MindlessMariachi
New member
I hiked and camped on the Wright Trail on the side of Goose Eye in Maine this weekend. I don't know why, but I just love camping out in the cold weather that sends others inside! I started off Saturday morning on Sunday River Road. It was about 15 degrees and cloudy at go time as I set off down the unplowed road that leads to the trail head, towing my gear on a sled. I had to break trail on this road through about 10 inches or so of snow. Eventually I got to the trail head, which was also untracked. I started heading up; the lower part of the wright ascends gently through the forest, back and forth over a stream. At some point it got a little too rough for the sled, so I left it against a tree and put my pack on for the rest of the hike to the established campsite.
Cold front was really moving in at this point - it was into the single digits and breezy by mid afternoon while I worked to build some snow walls, which I spread a tarp over. I also had the first of many moments with a cranky whisper light before getting hot food cooked and snow melted before I got in my sleeping bag.
Temps plummeted overnight and the winds kicked up. When I got up a bit before dawn it was about 10 or 15 below and blowing. I set out up the trail, which gets really steep after the campsite. There was also a lot more snow as elevation increased and the wind was howling in the treetops. I climbed for a mile or two, breaking trail through deep snow before I hit the first exposed area, where the trail crosses over the top of a cliff for maybe 100 yards or so. I put my hood up and scrambled up onto the rock and was promptly blown right off my feet and landed on my back with my pack in a tree well. Walking in this wind required some concentration - I crossed the cliff and the trail dropped down into trees for a few hundred yards before it scrambles up a bare slope to a bare peak. There was a punishing wind here and I found myself rolling around in the wind as I switched from snowshoes to micro spikes. I love conditions like this - I could see clouds and waves of snow zooming by, and somehow it still feels quiet even with the wind roaring.
The trail then drops down again into the trees, rather sharply, before continuing back up to the summit. I didn't continue though. I stopped to make some soup and thaw out after my wind tunnel experience. It was about 15 or 20 below up there, and my whisperlight continued to be finicky even though it got me my soup. I spent maybe an hour sitting there (at which time all the clouds blew away, leaving some great views). I decided not to go to the summit, becuase I didn't want to get back to the campsite late in the day and have no water and no reliable stove. Instead I went back the way I came, having a classic above treeline experience, at a lower-than-usual elevation. At my campsite in the afternoon, it was still about 5 below, but the stove worked fine and I refilled my water bottles. I then made some improvements to my snow shelter and built a small fire. The fire turned out to be a good thing because at dinner time the stove pump whimped out again - i boiled water for a hot meal on the fire before getting in my bag.
Overnight lows on Sunday night were warmer - maybe stayed around 5 below. I got up early and hiked out and got to my car around 9:15. When I got there, the car thermometer said 2 degrees, though it really felt warmer as I hiked out in bright sun with no wind.
The trip was serene - i saw no other people, and broke trail the whole way. It was bitterly cold and windy - I was out in well-below-zero temps for most of the 2 days and 2 nights - but I love those conditions! I don't get out that much any more so I was psyched this trip worked out the way it did. I'll probably try it again next year, and hope to make it to the top on a similarly cold/windy weekend.
Mindless Mariachi
Cold front was really moving in at this point - it was into the single digits and breezy by mid afternoon while I worked to build some snow walls, which I spread a tarp over. I also had the first of many moments with a cranky whisper light before getting hot food cooked and snow melted before I got in my sleeping bag.
Temps plummeted overnight and the winds kicked up. When I got up a bit before dawn it was about 10 or 15 below and blowing. I set out up the trail, which gets really steep after the campsite. There was also a lot more snow as elevation increased and the wind was howling in the treetops. I climbed for a mile or two, breaking trail through deep snow before I hit the first exposed area, where the trail crosses over the top of a cliff for maybe 100 yards or so. I put my hood up and scrambled up onto the rock and was promptly blown right off my feet and landed on my back with my pack in a tree well. Walking in this wind required some concentration - I crossed the cliff and the trail dropped down into trees for a few hundred yards before it scrambles up a bare slope to a bare peak. There was a punishing wind here and I found myself rolling around in the wind as I switched from snowshoes to micro spikes. I love conditions like this - I could see clouds and waves of snow zooming by, and somehow it still feels quiet even with the wind roaring.
The trail then drops down again into the trees, rather sharply, before continuing back up to the summit. I didn't continue though. I stopped to make some soup and thaw out after my wind tunnel experience. It was about 15 or 20 below up there, and my whisperlight continued to be finicky even though it got me my soup. I spent maybe an hour sitting there (at which time all the clouds blew away, leaving some great views). I decided not to go to the summit, becuase I didn't want to get back to the campsite late in the day and have no water and no reliable stove. Instead I went back the way I came, having a classic above treeline experience, at a lower-than-usual elevation. At my campsite in the afternoon, it was still about 5 below, but the stove worked fine and I refilled my water bottles. I then made some improvements to my snow shelter and built a small fire. The fire turned out to be a good thing because at dinner time the stove pump whimped out again - i boiled water for a hot meal on the fire before getting in my bag.
Overnight lows on Sunday night were warmer - maybe stayed around 5 below. I got up early and hiked out and got to my car around 9:15. When I got there, the car thermometer said 2 degrees, though it really felt warmer as I hiked out in bright sun with no wind.
The trip was serene - i saw no other people, and broke trail the whole way. It was bitterly cold and windy - I was out in well-below-zero temps for most of the 2 days and 2 nights - but I love those conditions! I don't get out that much any more so I was psyched this trip worked out the way it did. I'll probably try it again next year, and hope to make it to the top on a similarly cold/windy weekend.
Mindless Mariachi
