spider solo
New member
I did this trip as two separate day hikes (Feb 24 and Feb 26).
My last few hikes this winter have mostly been below tree line, seeking out some snow depth for more traditional foot wear.
The Baldface mnts seemed perfect for getting above tree line and seeing them in the winter.
Tue the 24th was beautiful with no wind so I headed on up. Plastic boots and metal crampon snowshoes felt a little like having feet of lead, not light footed at all.
My thought was to first do South Baldface... fearing I wouldn't find my way off the mnt through the "ledges. Travelling solo I am often aware that I am more apt to loose my way above tree line where the snow is thin or none at all.
As it turned out the trail was broken till the South Baldface Shelter and sketchy till above the ledgy area. From there cairns are pretty easy to discern till the top though I "lost" the trail from time to time. It was a day of many variables, snowshoes coming on and off several times and using the axe for self belays.
It was a hot day, warmer than I expected, so boldly... off my pants I took! Simply stated... I hiked the mnt in my long johns.
I reached South Baldface in good time and headed over to North Baldface, it was a beautiful snowshoe hike along the ridge and by two o'clock I was standing on top of N.Baldface.
So there you have it.... man standing in underwear, ice axe in hand, contemplating to try for the rest of the Baldface Circle Trail or retreat... reclimb S.Baldface and avoid the possibilitiy of losing my way. Yes, also avoiding possible newspaper clippings to the effect of "man found wandering around mountains in underwear with frozen cheeks" or other such things.
After scouting around N.Baldface and not readily seeing the continuence of the trail..I went boldy not a step further. Yep, I turned around reclimbed South Baldface. It took longer to reclimb, about an hr but my tracks were clear . I started my descent about three with once again the ledges area being the trickest of all. Pants on at the shelter and back to to trail head with the last of day light.
This would compare well with the North Baldface from the other direction with about two and a half hrs to do 1.2 miles of ridge and hiking out in the dark, an 11 hr day.
Thursday I returned, this time dressed in my hiking finest, to see what the trail to North Baldface was like from the opposite direction.
The trail seemed broken out and I bare booted it to the junction of Eagle Cascade Link where the tracks suddenly ended. Putting on my snowshoes I was glad to have been able to conserve energy thus far, for soon I was giving it my best shot through deep snow. The section just before Eagle Grag I found particulary diffiicult and with a huff and a puff I topped out onto the ridge and into the full force of the wind...it was howling!
I stumbled over to the Crag at about 1 o'clock. North Baldface seemed very close, though all "uphill" and untracked. Thinking it might take me a full hr to do the1.2 miles to the summit then pick up my own trail from the other day and "scoot" over to South Baldface around three o'clock to do the loop.
Off I went, however time just seemed to be "slip sliding away" as I plodded along. Stoping for a lunch break to refuel my dwindling energy I knew that I was way behind my time frame and made the decision to forego the loop and return from N.Baldface on the same route I was now shoeing.
It was 3:20 before I reached the summit !! I could see where I had scouted it out before without ever finding the route through the trees..so very close to where I now stood.
There was no doubt I would be hiking out in the dark! I beat as hasty a retreat as I could muster, for I wanted to be sure I had plenty of daylight to make my way off Eagle Crag which I had found to be the steepest "trickest" of the day. I was glad I had not tried to figure this out on my previous day's hike as it seemed an improbable route which angled across some ledges, the most likely area to bring confusion.
All went well..somehow not as steep on the return. Darkness over took me just about where I could take off my snowshoes and bareboot it from the Cascade Link jct.
A sliver of a Moon offered soft lighting on the return and I could "feel my way along in the darker sections.
Several days would pass before I returned and was able to reap the benefits of my efforts and do North and South Baldface as a single day circle hike, this time utilizing Bicknell Ridge Trail.
Others may have done things differently, but travellling solo, I was glad to have learned my way around and tramped out the different sections, rather than just assuming the trails that were packed out in the lower sections actually did reach the top.
Great days and great weather... it was a lot of fun to finally put it all together...now if we could get just one more snow storm....!
My last few hikes this winter have mostly been below tree line, seeking out some snow depth for more traditional foot wear.
The Baldface mnts seemed perfect for getting above tree line and seeing them in the winter.
Tue the 24th was beautiful with no wind so I headed on up. Plastic boots and metal crampon snowshoes felt a little like having feet of lead, not light footed at all.
My thought was to first do South Baldface... fearing I wouldn't find my way off the mnt through the "ledges. Travelling solo I am often aware that I am more apt to loose my way above tree line where the snow is thin or none at all.
As it turned out the trail was broken till the South Baldface Shelter and sketchy till above the ledgy area. From there cairns are pretty easy to discern till the top though I "lost" the trail from time to time. It was a day of many variables, snowshoes coming on and off several times and using the axe for self belays.
It was a hot day, warmer than I expected, so boldly... off my pants I took! Simply stated... I hiked the mnt in my long johns.
I reached South Baldface in good time and headed over to North Baldface, it was a beautiful snowshoe hike along the ridge and by two o'clock I was standing on top of N.Baldface.
So there you have it.... man standing in underwear, ice axe in hand, contemplating to try for the rest of the Baldface Circle Trail or retreat... reclimb S.Baldface and avoid the possibilitiy of losing my way. Yes, also avoiding possible newspaper clippings to the effect of "man found wandering around mountains in underwear with frozen cheeks" or other such things.
After scouting around N.Baldface and not readily seeing the continuence of the trail..I went boldy not a step further. Yep, I turned around reclimbed South Baldface. It took longer to reclimb, about an hr but my tracks were clear . I started my descent about three with once again the ledges area being the trickest of all. Pants on at the shelter and back to to trail head with the last of day light.
This would compare well with the North Baldface from the other direction with about two and a half hrs to do 1.2 miles of ridge and hiking out in the dark, an 11 hr day.
Thursday I returned, this time dressed in my hiking finest, to see what the trail to North Baldface was like from the opposite direction.
The trail seemed broken out and I bare booted it to the junction of Eagle Cascade Link where the tracks suddenly ended. Putting on my snowshoes I was glad to have been able to conserve energy thus far, for soon I was giving it my best shot through deep snow. The section just before Eagle Grag I found particulary diffiicult and with a huff and a puff I topped out onto the ridge and into the full force of the wind...it was howling!
I stumbled over to the Crag at about 1 o'clock. North Baldface seemed very close, though all "uphill" and untracked. Thinking it might take me a full hr to do the1.2 miles to the summit then pick up my own trail from the other day and "scoot" over to South Baldface around three o'clock to do the loop.
Off I went, however time just seemed to be "slip sliding away" as I plodded along. Stoping for a lunch break to refuel my dwindling energy I knew that I was way behind my time frame and made the decision to forego the loop and return from N.Baldface on the same route I was now shoeing.
It was 3:20 before I reached the summit !! I could see where I had scouted it out before without ever finding the route through the trees..so very close to where I now stood.
There was no doubt I would be hiking out in the dark! I beat as hasty a retreat as I could muster, for I wanted to be sure I had plenty of daylight to make my way off Eagle Crag which I had found to be the steepest "trickest" of the day. I was glad I had not tried to figure this out on my previous day's hike as it seemed an improbable route which angled across some ledges, the most likely area to bring confusion.
All went well..somehow not as steep on the return. Darkness over took me just about where I could take off my snowshoes and bareboot it from the Cascade Link jct.
A sliver of a Moon offered soft lighting on the return and I could "feel my way along in the darker sections.
Several days would pass before I returned and was able to reap the benefits of my efforts and do North and South Baldface as a single day circle hike, this time utilizing Bicknell Ridge Trail.
Others may have done things differently, but travellling solo, I was glad to have learned my way around and tramped out the different sections, rather than just assuming the trails that were packed out in the lower sections actually did reach the top.
Great days and great weather... it was a lot of fun to finally put it all together...now if we could get just one more snow storm....!
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