dom15931
New member
Marcy, Tabletop, Skylight, and a cold night in the woods with immersed feet. 5-11&12
One of the best and worst experiences of my life and the change was fast. As close to a really bad situation as I have ever gotten myself into in the backcountry.
First the good part.
Left the Loj for Table top at 8:30am. Felt great considering I had three hours of car sleep. I was surprised to learn of all the snow still up there and glad i brought winter boots and snowshoes. I saw a handful of folks that day in three season hikers.
I made great time to the herd trail to Tabletop. There was no snow most of the way. I was there at 10:30 approximately and feeling in great spirits. Warm temps. The snow showed up at 3700' on the way up Marcy. Breaking off too tabletop I quickly put on my MSR snowshoes because falling knee to hip deep in icy snow is no fun at all...especially when it creeps into you boots. (the seeds were being sown for a later disaster) I would later ditch the snowshoes near the summit, where much of the snow had melted.
Summited Tabletop at 11:30. Best views were of the Macs just below the summit. There were some views of Marcy. I had the mountain to myself. No one was seen up, on top, or on the way back down. I descended back down to the junction with the trail to Marcy in about 45 minutes.
I slowed down a bit intentionally at this point because I didn't want to beat myself up to bad with plenty of daylight left and preparations to lamplight out the last few miles back. I got lazy with the snowshoes, but, at the time didn't mind the wet feet as it was mild and I was moving relatively quickly.
Above the treeline on Marcy the views were great. My second time summiting Marcy was much better than the first, which was locked in fog that time. This time there were wall to wall 360 views on a clear day. Well worth the reclimb. Hung out at the summit for about 30 minutes soaking in the views. There were a few small groups around, but very few people were out for such a nice day.
I wanted to snag Grey if the herdpath was obvious, but it wasn't so I continued to Skylight.
Below the treeline the snow got deep again and the branches were closing in. The snowpack was less stable. Strapped on the snowshoes from here to near the summit of Skylight. It was about 3:30 pm when I arrived at Skylight.
This is where things go wrong and a relativity experienced hiker made a real dumb move that he should not have. I had planned on being at Skylight about 30 to 60 minutes earlier. I had heard of a herdpath to Redfield from Skylight. I know it's been done before and had read about it. I spent a good bit of time looking for it, getting scratched up and my boots soaked. (luckily I had another pair I thought) The tree were insanely thick. I mad it down the notch and up to the first shoulder summit towards Redfield. There was a great view of Allen from here. I could see Moss Pond. Hours went by and when I decided to abort it and head back down toward the trail. Decending was difficult, the thick trees gradually gave way to increasing snowcovered runoff channels. How foolish and arrogant could I have been...what was I thinking? My bearing towards the trail was bad. (I would figure this out later that night studying my map, would have had to acceded a ridge and down over to get back to the trail) I stayed in the drainage ravine and was headed for a large creek on the map and not the trail. The day had gone too well prior to this and my ego had eaten me alive, and it was finally gonna catch up with me.
There was not enough daylight to make it back and the snowpack was worse heading towards the lakes (as I would learn tomorrow)
After getting back underneath Skylight and Redfield and in the valley up against a creek that flowed down to the trail junction with the actual Redfield heard path I decided that with nightfall approaching this wasn't getting done in one day, as it easily could have if not for my foolish attempt to bushwack Redfield based on limited knowledge in poor condx.
My feet were cold. So cold that while building a fire and preparing for a sleepless night that when I went to change into my other boots I realized a had lost one of the ones I was wearing only a short distance away. My bare foot was in the ice. My feet were numb!
I was about to panic, esp with a lack of cell service, then realized that would be the worst thing I could possibly due after the stupid mistake I had already made. I screwed up I told myself, but I am going to stay calm, conserve my strength, and get myself out of this mess in the morning in a calm orderly fashion. It was too late for a pity party and time to survive.
I had grabbed a large piece of birch bark earlier. Man this stuff is great for starting fires. I elevated and warmed my feet *near* the fire slowly as not to cause to much pain. They were swollen badly, but not frozen. I could move them with little pain. The numbness decreased. The hardest part was harvesting wood in the snow and not falling through, which I did several times. I lost a snowshoe deep in a massive spruce trap. Darn. It was a loss.
Over the course of the night I found 'safe places' where there were no spruce traps. This kept me from keeping my feet dry out of my other boots unfortunately for a considerable amount of time. Eventually I found some downed trees filled with dry dead limbs. This allowed me to stockpile wood and warm and dry my feet some more having to concentrate less on the fire. I watch the moon move across the sky, drop under the horizon, and the sun slowly rise. My head bobbed from time to time but I would not let myself sleep. I must keep my temperature up and the fire strong I thought.
Morning. Warm and Ready. No signs of hypothermia, spirits were up, feet still a little cold and numb, but much better. The temps were slightly above freezing I would guess. I had good energy considering the lack of sleep. I was however running out of food and water as I was a bit of a glutton the day before. I was well hydrated at this point though.
I descended the creek slowly and carfully for about .5 miles before intersecting what I believe was the actual Redfield herdpath. Fantastic waterfalls the whole way down, but I took few pics as I was more concentrated on getting out of there ASAP. It was neverending and I was practically seeing mirage trail signs. When I finally arrived at the junction with the trail to lake Colden I warmed, elevated and dried my feet for a time.
The snow was bad in the passes, with their lesser light, colder nights and steep cliffs. Everywhere you could see where other snow-shoeless hikers had fallen through. I should have worn the one I had but left but I didn't. Again my feet were getting cold, but not as bad as last night before I built the fire. Lake Colden and Avalanche Lake were very beautiful this time of year with the cascade coming down the Trap Dyke being the highlight. My camera was unfortunately water logged at this point.
Exhaustion was setting in. The snow was really taking the energy out of me in combination with no sleep and mild hunger. After Avalanche lake the snow lessened quickly. I grabbed the first lean-to I came to and took a half hour or so nap, however long it was for me to start shivering. It was however refreshing and my feet were feeling better and warmer being out of the snowpack. I felt a little less like I was gonna collapse. My spirits were quite low prior to this. Knowing you got a long way to go in deplorable conditions is daunting. However now the end was in sight. I saw my first other hikers of the day 3 miles from the Loj. There was like nobody out today it seemed. The last few miles were a chore and nothing more.
Arriving back at the Loj I got a quick shower, warmed up my feet, and went and got something to eat prior to getting a motel. Got a few hours of sleep and woke up and decided to go to the ER because my feet were swelling and still tingling.
The end result would be 'Immersion Foot' aka Trench Foot in both feet that I would seek adequate treatment for. Luckily I had minimal tissue damage and good blood flow. I have a thread in 'General Backcountry' about it.
While the summiting section of this hike was awesome the latter half was foolish and dangerous, and could have ended much differently. Hopefully someone who reads this someday does not make the same mistake I did. If it were not for my change of boots, snowshoes, experience (despite my stupid decision on the bushwack), and preparedness for night hiking with a lamp and adequate fire materials I don't even want to think of what may have happened. I should have been more prepared for a night out, but somewhat is better than not at all. Lessons learned and never to be forgotten. Just because it is warm doesn't mean it's a warm weather hike. Never again will I attempt a bushwack alone in snow, no matter how much more prepared I am. It is simply not wise and not worth it. Attempting to bushwack Skylight to Redfield would be difficult in even the best of conditions IMO.
Set aside my disaster Tabletop, Marcy, and Skylight were great mountains.
Pics: 'The happy part':
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/563426538HsAcPM
Pics: 'The not as good foolish scary part'
http://community.webshots.com/album/563430513RXYITu
-Dom
One of the best and worst experiences of my life and the change was fast. As close to a really bad situation as I have ever gotten myself into in the backcountry.
First the good part.
Left the Loj for Table top at 8:30am. Felt great considering I had three hours of car sleep. I was surprised to learn of all the snow still up there and glad i brought winter boots and snowshoes. I saw a handful of folks that day in three season hikers.
I made great time to the herd trail to Tabletop. There was no snow most of the way. I was there at 10:30 approximately and feeling in great spirits. Warm temps. The snow showed up at 3700' on the way up Marcy. Breaking off too tabletop I quickly put on my MSR snowshoes because falling knee to hip deep in icy snow is no fun at all...especially when it creeps into you boots. (the seeds were being sown for a later disaster) I would later ditch the snowshoes near the summit, where much of the snow had melted.
Summited Tabletop at 11:30. Best views were of the Macs just below the summit. There were some views of Marcy. I had the mountain to myself. No one was seen up, on top, or on the way back down. I descended back down to the junction with the trail to Marcy in about 45 minutes.
I slowed down a bit intentionally at this point because I didn't want to beat myself up to bad with plenty of daylight left and preparations to lamplight out the last few miles back. I got lazy with the snowshoes, but, at the time didn't mind the wet feet as it was mild and I was moving relatively quickly.
Above the treeline on Marcy the views were great. My second time summiting Marcy was much better than the first, which was locked in fog that time. This time there were wall to wall 360 views on a clear day. Well worth the reclimb. Hung out at the summit for about 30 minutes soaking in the views. There were a few small groups around, but very few people were out for such a nice day.
I wanted to snag Grey if the herdpath was obvious, but it wasn't so I continued to Skylight.
Below the treeline the snow got deep again and the branches were closing in. The snowpack was less stable. Strapped on the snowshoes from here to near the summit of Skylight. It was about 3:30 pm when I arrived at Skylight.
This is where things go wrong and a relativity experienced hiker made a real dumb move that he should not have. I had planned on being at Skylight about 30 to 60 minutes earlier. I had heard of a herdpath to Redfield from Skylight. I know it's been done before and had read about it. I spent a good bit of time looking for it, getting scratched up and my boots soaked. (luckily I had another pair I thought) The tree were insanely thick. I mad it down the notch and up to the first shoulder summit towards Redfield. There was a great view of Allen from here. I could see Moss Pond. Hours went by and when I decided to abort it and head back down toward the trail. Decending was difficult, the thick trees gradually gave way to increasing snowcovered runoff channels. How foolish and arrogant could I have been...what was I thinking? My bearing towards the trail was bad. (I would figure this out later that night studying my map, would have had to acceded a ridge and down over to get back to the trail) I stayed in the drainage ravine and was headed for a large creek on the map and not the trail. The day had gone too well prior to this and my ego had eaten me alive, and it was finally gonna catch up with me.
There was not enough daylight to make it back and the snowpack was worse heading towards the lakes (as I would learn tomorrow)
After getting back underneath Skylight and Redfield and in the valley up against a creek that flowed down to the trail junction with the actual Redfield heard path I decided that with nightfall approaching this wasn't getting done in one day, as it easily could have if not for my foolish attempt to bushwack Redfield based on limited knowledge in poor condx.
My feet were cold. So cold that while building a fire and preparing for a sleepless night that when I went to change into my other boots I realized a had lost one of the ones I was wearing only a short distance away. My bare foot was in the ice. My feet were numb!
I was about to panic, esp with a lack of cell service, then realized that would be the worst thing I could possibly due after the stupid mistake I had already made. I screwed up I told myself, but I am going to stay calm, conserve my strength, and get myself out of this mess in the morning in a calm orderly fashion. It was too late for a pity party and time to survive.
I had grabbed a large piece of birch bark earlier. Man this stuff is great for starting fires. I elevated and warmed my feet *near* the fire slowly as not to cause to much pain. They were swollen badly, but not frozen. I could move them with little pain. The numbness decreased. The hardest part was harvesting wood in the snow and not falling through, which I did several times. I lost a snowshoe deep in a massive spruce trap. Darn. It was a loss.
Over the course of the night I found 'safe places' where there were no spruce traps. This kept me from keeping my feet dry out of my other boots unfortunately for a considerable amount of time. Eventually I found some downed trees filled with dry dead limbs. This allowed me to stockpile wood and warm and dry my feet some more having to concentrate less on the fire. I watch the moon move across the sky, drop under the horizon, and the sun slowly rise. My head bobbed from time to time but I would not let myself sleep. I must keep my temperature up and the fire strong I thought.
Morning. Warm and Ready. No signs of hypothermia, spirits were up, feet still a little cold and numb, but much better. The temps were slightly above freezing I would guess. I had good energy considering the lack of sleep. I was however running out of food and water as I was a bit of a glutton the day before. I was well hydrated at this point though.
I descended the creek slowly and carfully for about .5 miles before intersecting what I believe was the actual Redfield herdpath. Fantastic waterfalls the whole way down, but I took few pics as I was more concentrated on getting out of there ASAP. It was neverending and I was practically seeing mirage trail signs. When I finally arrived at the junction with the trail to lake Colden I warmed, elevated and dried my feet for a time.
The snow was bad in the passes, with their lesser light, colder nights and steep cliffs. Everywhere you could see where other snow-shoeless hikers had fallen through. I should have worn the one I had but left but I didn't. Again my feet were getting cold, but not as bad as last night before I built the fire. Lake Colden and Avalanche Lake were very beautiful this time of year with the cascade coming down the Trap Dyke being the highlight. My camera was unfortunately water logged at this point.
Exhaustion was setting in. The snow was really taking the energy out of me in combination with no sleep and mild hunger. After Avalanche lake the snow lessened quickly. I grabbed the first lean-to I came to and took a half hour or so nap, however long it was for me to start shivering. It was however refreshing and my feet were feeling better and warmer being out of the snowpack. I felt a little less like I was gonna collapse. My spirits were quite low prior to this. Knowing you got a long way to go in deplorable conditions is daunting. However now the end was in sight. I saw my first other hikers of the day 3 miles from the Loj. There was like nobody out today it seemed. The last few miles were a chore and nothing more.
Arriving back at the Loj I got a quick shower, warmed up my feet, and went and got something to eat prior to getting a motel. Got a few hours of sleep and woke up and decided to go to the ER because my feet were swelling and still tingling.
The end result would be 'Immersion Foot' aka Trench Foot in both feet that I would seek adequate treatment for. Luckily I had minimal tissue damage and good blood flow. I have a thread in 'General Backcountry' about it.
While the summiting section of this hike was awesome the latter half was foolish and dangerous, and could have ended much differently. Hopefully someone who reads this someday does not make the same mistake I did. If it were not for my change of boots, snowshoes, experience (despite my stupid decision on the bushwack), and preparedness for night hiking with a lamp and adequate fire materials I don't even want to think of what may have happened. I should have been more prepared for a night out, but somewhat is better than not at all. Lessons learned and never to be forgotten. Just because it is warm doesn't mean it's a warm weather hike. Never again will I attempt a bushwack alone in snow, no matter how much more prepared I am. It is simply not wise and not worth it. Attempting to bushwack Skylight to Redfield would be difficult in even the best of conditions IMO.
Set aside my disaster Tabletop, Marcy, and Skylight were great mountains.
Pics: 'The happy part':
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/563426538HsAcPM
Pics: 'The not as good foolish scary part'
http://community.webshots.com/album/563430513RXYITu
-Dom
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