WinterWarlock
Active member
My wife and I were up in Wilmington this weekend - she had wanted to start on her 46, and we kicked around a few options for her first. We decided we'd start at the Loj and head to the McIntyre Range and make our final decision at the Wright junction.
For the first half hour, my knee was killing me, so I popped a few Vitamin I and after a short while it seemed to feel better. The trail was fairly wet from rains the night before, and the air was heavy with humidity. I couldn't believe how wet my shirt was getting - every time I took my pack off, it was chilly to put it back on. We made it to the junction with more effort than expected, so decided with the overcast weather, and the huffing and puffing, we'd just do Wright. The trail to Wright was also wet, and as we reached the treeline, the wind started in pretty good. From the treeline to the summit, visibility was from cairn to cairn, and the wind was whipping, probably 25-30mph. We made a short summit stop - then stepped down to get out of the wind. I took my pack off for a bit to try to dry my shirt, but it was just too chilly, so I changed into a dry shirt for the trip down. We looked a few minutes for the plane/plaque, but with the wind, decided to hunker down behind a quieter spot and have some lunch. After a quick bite, we started heading down...just then it started to rain, but only a drizzle, so we kept moving.
The trip down was not fun - the rocks were muddy and wet and slippy, and I did quite a few summer buttslides, which are nowhere near as fun as winter ones, and harder on the shorts (a few new holes! ). Refilled the water at the flume, making it about 5 liters I drank since it was so humid and I was sweating so much that day. We arrived back at the Loj about 5 1/2 hours after our start - threw our stuff in the car, and the sky just opened up! Poured for a good hour, so our timing could not have been better.
So - Pam now has her first of 46! We hope to get a couple more in a few weeks when we're up with the kids, and try Cascade & Porter.
Pics when they're back from developing (nope - no digital yet!)
For the first half hour, my knee was killing me, so I popped a few Vitamin I and after a short while it seemed to feel better. The trail was fairly wet from rains the night before, and the air was heavy with humidity. I couldn't believe how wet my shirt was getting - every time I took my pack off, it was chilly to put it back on. We made it to the junction with more effort than expected, so decided with the overcast weather, and the huffing and puffing, we'd just do Wright. The trail to Wright was also wet, and as we reached the treeline, the wind started in pretty good. From the treeline to the summit, visibility was from cairn to cairn, and the wind was whipping, probably 25-30mph. We made a short summit stop - then stepped down to get out of the wind. I took my pack off for a bit to try to dry my shirt, but it was just too chilly, so I changed into a dry shirt for the trip down. We looked a few minutes for the plane/plaque, but with the wind, decided to hunker down behind a quieter spot and have some lunch. After a quick bite, we started heading down...just then it started to rain, but only a drizzle, so we kept moving.
The trip down was not fun - the rocks were muddy and wet and slippy, and I did quite a few summer buttslides, which are nowhere near as fun as winter ones, and harder on the shorts (a few new holes! ). Refilled the water at the flume, making it about 5 liters I drank since it was so humid and I was sweating so much that day. We arrived back at the Loj about 5 1/2 hours after our start - threw our stuff in the car, and the sky just opened up! Poured for a good hour, so our timing could not have been better.
So - Pam now has her first of 46! We hope to get a couple more in a few weeks when we're up with the kids, and try Cascade & Porter.
Pics when they're back from developing (nope - no digital yet!)
