual hiking capabilities, such that I would prefer not to break trail if possible.
After reaching Time Square, we took only a very short rest and immediately headed for Couch. Our previous tracks were partly blown-in, though still visible. Furthermore, we had this time a fairly clear view of Couch and could thus take and follow a compass line. Rik did a superb job at orienteering and brought us all successfully on the summit of Couch where we briefly celebrated our victory. This was Eric’s # 45W and my #44W.
Back to Time Square, 3 of us decided to go for Santanoni, while Eric decided to do Panther and then return to the parking and wait for the rest of us. Again we had a good view of Santa and thus could orient ourselves properly. The going was not too rough except for a minefield of spruce traps at one point, which took a good 20 min. to escape from. As for myself I also found the last portion of the ascension difficult. I was very grateful that my friends were breaking the trail ahead of me.
After successfully reaching the summit of Santa, I again thanked Rik for his great job, a true winter trailless peak finder. Hail to you Rik! Not sure that I would have been able to get my # 44 & 45W peaks without your help. We then retraced our steps back to Time Square and then headed down to Bradley Pond as Rik raced off towards Panther. He then caught up to us just before we reached the pond. We were all back to our cars by 19h00. Rik & Eric headed home for a 2 days rest before their return for Seward, Eric’s #46W. As for Réjean & I, we went off to claim our well-earned steak & sugar pie.
Day 8: 4th March - Triumphant finish on Saddleback
I left the Garden at 08h00, again quite tired and with aching leg muscles. This was surely not going to be a record-breaking hike. The going was luckily not very rough up to the Lodge with barely 2-4” of snow on the trail. After the 5-way junction, the trail was well packed down by a group of hikers who likely had left Peggy O’Brien or Grace Camp that morning.
However their tracks headed up a brook towards the Armstrong-Gothics col, and thereafter I had to break trail all the way to the summit of Saddleback. The steeper sections of the trail before reaching the Gothic-Saddleback col were difficult with snow up to my knees most of the time. It then took me a good hour to do the ½ mile trail from the col to the summit of Saddleback with sometimes snow to mid thigh.
It was very cloudy on the summit not permitting me to see beyond the precipitous drop off from Saddleback. God did that trail down look suicidal! After 10-15 min. of exhilarating trance in total solitary beatitude at having completed my 46W peaks, I had to reluctantly come down from my cloud of glory and head back home and to reality.
The return trip was uneventful. I was back to the parking after a 9h15 hike having met no one all day, though I saw in the registry that another party was doing Basin & Saddleback that day. I hope they made it safely and appreciated my tracks on their way out.
Safe & happy hiking everybody,
Pierre
Day 1: Sat. 25th Feb. - Panther
I had joined Tom Rankin’s group of near 15 brave hikers that day. Including other parties we were close to 20 on the Santanoni range that day. The objective was to do all 3 peaks, but Mother Nature, as always, sets the agenda and not us. We left shortly after 06h00 and by late morning only 4 of us remained roaming around on the Couch ridge, all the others having turned back due to the bad weather with heavy snowing and strong winds.
We were very determined to find the summit of Couch, but by mid-afternoon after 2 hrs of wandering with no visibility and thus no possibility of getting a clear compass line, doubts started to settle in. We attempted a bushwhack in what seemed to be the proper direction but to our horror we ended up making a full 360 degree circle. By now the snow was so heavy that it would cover up our tracks in at most 2 hrs.
Prudence dictated that we call it quits and we urgently returned to Time Square. We then searched around for tracks towards Santanoni but found none. We therefore backtracked and decided to do Panther as consolation prize. Luckily for us fresh tracks were still clear to follow. We summitted around 14h15. Due to the strong winds, snow and cold, there was no lingering around. The return trip was fast and actually quite enjoyable under the heavy snow. I had the impression of being on a Christmas eve stroll in the park. We were back to the parking by 16h00 with one foot of fresh snow on our cars. We all promised to try again for Couch & Santa the following weekend.
Day 2: Sun. 26th Feb. - Nipple Top & Dial
Réjean from Montréal, one of the 4 musketeers circling around on the Couch ridge with me the day before, accompanied me on this hike as well as Margaret. Due to the bad blow down on Bear Den and the heavy snowing of the previous day, we decided to go up via the Gill Brook trail and Elk Pass. The going was fairly easy up to the junction for Colvin, but thereafter the trail breaking was more difficult, especially near the higher sections near the Dial/Nipple Top junction, with 8-12” of snow. The wind again was strong and cold on the summit of Nipple Top. We however had fairly good views of the nearby peaks including the slides on Dix.
We then headed for Dial and halfway we met 2 guys coming from Bear Den. Though we had initially planned to come back by the same way we had came in, we let ourselves convinced that it would be shorter to follow those guys tracks over Dial & Bear Den back to the Lake Road. However when we reached the severe blow down section near Bear Den, we found only a maze of snowshoe tracks.
And then catastrophe hit me as Réjean’s ice pick caught the side of my glasses during a quick turn about and flew off my glasses in an unknown direction and distance in 12-18" of fresh fluffy snow. After 15 min. of unsuccessful searching and with darkness approaching fast, we reluctantly decided to play it safe and retrace our steps and not waste any more time trying to find the trail over Bear Den, especially with a half-blind hiker seeing barely 3-4 ft in front of him and everything being blurred up.
Needless to say that I felt very insecure and frustrated at being a burden to my friends. This was the first time in my life that I lost confidence in my hiking capabilities and felt so totally dependent on others for my safety. Quite a humbling experience for me, and a foretaste of what awaits me later on in life. Hopefully I’ll still be able to climb mountains then.
Thank you Margaret & Réjean for your constant reassurance, calm, moral support and mostly for bringing me off that mountain safe and sound. Eternal gratitude to both of you!
It was a long day, a 15 hrs hike, out at 23h15 and back to Montréal at 03h00 in the morning. Thank you Réjean for driving me home. Without glasses I had to leave my car behind and recover it 2 days later with the help of my brother-in-law.
Let this be a lesson to all visually impaired hikers. Always wear fixation straps unto your glasses when hiking and perhaps for extra precaution carry spares. One never knows. Since my unfortunate incident, I have heard of a hiker loosing a contact lens when a branch hit him violently in the face. Be warned!
Days 3-4-5:
Rest days. Well sort of. Up at 05h30 every morning for the hockey practices of my youngest son. Household chores, dancing lessons with my loved one, playing with my 4 kids on this March break vacation week. Youpie! Trip back to the ADK to recover my vehicle. I only managed to get 20 hrs of sleep in 4 nights. Not much of a rest period I'm afraid.
Day 6: 2nd March - Esther & Whiteface
I left the Wilmington Reservoir parking, solo, at 10h00 already tired from the lack of sleep during the last few days. Unfortunately the trail was not broken since the last snowfall. I thus had knee high snow banks to break through in the upper sections of the trail. I summitted Esther, at last, around 13h30 and after a short rest I decided to go for Whiteface. At the junction, I noticed that another hiker had broken the trail towards Whiteface. Thank you my friend. What a relief for my quadriceps.
At the wall, my benefactor had decided to continue on the road while I chose instead to follow the official trail. Fortunately at this point there was minimal snow on the trail. The upper slopes were however quite icy but nothing I couldn’t manage with my snowshoes. On the summit of Whiteface there was only a mild wind. I met no one. The return trip was rapid and easy. I caught up with my trail breaking saviour shortly before the Esther junction and was back to my car by 17h15 tired but happy. Only 3 more peaks to go before my 46W badge.
Day 7: 3rd March - Couchsachraga & Santanoni
The same 4 brave warriors who had attempted Couch & Santa last Sat. decided to meet again as a group for a 2nd attempt on this more clement day, though there were mild snow flurries and a light wind. No one had been on the trail since our unsuccessful attempt. We left the parking at 07h00 all filled with hope and very determined to succeed this time. I warned my partners that I was tired and only at 75% of my usual hiking capabilities, such that I would prefer not to break trail if possible.
After reaching Time Square, we took only a very short rest and immediately headed for Couch. Our previous tracks were partly blown-in, though still visible. Furthermore, we had this time a fairly clear view of Couch and could thus take and follow a compass line. Rik did a superb job at orienteering and brought us all successfully on the summit of Couch where we briefly celebrated our victory. This was Eric’s # 45W and my #44W.
Back to Time Square, 3 of us decided to go for Santanoni, while Eric decided to do Panther and then return to the parking and wait for the rest of us. Again we had a good view of Santa and thus could orient ourselves properly. The going was not too rough except for a minefield of spruce traps at one point, which took a good 20 min. to escape from. As for myself I also found the last portion of the ascension difficult. I was very grateful that my friends were breaking the trail ahead of me.
After successfully reaching the summit of Santa, I again thanked Rik for his great job, a true winter trailless peak finder. Hail to you Rik! Not sure that I would have been able to get my # 44 & 45W peaks without your help. We then retraced our steps back to Time Square and then headed down to Bradley Pond as Rik raced off towards Panther. He then caught up to us just before we reached the pond. We were all back to our cars by 19h00. Rik & Eric headed home for a 2 days rest before their return for Seward, Eric’s #46W. As for Réjean & I, we went off to claim our well-earned steak & sugar pie.
Day 8: 4th March - Triumphant finish on Saddleback
I left the Garden at 08h00, again quite tired and with aching leg muscles. This was surely not going to be a record-breaking hike. The going was luckily not very rough up to the Lodge with barely 2-4” of snow on the trail. After the 5-way junction, the trail was well packed down by a group of hikers who likely had left Peggy O’Brien or Grace Camp that morning.
However their tracks headed up a brook towards the Armstrong-Gothics col, and thereafter I had to break trail all the way to the summit of Saddleback. The steeper sections of the trail before reaching the Gothic-Saddleback col were difficult with snow up to my knees most of the time. It then took me a good hour to do the ½ mile trail from the col to the summit of Saddleback with sometimes snow to mid thigh.
It was very cloudy on the summit not permitting me to see beyond the precipitous drop off from Saddleback. God did that trail down look suicidal! After 10-15 min. of exhilarating trance in total solitary beatitude at having completed my 46W peaks, I had to reluctantly come down from my cloud of glory and head back home and to reality.
The return trip was uneventful. I was back to the parking after a 9h15 hike having met no one all day, though I saw in the registry that another party was doing Basin & Saddleback that day. I hope they made it safely and appreciated my tracks on their way out.
Safe & happy hiking everybody,
Pierre
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