Rainman
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- Joined
- Feb 28, 2012
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- 153
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After encountering punishing conditions last year, and failing to make the summit, our small group decided to give it another try this fall. The group grew to 7, then settled at 6 for SW Twin, round 2. Due to the shorter days this time of year, a significant reason for our turnaround last year, we decided to do this as an overnight.
Day 1: We ascended the Gale River and Garfield Ridge trails to Galehead Hut. We filled up with water for the climb up South Twin. Cloudy and foggy conditions eliminated any distracting views, so we continued along the Twinway till the South Twin, Guyot col. We set up camp near here, just off the trail.
Day 2: Woke early and prepped for the hike. Broke camp, and stashed unneeded gear. We started our 'whack in the vicinity of the col and found fairly easy going for about a half hour. With no views through the trees, a significant looking descent appeared which we were not expecting. After consultation with the group and map, we settled on a plan and proceeded. Soon we came to a slight opening at the top of a bump, and could not reconcile the view with our location. Looking at the compass revealed that we were looking at South Twin and Galehead to our left. We had been turned around 180 degrees. After several measurements with our campasses it was clear that we were at the nose of the ridge, and needed to drop to the col. We were much further along than expected! As we continued, and the clouds continued to break up, views to Garfield confirmed our position. Shortly we could make out SW Twin dead ahead. Going contnued to be fairly open, although we did hit a few waves of thick spruce as we approached the col, and then again as we ascended. Arrival at the cannister was at about 2.5h from the start of the 'whack. High Fives all around as well as summit cookies! The return was about the same, but without getting turned around. Two hours back to the trail. Unfortunately we came out too close to our starting point, so we weren't sure which way to turn to find our gear. After a short detour we repacked and headed for home.
This hike was much easier this time, we probably could have made it in a dayhike, but it was a fun weekend overall.
Day 1: We ascended the Gale River and Garfield Ridge trails to Galehead Hut. We filled up with water for the climb up South Twin. Cloudy and foggy conditions eliminated any distracting views, so we continued along the Twinway till the South Twin, Guyot col. We set up camp near here, just off the trail.
Day 2: Woke early and prepped for the hike. Broke camp, and stashed unneeded gear. We started our 'whack in the vicinity of the col and found fairly easy going for about a half hour. With no views through the trees, a significant looking descent appeared which we were not expecting. After consultation with the group and map, we settled on a plan and proceeded. Soon we came to a slight opening at the top of a bump, and could not reconcile the view with our location. Looking at the compass revealed that we were looking at South Twin and Galehead to our left. We had been turned around 180 degrees. After several measurements with our campasses it was clear that we were at the nose of the ridge, and needed to drop to the col. We were much further along than expected! As we continued, and the clouds continued to break up, views to Garfield confirmed our position. Shortly we could make out SW Twin dead ahead. Going contnued to be fairly open, although we did hit a few waves of thick spruce as we approached the col, and then again as we ascended. Arrival at the cannister was at about 2.5h from the start of the 'whack. High Fives all around as well as summit cookies! The return was about the same, but without getting turned around. Two hours back to the trail. Unfortunately we came out too close to our starting point, so we weren't sure which way to turn to find our gear. After a short detour we repacked and headed for home.
This hike was much easier this time, we probably could have made it in a dayhike, but it was a fun weekend overall.
