Neil
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- Apr 26, 2004
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I headed back to the Pemi because I needed Guyot. We had passed just below the summit on our Semi-Pemi loop. Also, I thought it would be nifty to do Guyot first, Bond second and Bondcliff last.
After nearly an hour’s warm-up on the Wilderness Trail I crossed the bridge over Franconia Brook and headed up the Franconia Brook Trail. Good thing there was a bridge because fording the swollen and roaring brook would have been impossible.
It took me a while to get to Redrock Brook with the 3 creek crossings while wearing garbage bags on my feet, (pack off, micro-spikes off, garbage bags on, pack on, cross gingerly but quickly-water coming in, pack off, bags off, shooken dry, spikes on etc. etc). losing the trail in a swamp, post-holing before putting snowshoes on etc. I managed to cross Hellgate Brook without resorting to the routine and when I got to Redrock I was REAL glad I wouldn’t be crossing that sucker!
Here I dug out my gps and made 100% sure (versus 99%) I was at Redrock and began bushwhacking alongside it 50 yards to its south. No chance of losing the brook unless you were stone deaf. The woods were easy to whack through and I soon had to get close to the brook due to steep side slopes. I stuck to the south side where the snow was crusty hard in the shadows but had to do a lot of moderate side-hilling. I t looked better on the other side but I didn’t want to cross over the raging mass of boiling white foam.
The snow remained crusty and after an hour or more of very easy off-trail travel the brook began to split apart. Between the compass and some mighty fine visuals it was easy to select the correct tributaries. Finally, high up in the catch basin I left the flow and headed directly for South Twin, whose slides were showing through the trees. It looked like someone had dropped a giant screen behind the forest. I was getting some good adrenalin as I approached the headwall and the slides and Guyot loomed larger and larger overhead.
Suddenly I stepped out of the forest into an open bowl surrounded by snow slopes. The temperature instantly shot way up and I broke out the sunscreen and glasses. It was boiling hot.
I had been pondering my choices for a route out of the cirque all the way in (up West Bond, Bond Guyot low point, Guyot, S.Twin-Guyot col, S. Twin slides ) but as soon as I saw the S. Twin slides I was locked into trying the easternmost one. It looked steep and intimidating from below (about 800 feet of elevation gain) but I could always bail into the woods if it didn’t go. I had no ax or crampons.
It turned out to be perfect. The following MO worked quite well: kick hard, short pause to let the snow “take”, push up hard with both poles and hind leg. It was oven-hot and sweat poured down my face. The view was insane and every time I stopped to take a look it got better. Taking pictures was difficult in the bright noon-day sun precariously perched on the slope.
Once I topped out I looked for the trail, which was impossible to discern but the woods were open and the snow supportive so it was easy heading to Guyot. Naturally, I stopped and took pictures of the slide and the Redrock Valley. Once I spotted a cairn I pretty much remained on the trail for the rest of the day. Up Guyot and all the way across to Bond there were no tracks visible at all. From Bond to Bondcliff there were faint tracks.
There was no wind, no clouds and no traces of previous travellers. I was above the trees and everywhere I looked there were big, snow-covered mountains, some were in my face, others were miles off. It was deathly quiet and very hot.
One possibility for the return was to drop off the west ridge of Bondcliff 1000 feet down to a little col and then drop into the Hellgate Brook valley and bushwhack out to the Franconia Brook trail. At the same time I was feeling pretty fulfilled and thought it would be wisest to save that route for when I had a partner so I cruised down the Bondcliff trail. It was a treat to descend on cushiony snow and a perfect grade as the sun began dropping. Below 2000 feet it was quite messy. Water and slush alternated with soppy snow but by going slowly and remaining focussed on the footing it wasn’t too bad. The snowshoes came off definitively about 30 minutes from the Wilderness Trail. The 5-mile walk out on the WT seemed to take forever but according to my watch I averaged 18 minutes per mile. I got back to Lincoln Woods 13 hours after heading out. I felt tired and could barely bend over to untie my boots.
PICTURES Hit F11 for best viewing and no scrolling.
After nearly an hour’s warm-up on the Wilderness Trail I crossed the bridge over Franconia Brook and headed up the Franconia Brook Trail. Good thing there was a bridge because fording the swollen and roaring brook would have been impossible.
It took me a while to get to Redrock Brook with the 3 creek crossings while wearing garbage bags on my feet, (pack off, micro-spikes off, garbage bags on, pack on, cross gingerly but quickly-water coming in, pack off, bags off, shooken dry, spikes on etc. etc). losing the trail in a swamp, post-holing before putting snowshoes on etc. I managed to cross Hellgate Brook without resorting to the routine and when I got to Redrock I was REAL glad I wouldn’t be crossing that sucker!
Here I dug out my gps and made 100% sure (versus 99%) I was at Redrock and began bushwhacking alongside it 50 yards to its south. No chance of losing the brook unless you were stone deaf. The woods were easy to whack through and I soon had to get close to the brook due to steep side slopes. I stuck to the south side where the snow was crusty hard in the shadows but had to do a lot of moderate side-hilling. I t looked better on the other side but I didn’t want to cross over the raging mass of boiling white foam.
The snow remained crusty and after an hour or more of very easy off-trail travel the brook began to split apart. Between the compass and some mighty fine visuals it was easy to select the correct tributaries. Finally, high up in the catch basin I left the flow and headed directly for South Twin, whose slides were showing through the trees. It looked like someone had dropped a giant screen behind the forest. I was getting some good adrenalin as I approached the headwall and the slides and Guyot loomed larger and larger overhead.
Suddenly I stepped out of the forest into an open bowl surrounded by snow slopes. The temperature instantly shot way up and I broke out the sunscreen and glasses. It was boiling hot.
I had been pondering my choices for a route out of the cirque all the way in (up West Bond, Bond Guyot low point, Guyot, S.Twin-Guyot col, S. Twin slides ) but as soon as I saw the S. Twin slides I was locked into trying the easternmost one. It looked steep and intimidating from below (about 800 feet of elevation gain) but I could always bail into the woods if it didn’t go. I had no ax or crampons.
It turned out to be perfect. The following MO worked quite well: kick hard, short pause to let the snow “take”, push up hard with both poles and hind leg. It was oven-hot and sweat poured down my face. The view was insane and every time I stopped to take a look it got better. Taking pictures was difficult in the bright noon-day sun precariously perched on the slope.
Once I topped out I looked for the trail, which was impossible to discern but the woods were open and the snow supportive so it was easy heading to Guyot. Naturally, I stopped and took pictures of the slide and the Redrock Valley. Once I spotted a cairn I pretty much remained on the trail for the rest of the day. Up Guyot and all the way across to Bond there were no tracks visible at all. From Bond to Bondcliff there were faint tracks.
There was no wind, no clouds and no traces of previous travellers. I was above the trees and everywhere I looked there were big, snow-covered mountains, some were in my face, others were miles off. It was deathly quiet and very hot.
One possibility for the return was to drop off the west ridge of Bondcliff 1000 feet down to a little col and then drop into the Hellgate Brook valley and bushwhack out to the Franconia Brook trail. At the same time I was feeling pretty fulfilled and thought it would be wisest to save that route for when I had a partner so I cruised down the Bondcliff trail. It was a treat to descend on cushiony snow and a perfect grade as the sun began dropping. Below 2000 feet it was quite messy. Water and slush alternated with soppy snow but by going slowly and remaining focussed on the footing it wasn’t too bad. The snowshoes came off definitively about 30 minutes from the Wilderness Trail. The 5-mile walk out on the WT seemed to take forever but according to my watch I averaged 18 minutes per mile. I got back to Lincoln Woods 13 hours after heading out. I felt tired and could barely bend over to untie my boots.
PICTURES Hit F11 for best viewing and no scrolling.
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