Date(s) Hiked: Feb 3 2007
Trails(s) Hiked: Oliverian Brook, Passaconaway Cutoff, Square Ledge Tr.,Walden Tr. to Passaconaway
Total Distance: 10.2 miles, 2800 ft. elevation
Difficulty: Maybe 5 out of 10
Conditions: Goof. There were some isolated patches of ice throughout the trails, but nothing too bad. The one stream crossing was fine. The trail was easy to follow, but we did have to break trail through 8-12 inches of light powder in some parts on narrow trails, which made the going reasonably slow.
Special Required Equipment: Snowshoes were helpful in some parts, but is barebootable now since we broke trail all the way up. Crampons weren't needed but should be brought just in case.
Trip Report: Another beautiful day. Although it was cold, the wind was not as much of a problem as we though it would be. Started at at 9:30 and quickly made it up the the Oliverian Brook Tr. and Passaconaway Cutoff to the Square Ledge Tr. We then switched to snowshoes and got slowed down breaking trail up to the summit. The Square Ledge Tr. and Walden Tr. were somewhat hard to follow and had numerous blow downs along their entire length. The Walden Tr. to the summit required some pretty aggressive snowshoe clawing, but other than that was no real problem. We finally topped out a little before 3:00 and skipped the outlook due to the late our. We then slid/fell back to the TH in 2 hours and were back at the car by 5:00. Number 41 for me and 12 for Budda.
On a sidenote: The Square Ledge Tr. passes a slide close to it's junction with the Passaconaway Cutoff. While waiting for my friend to catch up, I stupidly decided to climb up it to see if there were any good views. After kicking a couple steps up the slope, which was loaded with snow about 2 feet deep, I heard a sound no winter climber ever wants to hear and saw a fracture crack go across the width of the slide. I slowly traversed to the side and climbed back to the trail and tried to get my heart to start working again. I don't think it would have done much if the snow had slid, bit it still scared the crap out of me.
Pictures
Trails(s) Hiked: Oliverian Brook, Passaconaway Cutoff, Square Ledge Tr.,Walden Tr. to Passaconaway
Total Distance: 10.2 miles, 2800 ft. elevation
Difficulty: Maybe 5 out of 10
Conditions: Goof. There were some isolated patches of ice throughout the trails, but nothing too bad. The one stream crossing was fine. The trail was easy to follow, but we did have to break trail through 8-12 inches of light powder in some parts on narrow trails, which made the going reasonably slow.
Special Required Equipment: Snowshoes were helpful in some parts, but is barebootable now since we broke trail all the way up. Crampons weren't needed but should be brought just in case.
Trip Report: Another beautiful day. Although it was cold, the wind was not as much of a problem as we though it would be. Started at at 9:30 and quickly made it up the the Oliverian Brook Tr. and Passaconaway Cutoff to the Square Ledge Tr. We then switched to snowshoes and got slowed down breaking trail up to the summit. The Square Ledge Tr. and Walden Tr. were somewhat hard to follow and had numerous blow downs along their entire length. The Walden Tr. to the summit required some pretty aggressive snowshoe clawing, but other than that was no real problem. We finally topped out a little before 3:00 and skipped the outlook due to the late our. We then slid/fell back to the TH in 2 hours and were back at the car by 5:00. Number 41 for me and 12 for Budda.
On a sidenote: The Square Ledge Tr. passes a slide close to it's junction with the Passaconaway Cutoff. While waiting for my friend to catch up, I stupidly decided to climb up it to see if there were any good views. After kicking a couple steps up the slope, which was loaded with snow about 2 feet deep, I heard a sound no winter climber ever wants to hear and saw a fracture crack go across the width of the slide. I slowly traversed to the side and climbed back to the trail and tried to get my heart to start working again. I don't think it would have done much if the snow had slid, bit it still scared the crap out of me.
Pictures
