adktyler
Active member
Hello there, everyone! We had an absolutely extraordinary weekend! Being back at school, and no longer on break, I wanted to hit our last 5 (before our finish) in one weekend, to minimize on the driving time. So with the help of Charlie (stokel), we planned a nice big trip. Here is our story:
My dad and I awoke at 2:30am Friday to begin our journey. After breakfast, some good conversation, and final gear organization, we were on our way driving through the warm morning. The road into Upper Works was very icy, and even going very slowly we slid all over the place. This made our arrival time at the Tahawus Tract parking lot a little later than usual, but we had all day, and no place we had to be, so it worked out pretty nicely. We suited up with our heavy packs, and hit the rain-soaked trail. We partook in the blessing of very little rain on the way in, only a few light sprinkles every now and then (usually right after I made a comment like “hey, it’s not raining at all!” - figures).
The hike in was un-eventful, but still very enjoyable. It was warm, in the mid 30s, and everything was ice encrusted. The trees looked like dull crystal, barley shimmering in the overcast morning light. As the day progressed the temperature rose and the ice began to melt. This provided a unique situation of not having to be in the rain but become totally drenched anyway. We arrived at the Flowed Lands mid-afternoon (parking lot departure of 7, Flowed Lands at 9:30 as I recall). After ditching our big packs and strapping on our day packs, we began our ascent of Marshall in high spirits.
Marshall was a very unique climb. I have never spent so much time hiking on an actual brook, much less a brook with unique ice. For at least half of the hike we simply trudged up the middle of Herbert Brook, with mist rolling in and out, reminding me of a land out of Lord Of The Rings. The remainder of the climb after we left the brook was still simple, as the trail was broken and fairly well packed down. By noontime we were happily on the summit, drenched from melted ice on the trees and haze that hung in the air, but happy none-the-less.
Marshall Trail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqev4WNBUx8
The hike down was typical. All the tree branches that had smacked me in the face on the way up did so again, and the spruce traps that I had fallen into told all their buddies about me, thus giving me many more to become ensnared in. My dad used crampons on the way down Herbert Brook, and rubbed it in my face that whenever I wanted crampons, I didn’t bring them, and whenever I brought them expecting to need them, they weren’t necessary. This proved true for the rest of the weekend…at least I’m consistent. We arrived back at our overnight packs by 1:30, and felt surprisingly good. So we decided to hike to the Uphill Lean-to, which would place us closer to our goals the next day.
Man, that was a LONG mile and a half. It seemed to take an extensive amount of time, and I was overjoyed to reach the lean-to and get that pack off my back. I think this is the farthest I’ve hiked in the Adirondacks in winter with a full pack, a little over 8 miles, and ALL uphill! Yet…after unloading our things, setting up the tent (the lean-to was full), and having some good food, my dad suggested that we hike Cliff as well, to make the next day less challenging. Boy that father of mine is great! So we grabbed our day packs again, and headed up Cliff!
Cliff, I must say, made me a little grumpy. I had hiked 8 miles with a full pack, plus the extra 3 miles up and back Marshall, so I was a little sore. After that long, steep part I was ready to be on the summit. But, since I hadn’t done any research into what the hike was like, I didn’t know that we had the “privilege” of going back DOWN and then UP again! This was rather annoying, and I was more than ready to reach the summit when we did, an hour after leaving the Uphill Lean-to. On top, however, my mood improved as I witnessed the thick clouds pour over surrounding peaks, as if they were being sucked into the valleys by some unseen force. It took us an hour to get back down, and once again…it would have been nice to have my crampons (which my dad used).
Back at the lean-to, we met some new friends! Gene, Fred, and Kevin were spending the weekend there, and were very pleasant and entertaining company. John (canoejr) was also there, and would be joining us for our climbs the following day. We all chatted, laughed, cooked, told stories, and generally had a great time. A little while later, Charlie showed up after hiking in from the parking lot as soon as he could get out of classes that morning, thus beginning his week-long Spring Break trip.
After organizing everything, saying goodnight and changing into dry clothing (did I mention everything was drenched), we hit the hay. Then the real fun began. Several people on other forums had warned me about the pine martens. Well, I was ready for them (or so I thought), and hung my drybag full of food from a tree. I didn’t bother getting a canister, because they’re expensive and I didn’t want to carry it…plus I figured with my incredible hanging skills, I’d be fine. I had passed along friends helpful advice to my dad about the martens, which he chose to ignore (?). Around midnight, we were awoken to the sound of footsteps. My dad asked who was there, and receiving no response, shinned his light outside. There, to our surprise, was his pack, hanging from a tree, and spazing out on us COMPLETELY, as if it were a living creature. Pine Martens. We both yelled at it to get out, as my dad got out of his bag and ran out to ward off the beast. I smugly recollected how I had hung my food up well, and was having no problems with the pesky rodents.
Back in the tent, and two sandwiches short, my dad was still in pretty good spirits. We slowly began to drift off to sleep, when suddenly the noises were back. I sat up, shone my light out again, and saw…to my humble disbelief…a pine marten sitting on my dry bag, swinging back and forth, and looking very pleased with himself. He had climbed out on the limb, down my rope, and was now clawing my expensive Sea To Summit bag with all my food for the weekend in it! Now it was personal. I charged out of the tent, guns blazing, making enough noise to wake up anyone sleeping back at the Flowed Lands, and verbally chewed the heck out of that stupid weasel. It scurried up a tree, and sat their mockingly…rubbing it in my face that I had not brought a canister, and had then been haughty about my food hanging job. I yelled the little bugger to kingdom come, and when I could no longer see his beady little eyes, I retreated to my tent, with all my food under my arm. He had made a bung of small dents in my bag, but thankfully had not punctured it…which would have served me right.
My dad and I awoke at 2:30am Friday to begin our journey. After breakfast, some good conversation, and final gear organization, we were on our way driving through the warm morning. The road into Upper Works was very icy, and even going very slowly we slid all over the place. This made our arrival time at the Tahawus Tract parking lot a little later than usual, but we had all day, and no place we had to be, so it worked out pretty nicely. We suited up with our heavy packs, and hit the rain-soaked trail. We partook in the blessing of very little rain on the way in, only a few light sprinkles every now and then (usually right after I made a comment like “hey, it’s not raining at all!” - figures).
The hike in was un-eventful, but still very enjoyable. It was warm, in the mid 30s, and everything was ice encrusted. The trees looked like dull crystal, barley shimmering in the overcast morning light. As the day progressed the temperature rose and the ice began to melt. This provided a unique situation of not having to be in the rain but become totally drenched anyway. We arrived at the Flowed Lands mid-afternoon (parking lot departure of 7, Flowed Lands at 9:30 as I recall). After ditching our big packs and strapping on our day packs, we began our ascent of Marshall in high spirits.
Marshall was a very unique climb. I have never spent so much time hiking on an actual brook, much less a brook with unique ice. For at least half of the hike we simply trudged up the middle of Herbert Brook, with mist rolling in and out, reminding me of a land out of Lord Of The Rings. The remainder of the climb after we left the brook was still simple, as the trail was broken and fairly well packed down. By noontime we were happily on the summit, drenched from melted ice on the trees and haze that hung in the air, but happy none-the-less.
Marshall Trail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqev4WNBUx8
The hike down was typical. All the tree branches that had smacked me in the face on the way up did so again, and the spruce traps that I had fallen into told all their buddies about me, thus giving me many more to become ensnared in. My dad used crampons on the way down Herbert Brook, and rubbed it in my face that whenever I wanted crampons, I didn’t bring them, and whenever I brought them expecting to need them, they weren’t necessary. This proved true for the rest of the weekend…at least I’m consistent. We arrived back at our overnight packs by 1:30, and felt surprisingly good. So we decided to hike to the Uphill Lean-to, which would place us closer to our goals the next day.
Man, that was a LONG mile and a half. It seemed to take an extensive amount of time, and I was overjoyed to reach the lean-to and get that pack off my back. I think this is the farthest I’ve hiked in the Adirondacks in winter with a full pack, a little over 8 miles, and ALL uphill! Yet…after unloading our things, setting up the tent (the lean-to was full), and having some good food, my dad suggested that we hike Cliff as well, to make the next day less challenging. Boy that father of mine is great! So we grabbed our day packs again, and headed up Cliff!
Cliff, I must say, made me a little grumpy. I had hiked 8 miles with a full pack, plus the extra 3 miles up and back Marshall, so I was a little sore. After that long, steep part I was ready to be on the summit. But, since I hadn’t done any research into what the hike was like, I didn’t know that we had the “privilege” of going back DOWN and then UP again! This was rather annoying, and I was more than ready to reach the summit when we did, an hour after leaving the Uphill Lean-to. On top, however, my mood improved as I witnessed the thick clouds pour over surrounding peaks, as if they were being sucked into the valleys by some unseen force. It took us an hour to get back down, and once again…it would have been nice to have my crampons (which my dad used).
Back at the lean-to, we met some new friends! Gene, Fred, and Kevin were spending the weekend there, and were very pleasant and entertaining company. John (canoejr) was also there, and would be joining us for our climbs the following day. We all chatted, laughed, cooked, told stories, and generally had a great time. A little while later, Charlie showed up after hiking in from the parking lot as soon as he could get out of classes that morning, thus beginning his week-long Spring Break trip.
After organizing everything, saying goodnight and changing into dry clothing (did I mention everything was drenched), we hit the hay. Then the real fun began. Several people on other forums had warned me about the pine martens. Well, I was ready for them (or so I thought), and hung my drybag full of food from a tree. I didn’t bother getting a canister, because they’re expensive and I didn’t want to carry it…plus I figured with my incredible hanging skills, I’d be fine. I had passed along friends helpful advice to my dad about the martens, which he chose to ignore (?). Around midnight, we were awoken to the sound of footsteps. My dad asked who was there, and receiving no response, shinned his light outside. There, to our surprise, was his pack, hanging from a tree, and spazing out on us COMPLETELY, as if it were a living creature. Pine Martens. We both yelled at it to get out, as my dad got out of his bag and ran out to ward off the beast. I smugly recollected how I had hung my food up well, and was having no problems with the pesky rodents.
Back in the tent, and two sandwiches short, my dad was still in pretty good spirits. We slowly began to drift off to sleep, when suddenly the noises were back. I sat up, shone my light out again, and saw…to my humble disbelief…a pine marten sitting on my dry bag, swinging back and forth, and looking very pleased with himself. He had climbed out on the limb, down my rope, and was now clawing my expensive Sea To Summit bag with all my food for the weekend in it! Now it was personal. I charged out of the tent, guns blazing, making enough noise to wake up anyone sleeping back at the Flowed Lands, and verbally chewed the heck out of that stupid weasel. It scurried up a tree, and sat their mockingly…rubbing it in my face that I had not brought a canister, and had then been haughty about my food hanging job. I yelled the little bugger to kingdom come, and when I could no longer see his beady little eyes, I retreated to my tent, with all my food under my arm. He had made a bung of small dents in my bag, but thankfully had not punctured it…which would have served me right.
