Neil
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2004
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2 pickup trucks with ATV’s in the back pulled into the Pine Pond Road parking area at Averyville as I was getting ready to go hiking. There was 2 inches of wet snow on the ground and the road had many an ATV track from yesterday and the day before. The Pine Pond Rd. runs along the Wilderness zone boundary and can be travelled by 4-wheel drive Jeep or ATV . I wore blaze orange and swept my headlamp back and forth like a lighthouse throughout the woods that surrounded me.
1½ miles in I turned off of the road and entered the wilderness zone. I was glad there were no tracks on the old woods road that leads across the beaver dam and continues westward. (The beaver pond shows on the map and looks like the outline of a whale.) By now it was light enough to see without the lamp and I plodded along slowly in the wet squishy snow with a 30 pound pack.
About a kilometer east of Alford Mountain I left the old road and began bushwhacking towards the col between Sawtooth 1 and 2. Between Alford and the 772 meter peak to east lies what I call the landing strip, which runs NE-SW and has no contour lines on the map. Due to the wet compact snow and the pack the off-trail travel was pretty slow but once I found my pace it was pleasant. Other than the blue jays the November woods were suspended in deathly silence. There were many fresh deer tracks and scat and I saw 2 sets of very recent looking bear tracks that I never thought to photograph. The bear tracks were going my way. There is nothing quite like following a set of fresh bear tracks to increase your awareness level.
I arrived at the Cold Brook trib that drains part of Sawtooth 1 and as I walked along the stream bank looking for a place to cross I realized I was up to my knees in snow. On the other side the snow depth held steady at 3-4 inches. No more sign of Mr. Bear or his tracks. I wondered what I would have done had I seen 2 sets of tracks, one large and one small.
It was a gorgeous morning. The next hours involved easy navigation, never out of earshot of roaring brooks with frequent views up to the Sawtooth 10-Sawtooth 2 ridgeline. The snow got deeper and deeper and hid the various obstacles underfoot. I was sent sprawling a few times so I stopped and put my snowshoes on which was a vast improvement, especially for traction. I followed Cold Brook as it got smaller and smaller and my mode of travel involved leaving the brook to get to flatter terrain, being led back down to the brook through the openings and leaving the brook again. I made several crossings. Near the col, the contour lines vee sharply upstream and are close together so I climbed way out of it to the east and found the going to be pretty good. Finally, I emerged onto the flat open fen 100 yards from the col summit after 6 hours of steady hiking and was struck by brilliant sunshine on fresh snow. The animal tracks were so fresh that I scoured the landscape hoping to see a deer or a coyote but to no avail.
Of course I was soaked so I put on a dry shirt and a black jacket and bela clava and let the UV rays cook me. This spot had been described to me as the gates of heaven and I couldn’t disagree. My plan was to spend the night here, gather a bit of wood and scout out a good winter camping spot. It would have required the effort of perhaps 3 interconnected brain cells earlier on in the day (like at the trailhead) to figure out that wood gathering wouldn’t be all that bountiful with a foot of wet snow on the ground. At the fen there was a water layer about 6 inches deep under the snow. I had visions of myself hunting for soggy wood under the snow, sawing it up and carrying it on my shoulders through the mush. I cruised the protected woods on the ST2 side of the fen looking for a flat spot but any dry land sloped steeply uphill. After about 20 minutes in the col visions of Tom’s woodstove and a few cold Heinekins juxtaposed themselves against the wood-gathering image and when I checked my watch I realized I could back to the woods road before dark.
The col was a beautiful place but I made up my mind to head out. I made good time following my tracks downhill and as I neared the landing strip my radio came to life. I listened in on 2 hunters as they conversed in hushed tones.
-I’m at the Y in the stream.
-Head towards the fired pine.
-OK I’m moving up now.
I realized they were coming in very clearly on line-of-sight FRS radios so I keyed my unit.
-Hiker coming through. Repeat. Hiker coming through.
-Are you in need of assistance?
-No. I’m coming back from between Sawtooth 1 and 2.
-Did you see any deer?
-No but deer and bear tracks.
-How fresh?
-Less than a day old. Where are you?
-Just south of Alford. Thanks for the heads up. Over and out.
I was headed NE and was going to pass to the east Alford so I felt safe.
When I regained the woods road the only footprints I saw were mine so I figured the hunters must have gone in directly from the Pine Pond road on the North side of Alford.
The sun was setting so I put 2 blinking headlamps on, one facing forwards and one backwards and put the blaze orange vest back on. I scanned the channels but the radio remained silent.
Further along the woods road there were plenty of boot-prints and from the looks of things they were all headed out. I had gone in ahead of the hunters and was heading out after them. I kept the flashing lights going and the radio open but when I got to the parking area mine was the only vehicle in it. It was 6:20 and I was very happy to take my pack off, change into dry clothing and head for Tom’s wood stove and some Heinekins. I was profoundly satisfied with my trip to the gates of heaven.
pictures
1½ miles in I turned off of the road and entered the wilderness zone. I was glad there were no tracks on the old woods road that leads across the beaver dam and continues westward. (The beaver pond shows on the map and looks like the outline of a whale.) By now it was light enough to see without the lamp and I plodded along slowly in the wet squishy snow with a 30 pound pack.
About a kilometer east of Alford Mountain I left the old road and began bushwhacking towards the col between Sawtooth 1 and 2. Between Alford and the 772 meter peak to east lies what I call the landing strip, which runs NE-SW and has no contour lines on the map. Due to the wet compact snow and the pack the off-trail travel was pretty slow but once I found my pace it was pleasant. Other than the blue jays the November woods were suspended in deathly silence. There were many fresh deer tracks and scat and I saw 2 sets of very recent looking bear tracks that I never thought to photograph. The bear tracks were going my way. There is nothing quite like following a set of fresh bear tracks to increase your awareness level.
I arrived at the Cold Brook trib that drains part of Sawtooth 1 and as I walked along the stream bank looking for a place to cross I realized I was up to my knees in snow. On the other side the snow depth held steady at 3-4 inches. No more sign of Mr. Bear or his tracks. I wondered what I would have done had I seen 2 sets of tracks, one large and one small.
It was a gorgeous morning. The next hours involved easy navigation, never out of earshot of roaring brooks with frequent views up to the Sawtooth 10-Sawtooth 2 ridgeline. The snow got deeper and deeper and hid the various obstacles underfoot. I was sent sprawling a few times so I stopped and put my snowshoes on which was a vast improvement, especially for traction. I followed Cold Brook as it got smaller and smaller and my mode of travel involved leaving the brook to get to flatter terrain, being led back down to the brook through the openings and leaving the brook again. I made several crossings. Near the col, the contour lines vee sharply upstream and are close together so I climbed way out of it to the east and found the going to be pretty good. Finally, I emerged onto the flat open fen 100 yards from the col summit after 6 hours of steady hiking and was struck by brilliant sunshine on fresh snow. The animal tracks were so fresh that I scoured the landscape hoping to see a deer or a coyote but to no avail.
Of course I was soaked so I put on a dry shirt and a black jacket and bela clava and let the UV rays cook me. This spot had been described to me as the gates of heaven and I couldn’t disagree. My plan was to spend the night here, gather a bit of wood and scout out a good winter camping spot. It would have required the effort of perhaps 3 interconnected brain cells earlier on in the day (like at the trailhead) to figure out that wood gathering wouldn’t be all that bountiful with a foot of wet snow on the ground. At the fen there was a water layer about 6 inches deep under the snow. I had visions of myself hunting for soggy wood under the snow, sawing it up and carrying it on my shoulders through the mush. I cruised the protected woods on the ST2 side of the fen looking for a flat spot but any dry land sloped steeply uphill. After about 20 minutes in the col visions of Tom’s woodstove and a few cold Heinekins juxtaposed themselves against the wood-gathering image and when I checked my watch I realized I could back to the woods road before dark.
The col was a beautiful place but I made up my mind to head out. I made good time following my tracks downhill and as I neared the landing strip my radio came to life. I listened in on 2 hunters as they conversed in hushed tones.
-I’m at the Y in the stream.
-Head towards the fired pine.
-OK I’m moving up now.
I realized they were coming in very clearly on line-of-sight FRS radios so I keyed my unit.
-Hiker coming through. Repeat. Hiker coming through.
-Are you in need of assistance?
-No. I’m coming back from between Sawtooth 1 and 2.
-Did you see any deer?
-No but deer and bear tracks.
-How fresh?
-Less than a day old. Where are you?
-Just south of Alford. Thanks for the heads up. Over and out.
I was headed NE and was going to pass to the east Alford so I felt safe.
When I regained the woods road the only footprints I saw were mine so I figured the hunters must have gone in directly from the Pine Pond road on the North side of Alford.
The sun was setting so I put 2 blinking headlamps on, one facing forwards and one backwards and put the blaze orange vest back on. I scanned the channels but the radio remained silent.
Further along the woods road there were plenty of boot-prints and from the looks of things they were all headed out. I had gone in ahead of the hunters and was heading out after them. I kept the flashing lights going and the radio open but when I got to the parking area mine was the only vehicle in it. It was 6:20 and I was very happy to take my pack off, change into dry clothing and head for Tom’s wood stove and some Heinekins. I was profoundly satisfied with my trip to the gates of heaven.
pictures
