Spaderman
New member
Nothing like waiting until the last full day of winter to complete your 48 but Friday was about as good of a day I as I could ask to bag Jefferson & Adams to complete #47 & #48 for the winter list. I wish I could say that I did it in one season like Silverfox but 9 years is still OK in my book.
My hiking companions were The Great Pumpkin (who has accompanied me on all but 5 winter peaks) & Mad Dog Murray. We left Mansfield Station around 8:20 AM to head up the Jewell Trail with plenty of sunshine. Within no time we were down to shortsleeves. The last 1/2 mile was tough spruce bashing & bushwacking. We each took a few cuts & bruises befroe we busted out above treeline to some incredible views all around.
We switched to snowshoes & slanted up toward Sphinx Col to join up with Gulfside Trail in the col. We made great time to the col & started the climb up to Jefferson. The trail wandered a bit & the exposed rocks from the melt made snowshoes challenging at times but we pushed on to summit Jefferson around 12:45 PM. Peak #47 was in the books. Had a quick lunch & then pushed off for Adams. As we were about to leave, we noticed two skiers coming off Mt. Clay skiing down into Sphinx Col. Must of had a great time skiing all that snow.
Our first major event was about to take place as we descented off Jefferson into Edmund's Col. The lower half got very steep & before we knew it we were into it. We managed to traverse around most of it but eventually we all took about a 60' slide down the snow.
Fortunately, the snow was soft & we could dig our snowshoes into the snow, thus arresting our slide. All three of us had to "check our pants" to be sure they were still clean. We managed to get down the rest of the way without any further events.
Once at Edmund's Col, we pushed onto Adams. The snowfields were perfect with good support. We got the the summit of Adams at 3:20 PM. #48 for Spaderman was also in the books as was the completion of the winter list. Well wishes & glad tidings were passed around but we still had about 5 miles to go to Lowe's Garage. Off we went down Lowe's Path. The meadows below the summit of Adams 4 are truly spectacular with the NW vistas open before you. We got below treeline & hit the steep descents with some fun butt slides. Once down to level ground, the snowshoes were a real blessing as the snow was very soft. Obviously, someone had not brought along snowshoes as there were numerous postholes on the lower portion of Lowe's Path. We made it to the car at 7 PM just as the sun set.
After re-acquiring the first car, it was off to "Shining Time Station" aka Woodstock Station for celebration, food & numerous beers. Tales of lusty adventure were shared by all. Great day to end winter!
My thanks to Mad Dog for his support & companionship for the hike to complete my winter 48 & a special thanks to The Great Pumpkin for his witty words of wisdom, his "great Soviet humor", & friendship on all the hikes, especially the last one. He's the one responsible for getting me hooked on hiking in the "Whites" back in '98 & it's been a great trip since.
Picture link: http://picasaweb.google.com/sspader2/JeffersonAdamsTraverse31910?authkey=Gv1sRgCIqevqjblqOcfA#
"The mystery of Life is not a problem to solve but a reality to experience!" Frank Hebert - "Dune"
My hiking companions were The Great Pumpkin (who has accompanied me on all but 5 winter peaks) & Mad Dog Murray. We left Mansfield Station around 8:20 AM to head up the Jewell Trail with plenty of sunshine. Within no time we were down to shortsleeves. The last 1/2 mile was tough spruce bashing & bushwacking. We each took a few cuts & bruises befroe we busted out above treeline to some incredible views all around.
We switched to snowshoes & slanted up toward Sphinx Col to join up with Gulfside Trail in the col. We made great time to the col & started the climb up to Jefferson. The trail wandered a bit & the exposed rocks from the melt made snowshoes challenging at times but we pushed on to summit Jefferson around 12:45 PM. Peak #47 was in the books. Had a quick lunch & then pushed off for Adams. As we were about to leave, we noticed two skiers coming off Mt. Clay skiing down into Sphinx Col. Must of had a great time skiing all that snow.
Our first major event was about to take place as we descented off Jefferson into Edmund's Col. The lower half got very steep & before we knew it we were into it. We managed to traverse around most of it but eventually we all took about a 60' slide down the snow.
Fortunately, the snow was soft & we could dig our snowshoes into the snow, thus arresting our slide. All three of us had to "check our pants" to be sure they were still clean. We managed to get down the rest of the way without any further events.Once at Edmund's Col, we pushed onto Adams. The snowfields were perfect with good support. We got the the summit of Adams at 3:20 PM. #48 for Spaderman was also in the books as was the completion of the winter list. Well wishes & glad tidings were passed around but we still had about 5 miles to go to Lowe's Garage. Off we went down Lowe's Path. The meadows below the summit of Adams 4 are truly spectacular with the NW vistas open before you. We got below treeline & hit the steep descents with some fun butt slides. Once down to level ground, the snowshoes were a real blessing as the snow was very soft. Obviously, someone had not brought along snowshoes as there were numerous postholes on the lower portion of Lowe's Path. We made it to the car at 7 PM just as the sun set.
After re-acquiring the first car, it was off to "Shining Time Station" aka Woodstock Station for celebration, food & numerous beers. Tales of lusty adventure were shared by all. Great day to end winter!
My thanks to Mad Dog for his support & companionship for the hike to complete my winter 48 & a special thanks to The Great Pumpkin for his witty words of wisdom, his "great Soviet humor", & friendship on all the hikes, especially the last one. He's the one responsible for getting me hooked on hiking in the "Whites" back in '98 & it's been a great trip since.
Picture link: http://picasaweb.google.com/sspader2/JeffersonAdamsTraverse31910?authkey=Gv1sRgCIqevqjblqOcfA#
"The mystery of Life is not a problem to solve but a reality to experience!" Frank Hebert - "Dune"
