Carrigain via Desolation trail

Dangergirl and I having been wanting to do some less traveled routes to our winter 4ks this season so on Sunday we headed up Sawyer river rd from 302 at 8:30 am. It was snowy, we had snowshoes on. We made good time to the summer trailhead after a team nature stop and proceeded over the frozen river crossings and on to the junction. We were surprised to see tracks heading towards the "notch" It wasn't a well broken trail, the crust was hard and snaggy(new word) on our MSR's . We admired the views up both sides of the notch and at the height of land the broken trail ended.
I was mildly annoyed by the breakable crust with sugar snow underneath but Dangergirl wasn't phased because she was barely heavy enough to fracture the crust. The trip around the backside of the hill was uneventful but beautful. We stopped to examine some large animal tracks on the railroad grade just before the Desolation trail Jct that we believe are Canadian Lynx tracks. After a fuel and hydration break at the jct I led the way up the Desolation trail as it climbs and contours left along the ridge. Dangergirl hadn't been in those parts before and she was chomping at the bit to break some trail. I calmly assured her she would have her chance. After a good bout of steep sidehilling the time had come for the sharp right turn where the trail attacks the summit for a good 1500 ft of vertical. Being the nice guy I am I informed her it was her turn. Up we went !!!
There were only a few profane comments made during the battle to gain the summit. After 4:45 we had made it to the firetower and we enjoyed a nice bareboot jog down the hill back to the jct where we proceeded to walk the rest of the way to the car. By far the best 7 hours I've spent on Carrigain to date.

photos soon...

Very interesting about those Lynx tracks and also glad to see you guys enjoyed the views from that side of the hill..good job planning that hike so you really didn't have to break trail up high!!!!

Okay, here is my version, not as funny as Ryans though!

This weekend arrived fast and went fast, as most usually do. Saturday we had some unexpected plans arise so we did a quick ascent of Moosilauke up the Beaver Brook Trail. The weather was really nice and the views were great! On the way up the trail we looked up Jobildunk Ravine and saw some really cool looking ice, certainly something I would love to scope out!



The trail was crust on top of powder but not too hard with snowshoes! We summitted under blue skies and bright sun! After standing on top of Moosilauke we went over to South Peak and then returned back to the car. It was a short but great day! We got back to the house and got just a little sleep before the alarm went off at 4am!

Now at the last minute we had plans change on us so we quickly decided to ascend Carrigain via the Desolation trail! I love to break trail and I love the solitude of unused trails! The day was perfect and the sun was nice. Once off the road and onto the trail it got nice and quiet. When we got to the junction for the trail that turns off to the right towards Carrigain notch there was one set of tracks that ended about 5 miles into the hike (including the 2 mile road hike).

Finally, we were on our own! The conditons were interesting, crust that sometimes would hold me and most times would not. The crunch of the snow under my feet felt so good! Ryan broke through the snow crust a bit more than me. We took turns breaking the trail and were treated to great views of a gully to our right that looked like good climbing and also little bird tracks, squirrel tracks, bunny tracks and even moose tracks!

Right before the desolation trail intesection we saw some tracks that we thought were bear but certainly weren’t. They were single file (almost like a human would look like) and were triangular shaped. They were kind of hard to make out but they had paw pads about the size of my hand and we think we may have seen claw marks but cannot be sure. There was a fallen log off the ground that the belly of the animal had rubbed against on its way over. The coolest part was how far this thing jumped at one point! It lept about 13 feet and then made a right hand turn into the woods. After coming home and looking at tracks online we believe it may have been a Canadian Lynx. Either way it was certainly from a cat like animal.

We carried on up the Desolation trail and this is where the fun began! We started to go up and soon we were on steep and off camber terrain! It was deeper and the trees were now a battle to push through as well! Going uphill was like going uphill in sand! Once you stepped, the crust broke and you slid down on the soft powder under the crust! It was hilarious! Ryan and I took turns on this terrain breaking trail for each other! I love breaking trail and was so happy! The last 1500 feet of gain was something else! It was so steep and deep and we were climbing over and under branches and trees! Soon my undies were full of pine needles and I soon got the warm fuzzies! I forgot how much I love winter hiking on untravelled terrain!

It feels like an all out battle pushing through the deep snow, swimming up the hills and weaving through dense pine branches! We could see the top of the mountain but it seemed so far away! After the final battle and a few curses I smiled and stood on the summit of Carrigain where we were treated to great views! We took off our snowshoes and ran down the Signal Ridge trail and did a run/walk until we got to the road where the snowmobiles go and we walked the last two miles out! What a great day! Of course it led us into another crazy work week! Looking forward to next weekend!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfolcik/sets/72157629096447541/

http://blog.dangergirldh.com/?p=459

Nice job you two. Breaking trail going up the Desolation trail must have been brutal. I did that same loop this past summer- no snow!, and I got my a$$ handed to me going up the backside of Carrigain. I can't imagine it on an unbroken snowy trail....
Farmer: I ran into you on the Twins back in November. I was the mentally challenged looking person wearing a Lion hat. I believe you were out for a jog of sorts.....

nice pics dangergirl
Petch

PETCH said:

Farmer: I ran into you on the Twins back in November. I was the mentally challenged looking person wearing a Lion hat. I believe you were out for a jog of sorts.....

nice pics dangergirl
Petch

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I remember, sweet hat!

Looks like a great day.Can't understand why you wimped out on doing Vose Spur on your way through Carrigan Notch though

Farmer, dangergirl?

The tracks you saw- did the other tracks you saw leading up to the 13' leap stay on top of the crust or also break through?

all tracks were broken through. you could easily fit a mans fist inside the tracks and they were all 6-8 inches deep. i at 160 lbs plus pack with msr's on was sinking in the same depth

I was disappointed by this report - when I saw who wrote it I thought you'd gone in and out from Lincoln Woods

One advantage of winter for Desolation Trail is you won't be tripping on that @#$%^& phone wire!

Hey. Nice pic!. Color right?

Looks amazingly familiar!

Ha! That is awesome!

Stash said:

Hey. Nice pic!. Color right?

Looks amazingly familiar!

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Trail heading to Carrigain Notch still broken out as of last Sunday