Date(s) Hiked:
October 25, 2003
Trail(s) Hiked:
Sabbaday Brook Trail
Total Distance:
10 miles
Difficulty:
Easy to moderate with a difficult section and tricky water crossings. Long.
Conditions
Ranged from dry and leaf-covered to six inches of slippery snow.
Special Equipment Required
Waterproof boots & poles for water crossings. Some type of traction device for up high may be helpful soon. Gaitors for the snow.
Trip Report:
Tripyramids:1, MichaelJ: 0
or
Sometimes the Peak Bags You
Saturday morning was clear as I hit the pre-dawn highway and made my way up towards the Kanc. A light layer of clouds over the mountains made the light gray as I found myself at the Sabbaday Falls parking area. I loaded my full pack and set out planning to summit the Tripyramids, spend a night on the ridge, then come back over Whiteface and Passaconaway down Oliverian Brook.
The first several miles of the Sabbaday "how many more times do I cross the dang" Brook Trail were trivial. I had to scout the first three crossings carefully, and even then there was no way to stay completely dry - I had to use slippery, partly submerged rocks and relied on my poles for balance.
The middle miles of this trail are absolutely lovely as it passes into the Sandwich Wilderness. There was an inch or two of snow on the sides but the trail was just leaves. Around 11am the sky suddenly cleared, blue and sunny, for about an hour before high clouds regathered. There are plenty of wet areas, mud patches, and water crossings. At times the trail seems interminable. I did have the enjoyment of tracking two sets of bootprints as they made their way up, avoided the mud pit I stepped in, had a swordfight with a giant, and so forth.
Finally, I started to rise up the headwall switchbacks, at which point there are about six inches of snow on the ground and the trail. I encountered two guys who had gone up Pine Bend Brook and were now on their way down, and warned me of a steep section up ahead.
Then, barely a quarter mile from the col and the Tripyramid Trail, with only a few hundred feet left to rise, I hit a section of steep, smooth rock with a light coating of snow on it, and couldn't get any higher. Had I slipped it would have been a fifteen-foot or more slide, and I that exceeded my comfort level for hiking solo. Later in the winter, once the ice and snow is consolidated, crampons will easily get up this stretch. But for me it was the end of the line.
So I turned back, came down the many miles, took the West bank bushwack to avoid two of the brook crossings, picked up a growler at the Woodstock Inn, and headed home. Ten miles, six hours, 2400 feet of elevation, and a forty-five pound pack. I guess I can call it a "training" hike.
I left the card reader at work; I'll have pictures up on my web site sometime Monday.
October 25, 2003
Trail(s) Hiked:
Sabbaday Brook Trail
Total Distance:
10 miles
Difficulty:
Easy to moderate with a difficult section and tricky water crossings. Long.
Conditions
Ranged from dry and leaf-covered to six inches of slippery snow.
Special Equipment Required
Waterproof boots & poles for water crossings. Some type of traction device for up high may be helpful soon. Gaitors for the snow.
Trip Report:
Tripyramids:1, MichaelJ: 0
or
Sometimes the Peak Bags You
Saturday morning was clear as I hit the pre-dawn highway and made my way up towards the Kanc. A light layer of clouds over the mountains made the light gray as I found myself at the Sabbaday Falls parking area. I loaded my full pack and set out planning to summit the Tripyramids, spend a night on the ridge, then come back over Whiteface and Passaconaway down Oliverian Brook.
The first several miles of the Sabbaday "how many more times do I cross the dang" Brook Trail were trivial. I had to scout the first three crossings carefully, and even then there was no way to stay completely dry - I had to use slippery, partly submerged rocks and relied on my poles for balance.
The middle miles of this trail are absolutely lovely as it passes into the Sandwich Wilderness. There was an inch or two of snow on the sides but the trail was just leaves. Around 11am the sky suddenly cleared, blue and sunny, for about an hour before high clouds regathered. There are plenty of wet areas, mud patches, and water crossings. At times the trail seems interminable. I did have the enjoyment of tracking two sets of bootprints as they made their way up, avoided the mud pit I stepped in, had a swordfight with a giant, and so forth.
Finally, I started to rise up the headwall switchbacks, at which point there are about six inches of snow on the ground and the trail. I encountered two guys who had gone up Pine Bend Brook and were now on their way down, and warned me of a steep section up ahead.
Then, barely a quarter mile from the col and the Tripyramid Trail, with only a few hundred feet left to rise, I hit a section of steep, smooth rock with a light coating of snow on it, and couldn't get any higher. Had I slipped it would have been a fifteen-foot or more slide, and I that exceeded my comfort level for hiking solo. Later in the winter, once the ice and snow is consolidated, crampons will easily get up this stretch. But for me it was the end of the line.
So I turned back, came down the many miles, took the West bank bushwack to avoid two of the brook crossings, picked up a growler at the Woodstock Inn, and headed home. Ten miles, six hours, 2400 feet of elevation, and a forty-five pound pack. I guess I can call it a "training" hike.
I left the card reader at work; I'll have pictures up on my web site sometime Monday.
