Whiteface and Esther to close out the winter 46 hiking season, and a day after birthday hike.
The trails are a mixed bag. I decided to keep things easy so I went up via the road... adds 2 miles but it's not steep at all so much easier overall. A little bit after the toll booth, I put on the snowshoes as I was starting to sink into the snow and ice.
Today was my second winter attempt at Allen. First the good. The trail was very well packed by at least a dozen people Saturday, and by the end of today at least another dozen will have gone up it.
Saturday 2-22 I and Wendy did Hough, aka Hough and Puff. It lived up to it's name for sure. This peak is one of the more remote peaks in the Dix range, and really is the worst peak to orphan as there is no quick and easy way to get there. I orphaned it 2 years ago, and this was my third attempt to get it for winter credit.
Going into this hike, I knew it was going to be a challenge. Dix is the 6th highest peak at 4857 feet. The last mile you climb 1600 feet and hit a slope of at least 50%. It is steep. We also went in with no idea what condition the trail was going to be in . There had been snow a couple times in the previous week, and we only saw 1 person sign in for Dix after the last big snowfall. We were prepared to break trail as needed. Thankfully there was one brave soul ahead of us that left only a bit before us.
We started the day with a little miscommunication. I said I was at Loj, and my hiking companions took it literally and went over to the actual ADK Loj, while I was sitting there waiting at the High Peaks Information Center (HPIC). We found each other though and started the hike on the VanHovenberg trail. There was a sign at the trailhead that said there was enough snow, that snowshoes were legally required starting here. So, the shoes went on.
Yesterday, I went and tackled Dial and Nippletop for winter credit. The last time I attempted this, I got about 3 miles in and couldn't get my heart rate down, even when relaxing on Noonmark's shoulder, so turned around. This time I was solo and got was feeling much better. Started the day with the 1.6 mile road walk to the trailhead in bare boots. At that point, I put my spikes on and started up the HG Leach trail. This was thinly covered with snow and spikes were just fine for the first half mile or so.
We started off the day at the AMR lot and I had jokingly said to someone going to sawteeth that we're doing the disappointing peaks today. It's not totally true or false, but Blake is not 4000 feet (3960) and Colvin is not much higher at 4057 feet. So we're planning to do a long hike (planned route was about 14 miles) with a lot of elevation gain (over 4000 feet) for one peak that's just barely 4000 feet that does have some nice views, and a peak that is under 4000 and has zero views.
Hiked Lower WolfJaw today. I know that it was hiked and broken out on Saturday, but we have had snow since, and nobody had been on the trail since the snow. Bare booted on Lake Road and once I crossed the bridge heading over to the Canyon Bridge and West River trail, I saw a lone set of footprints that stopped just past that first bridge. So, I threw on the snowshoes, and they stayed on until I reached the gate on the way out.
