Spring Fever?

**Mike P.** · Mar 20, 2008, 11:38 AM

It's been quiet, are the hikers who ski getting in some last winter turns? Looks like a good year for Spring skiing & barring a lot of rain up north, you should be able to get turns in Tucks well into May & probably into June!

Are hikers getting ready for Spring? Got your DEET ready? We are Snow free in Central CT,

I'll have a general, non-trail (but fairly high for a town) related Berkshire update over the weekend.

How much snow do you have near your house?

GrilledSteezeSandwich · Mar 20, 2008, 11:41 AM

Starting in May..I try to hit the Appalachian trail on a weekly basis..there's no snow near my house

**MichaelJ** · Mar 20, 2008, 12:08 PM

Skiing this weekend, hiking next weekend, and starting to think about hikes for afterward. I need to finish my New England Hundred Highest (91 done so far), and Una_dogger has just one of the Adirondack 46 left to do, so those are our priorities. Everything else is just for fun!

I hope to "follow" spring as it goes from south to north, avoiding black flies whenever possible.

Bergamo · Mar 20, 2008, 7:50 PM

Could smell the earth this evening, standing in the back yard, trying to take some rising moon shots between the hemlocks. Want to kick my rediscovery into higher gear this year. Wife and I hiked Killington last summer. Prior to that, our last 4000 was 31 years ago and we had a lot of fun together...... No snow. Wish we had one last storm before April.

LongStep · Mar 20, 2008, 8:45 PM

making some modest goals for myself this season. I have hiked only 3 of the 4kers in Nh so id like to increase that number. Problem is my legs start screaming at me during 4k decents. Never thought comming down a mountain could be tougher then heading up lol. That being said id like to try Chocorua this year. What an amzing peak.

**MichaelJ** · Mar 20, 2008, 9:24 PM

LongStep, have you tried hiking poles? They can take a lot of the load off the legs on descents and make it less painful.

LongStep · Mar 20, 2008, 9:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelJ

LongStep, have you tried hiking poles? They can take a lot of the load off the legs on descents and make it less painful.

yea and they surely helped quite a bit. Unfortunatly two different people bought me a pole as a present for xmas. I have a swiss army knife pole with a cork handle( which doesnt seem bad) and a ghetto coleman pole. Needless to say i will most likely be buying a new set off rei or something. I could probably make due with another swiss army one (read they were decent for the price on another site) We shall see.

**MichaelJ** · Mar 21, 2008, 6:59 AM

Pole shopping is fun! The ultra lightweight poles are really nice and won't wear out your upper body, but cost a lot more. Clip-lock poles are more reliable, especially in winter, but are also more expensive than the twist-lock kind.
My personal preference is for three-section poles, because they fold up nice and short and can ride on the pack for the uphill, then come out for the downhill. Two-section poles don't go as short, and will bang into overhead branches.
I don't think anyone makes a three-section, lightweight, clip-lock pole, unfortunately.

Good luck!

**Mike P.** · Mar 21, 2008, 2:45 PM

Two poles are the way to go. In order to save a few dollars, I'm just using old X-C & ski poles, 1 piece, the last time I needed both hands for an extended period or time was 1998.

There might be a couple of places in the northeast where you can't toss your poles down a 6-10 foot section (think the step on Bondcliff or maybe a couple of spots on Garfield in the general area of the campsite) but overall I'm comfortable with the poles in my hands all the time.

I'd want to be able to collapse them maybe if I was doing Huntington, Colden Trap Dike, Cathedral & Dudley on Katahdin, King Ravine, Great Gully, Six Husbands, Castle Ravine & any crawling unbder rocks like perhaps ice gulch & Mahoosuc Notch. I'm tempted to say Huntington's I did with the poles, I'll have to go back there in the next year or two again anyway...

Poles are a big help, I'll only venture short trips without them, under 8 miles on lower peaks or easy trail, Waumbek probably the only 4k I'd do without them.

Bergamo · Mar 21, 2008, 8:08 PM

Speaking of poles, if you buy a new set get the clip lock style. My intuition said that should be my choice, but a salesman - who had good intentions - suggested a specific model with a twist type. I don't have 100% faith in them because a section will collapse when least expected. With a clip lock, when that is tightened, it would seem to be secure.

Mar 20, 2008, 11:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mike P. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: CT Posts: 1,393	Spring Fever? It's been quiet, are the hikers who ski getting in some last winter turns? Looks like a good year for Spring skiing & barring a lot of rain up north, you should be able to get turns in Tucks well into May & probably into June! Are hikers getting ready for Spring? Got your DEET ready? We are Snow free in Central CT, I'll have a general, non-trail (but fairly high for a town) related Berkshire update over the weekend. How much snow do you have near your house? __________________ Happy Trails, be safe & Good Luck Mike P.

Mar 20, 2008, 12:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
MichaelJ In prior times Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Out in the MA 'burbs near 495. Posts: 1,820	Skiing this weekend, hiking next weekend, and starting to think about hikes for afterward. I need to finish my New England Hundred Highest (91 done so far), and Una_dogger has just one of the Adirondack 46 left to do, so those are our priorities. Everything else is just for fun! I hope to "follow" spring as it goes from south to north, avoiding black flies whenever possible. __________________ Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face. - Dave Barry Waterville 12/20, 12/30; Wachusett 12/21, 12/28, 3/9; Jay 1/26-1/27; Bretton Woods 2/2, 2/23-2/24, 3/22; Snowbird 2/10, 2/12, 2/14; Alta 2/11, 2/15; Sunday River 3/1-3/2, 3/8, 3/15, 4/6; Wildcat 3/30 (21 days '07-08

Mar 20, 2008, 7:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
Bergamo Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mass. Posts: 33	Could smell the earth this evening, standing in the back yard, trying to take some rising moon shots between the hemlocks. Want to kick my rediscovery into higher gear this year. Wife and I hiked Killington last summer. Prior to that, our last 4000 was 31 years ago and we had a lot of fun together...... No snow. Wish we had one last storm before April. Last edited by Bergamo; Mar 20, 2008 at 8:35 PM.

Mar 20, 2008, 9:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
MichaelJ In prior times Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Out in the MA 'burbs near 495. Posts: 1,820	LongStep, have you tried hiking poles? They can take a lot of the load off the legs on descents and make it less painful. __________________ Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face. - Dave Barry Waterville 12/20, 12/30; Wachusett 12/21, 12/28, 3/9; Jay 1/26-1/27; Bretton Woods 2/2, 2/23-2/24, 3/22; Snowbird 2/10, 2/12, 2/14; Alta 2/11, 2/15; Sunday River 3/1-3/2, 3/8, 3/15, 4/6; Wildcat 3/30 (21 days '07-08

Mar 21, 2008, 6:59 AM	#8 (permalink)
MichaelJ In prior times Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Out in the MA 'burbs near 495. Posts: 1,820	Pole shopping is fun! The ultra lightweight poles are really nice and won't wear out your upper body, but cost a lot more. Clip-lock poles are more reliable, especially in winter, but are also more expensive than the twist-lock kind. My personal preference is for three-section poles, because they fold up nice and short and can ride on the pack for the uphill, then come out for the downhill. Two-section poles don't go as short, and will bang into overhead branches. I don't think anyone makes a three-section, lightweight, clip-lock pole, unfortunately. Good luck! __________________ Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face. - Dave Barry Waterville 12/20, 12/30; Wachusett 12/21, 12/28, 3/9; Jay 1/26-1/27; Bretton Woods 2/2, 2/23-2/24, 3/22; Snowbird 2/10, 2/12, 2/14; Alta 2/11, 2/15; Sunday River 3/1-3/2, 3/8, 3/15, 4/6; Wildcat 3/30 (21 days '07-08

Mar 20, 2008, 11:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
GrilledSteezeSandwich Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,049	Starting in May..I try to hit the Appalachian trail on a weekly basis..there's no snow near my house

Mar 20, 2008, 8:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
LongStep Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Nashua Posts: 76	making some modest goals for myself this season. I have hiked only 3 of the 4kers in Nh so id like to increase that number. Problem is my legs start screaming at me during 4k decents. Never thought comming down a mountain could be tougher then heading up lol. That being said id like to try Chocorua this year. What an amzing peak.

Mar 21, 2008, 2:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
Mike P. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: CT Posts: 1,393	Two poles are the way to go. In order to save a few dollars, I'm just using old X-C & ski poles, 1 piece, the last time I needed both hands for an extended period or time was 1998. There might be a couple of places in the northeast where you can't toss your poles down a 6-10 foot section (think the step on Bondcliff or maybe a couple of spots on Garfield in the general area of the campsite) but overall I'm comfortable with the poles in my hands all the time. I'd want to be able to collapse them maybe if I was doing Huntington, Colden Trap Dike, Cathedral & Dudley on Katahdin, King Ravine, Great Gully, Six Husbands, Castle Ravine & any crawling unbder rocks like perhaps ice gulch & Mahoosuc Notch. I'm tempted to say Huntington's I did with the poles, I'll have to go back there in the next year or two again anyway... Poles are a big help, I'll only venture short trips without them, under 8 miles on lower peaks or easy trail, Waumbek probably the only 4k I'd do without them. __________________ Happy Trails, be safe & Good Luck Mike P.

Mar 21, 2008, 8:08 PM	#10 (permalink)
Bergamo Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mass. Posts: 33	Speaking of poles, if you buy a new set get the clip lock style. My intuition said that should be my choice, but a salesman - who had good intentions - suggested a specific model with a twist type. I don't have 100% faith in them because a section will collapse when least expected. With a clip lock, when that is tightened, it would seem to be secure.

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