1SlowHiker
New member
Whiteface & Passaconaway 1/24/14
Trails: Blueberry Ledge Cut-Off, Blueberry Ledge (BL), Rollins, Dicey’s Mill (DM).
Trail conditions: All trails packed and frozen. BL Cut-Off, well packed boot track over little snow. Not much ice. One false cut off to left that goes nowhere (stay right twd the river). BL well packed combo of boot and shoe traffic (almost no post holes but not deep enough to really post hole). Ledges Iced with several inches of iced snow near the top (very difficult without crampons) , Rollins has deeper snow and a few postholes but just on the edges of the packed trail. Dicey’s Mill from junction with Rollins to Ferncroft Rd starts deep with dozens of 3 ft deep ankle breaking post holes. Lower part of DM is boney combination of frozen slush boot tracks, rocks and roots - hard on ankles. Too many rocks for snowshoes. Maybe the upcoming snow will smooth it out.
The few small crossings still have water running but easy hop-overs. Large tree crossing the river on Rollins has no ice on it and is easy with spikes and poles, but plenty enough other spots to rock hop it.
Many duck under blow-downs across the trails but enough room that you don’t have to crawl under them.
Ferncroft road solid ice but sanded. On the way back I took off spikes but slid all over despite the sand.
Kate Sleeper Trail to the Sleepers has no sign of ever being broken out. I had planned to consider picking up East Sleeper if it had been broken out.
Equipment: I wore micro-spikes the entire trail but carried crampons and shoes. Saw no reason to put on shoes since the trail was so frozen and I couldn’t post hole if I tried. However I should have put crampons on for the ledges. Highly recommend crampons for the ledge and telescoping poles if you’re not carrying ice axes. I collapsed my poles and grabbed them just above the baskets and used them as ice picks to pull myself up. (I still slid back 15 feet on my first attempt)
Met only one other hiker on the trail today
Comments: Almost a clear sky day with great views. I forgot just how many great viewing areas there are along BL. I also forgot how boring the walk back on Rollins was. This was a 10 mile 9 hour hike for me. It was an enjoyable hike but tough for me (longest and most elevation gain since last March). I enjoyed the challenge of getting up the ledges but it was stupid of me not to put on my crampons.
Trails: Blueberry Ledge Cut-Off, Blueberry Ledge (BL), Rollins, Dicey’s Mill (DM).
Trail conditions: All trails packed and frozen. BL Cut-Off, well packed boot track over little snow. Not much ice. One false cut off to left that goes nowhere (stay right twd the river). BL well packed combo of boot and shoe traffic (almost no post holes but not deep enough to really post hole). Ledges Iced with several inches of iced snow near the top (very difficult without crampons) , Rollins has deeper snow and a few postholes but just on the edges of the packed trail. Dicey’s Mill from junction with Rollins to Ferncroft Rd starts deep with dozens of 3 ft deep ankle breaking post holes. Lower part of DM is boney combination of frozen slush boot tracks, rocks and roots - hard on ankles. Too many rocks for snowshoes. Maybe the upcoming snow will smooth it out.
The few small crossings still have water running but easy hop-overs. Large tree crossing the river on Rollins has no ice on it and is easy with spikes and poles, but plenty enough other spots to rock hop it.
Many duck under blow-downs across the trails but enough room that you don’t have to crawl under them.
Ferncroft road solid ice but sanded. On the way back I took off spikes but slid all over despite the sand.
Kate Sleeper Trail to the Sleepers has no sign of ever being broken out. I had planned to consider picking up East Sleeper if it had been broken out.
Equipment: I wore micro-spikes the entire trail but carried crampons and shoes. Saw no reason to put on shoes since the trail was so frozen and I couldn’t post hole if I tried. However I should have put crampons on for the ledges. Highly recommend crampons for the ledge and telescoping poles if you’re not carrying ice axes. I collapsed my poles and grabbed them just above the baskets and used them as ice picks to pull myself up. (I still slid back 15 feet on my first attempt)
Met only one other hiker on the trail today
Comments: Almost a clear sky day with great views. I forgot just how many great viewing areas there are along BL. I also forgot how boring the walk back on Rollins was. This was a 10 mile 9 hour hike for me. It was an enjoyable hike but tough for me (longest and most elevation gain since last March). I enjoyed the challenge of getting up the ledges but it was stupid of me not to put on my crampons.
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