Up the Downes - Sandwich Range Loop

Not worrying about peak-bagging any more can be kind of liberating. While the White Mountain Four-Thousand-Footers will always play a central role in my outdoor adventures, I've broadened my horizons a bit. Nowadays a fun weekend day consists of linking up fun sections of trail and exploring new places, as well as visiting old familiar summits.

Making a loop out of Passaconaway, Whiteface, and the Tripyramids from the Kancamagus Highway is fairly common, but had a couple ideas to make it really interesting. I'd start at the Downes Brook Trail and branch off to bushwhack up the Downes Brook Slide to the summit of Passaconaway, then run down the other side of the mountain on the super-fun Dicey's Mills Trail before taking a right and heading steeply up Mount Whiteface on the Tom Wiggins and Blueberry Ledge Trails. From there a quick jaunt across the Kate Sleeper Trail would bring me to the Tripyramids for another blast of a descent down the Sabbaday Brook Trail and a short road run back to the car.

It was a hot and muggy Sunday and within a few minutes of setting out I was soaked with sweat. After a couple bonus miles (herp, derp!) on the UNH Trail I finally figured out where I was going and got under way.

The beginning of the Downes Brook Slide is easy to find, a little over two miles in on the Downes Brook Trail. It's the only brook crossing that looks at all slidey.

The open ledges were a little slick, but a low angle, careful foot placement, and sticky rubber soles made it casual and fun.

There were a few ledges to skirt around but I had no trouble following the abandoned trail. Official maintenance stopped in the 1940s but the area saw some bootleg care until the Forest Circus shut the party down in the 90s, as federal agencies are prone to do.

Following the end the slide there was a very steep climb to a nice North outlook and I was on the summit of P-way in around an hour-forty.

A quick peak over towards the Tripyramids; this afternoon's destination.

Much of the Dicey's Mills Trail descends at a moderate grade with footing that encourages a nice fast running flow without being too easy. The sign for the Tom Wiggins trail warns "steep and loose, not recommended" but proved to be a bit of an exaggeration and made for a nice vigorous connector of to Blueberry Ledge Trail where I got a look back across the Bowl at P-way.

I'd been on the Kate Sleeper Trail several times in the last year, but not since October's Hurricane Sandy. I encountered a few blowdowns, but thought little of it.

Until I arrived here. There was quarter to half-mile stretch of utter destruction where nearly every tree was uprooted and laid flat, obliterating the trail. It took quite a while to work through.

Shortly after the spur trail for East Sleeper things cleared up and went back to normal.

I didn't linger too long on the Tripyramids as the forecast was calling for afternoon thunderstorms, and it did indeed feel like rain.

After some initial steepness, the Sabbaday Brook Trail joins up with an old logging road; a ton of fun to cruise down past some of Hurricane Irene's handowork.

Mmmm... sandwich. It's the end of the day and I'm hungry for some real food.

The last time I went through here was in winter and involved an involuntary plunge into the brook through some thin ice. This time I jumped in on purpose to cool off and it was the highlight of my day rather than a scary moment to remember. Well-draining trail running shoes and thin socks allow me to just wade in wherever I feel like and make me glad I gave up boots along time ago.

The Sabbaday Falls tourist area was rather quiet and I took that chance to check out the Falls and gorge.

And finally back at the car with some real food and a refreshing beverage.

Totals for the day (including my little detour at he start).

Winter Hut Traverse (In A Day!) - 03/9/2013

It's been too long since my last real adventure. The months after Hardrock were kind of aimless, I wasn't really sure what to do with myself. For some reason the motivation just wasn't there for anything really epic in between my new responsibilities as a family man. They say testosterone levels drop significantly in new fathers.Yet even as the athletic doldrums were filled with challenges and joys of an altogether different sort, one intriguing adventure still lingered in the back of my mind; the winter Hut Traverse.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move11526743

If you're not familiar with it, the Hut Traverse is a 50 mile long link-up of mountain refuges in New Hampshire's White Mountains, entailing 17,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain over the most exposed, windswept terrain in the East. People have been traveling the route in a single day since the Great Depression and summer trips are fairly common. While there are a total of eight huts, most are seasonal and only three are open in the winter. As near as I can tell, a complete single day winter Hut Traverse has never been done before. Back in 2004 Tim Seaver published a very handy history of the route along with an account of his impressive partial winter traverse, which has provided me with quite a bit of inspiration over the years.

I spent a fair amount of time studying the route, practicing segments, testing gear, and just generally obsessing before I made the decision to go for it as soon as conditions were right. The goal would not merely be to make it from Carter Notch to Lonesome Lake in under 24 hours, but to do it safely, efficiently, and without drama. I didn't just want to get away with this monster of a hike by the skin of my teeth, but to do it in the good style that I was confident I could. This is supposed to be fun, after all!

So, with all that out of the way, I found myself standing in the dark with the door of Carter Notch Hut behind me and an ideal weather window in front of me on one of the last calendar winter weekends of the year.

12:54 AM - Carter Notch Hut

I jogged the Nineteen Mile Brook and Great Gulf Trails, which were their usual well-packed selves, then took the more lightly used Osgood Trail over the summit of Mount Madison to Madison Hut. The Higher Summits forecast was calling for good visibility with moderate winds, and I was pleased but not surprised to find a starry sky and easy navigation above treeline in the dark.

5:04 AM - Madison Springs Hut

The Gulfside Trail would take me most of the way to the next hut, Lakes of the Clouds, with a bypass around Mount Adams and some cross-country travel over snowfields to the summit of Mount Jefferson.  I shut off my headlamp around Thunderstorm Junction and the sun was above the horizon by the time I reach Edmands Col.

Madison silhouetted by early morning twilight.

Dawn breaks over the Wildcat-Carter range

Sphinx Col

The Northern Presidentials

Southern Presidentials

From Lakes, I bypassed the summit of Mount Monroe on the Crawford Path (unknowingly also bypassing a waiting Tim Seaver) to save a little time and elevation gain, then passed over the summits of Eisenhower and Pierce. The sun was out in full force, temperatures were quite mild, and the visibility was excellent; a wonderful day to be in the alpine zone. Off on the Eastern horizon I noticed a very clear band of glare and wondered if it was the morning sun reflecting off the Atlantic.

For if I am shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.

8:06 AM - Lakes of the Clouds Hut

Presidential Range from Mt. Pierce

10:13 AM - Mitzpah Springs Hut

The Webster Cliff Trail was unbroken, but mostly downhill so the going was easy all the way to Mitzpah. Reconnecting with the Crawford Path I began to encounter throngs of day hikers, all headed upwards and just getting started with their day. With a Presidential Traverse under my belt, I was getting started with mine. At the road crossing in Crawford Notch, my parents had been nice enough to move my car for me, providing a convenient resupply point for food, water, and dry clothes. While I departed up the Avalon Trail, they moved my car again to Lafayette Place so that it would be waiting for me when I finished.

11:11 AM - Crawford Notch

It's only a few miles to the crest of the Willey Range from Crawford but it seems to get steeper and longer every time I pass through. By now the day was very warm for March and the snow was turning to sticky mashed potatoes, weighing down my snowshoes. As I worked my way down A-Z Trail Zealand Hut, the clumps of snow in the tree branches overhead began to collapse to the ground around me at random intervals. With a few near misses it was only a matter of time before a basketball size blob of slush landed on the back of my neck.

Down the A-Z Trail

2:15 PM - Zealand Falls Hut

With a refill of water and a brief chat with the caretaker at Zealand Hut, I headed out on the well packed Twinway to Mount Guyot, grateful for the chance to free my feet from heavy snowshoes and bareboot for a while.

Dripping wet Twinway

Mounts Carrigain and Hancock looking nice.

After Guyot, the Twinway took a turn for the worse. Here, I put  my snowshoes back on and followed a broken out, meandering path through dense branches. The snowpack being in the neighborhood of 5-6 feet deep made it difficult for whoever broke section out to find the actual trail. Even when you were right on top of it you'd still be in the dense branches that aren't normally trimmed during the summer as they're so high off the ground. Noticing that my pace had begun to slow a bit, I began to get concerned about the remainder of the route. What if the trail was this hard to follow, but unbroken? I'd also have the added disadvantage of trying to navigate in the dark, which I was equipped to do but would likely have to sacrifice my 24 hour time goal. I began to nervously evaluate bailout options and knew that my decision points would come when I reached critical junctions in the Garfield Ridge Trail later.

Looking back toward the Prezzies from South Twin at sunset.

Only two big climbs left; Garfield and Lafayette

5:39 PM - Galehead Hut

I knew that at least one person was planning to pass through Garfield Ridge today as part of a Pemi Loop, and that kept me hopeful. Luckily for me, multiple parties had packed out this lightly used section all the way to Lafayette, taking the sting out the crux of the route. Still, it wasn't easy and I made slow progress over Mount Garfield and up the steeps to treeline on Lafayette. I didn't really notice it fully until I made Lafayette's open summit, but there was not a breath of wind. Totally calm. It was almost 10 o'clock at night when I sat down and drank in the absolute silence and solitude. With my headlamp off, I was surrounded by an unobscured sky peppered with stars and little twinkling lights far away in the valleys below. If I got nothing else out the traverse except for those few minutes, it still would have been worth it a hundred times over.

10:08 PM - Greenleaf Hut

I planned to fairly plummet down Old Bridle Path in the dark, but by this time the temperatures had dropped and the packed trail got quite slick. Barebooting, I'd fall on my ass quite frequently, but with snowshoes my fatigued feet were in pain. Switching back and forth a few times, I finally decided that'd I'd just have to tolerate the snowshoes. Once down in Franconia Notch I crossed under the highway and entered the homestretch to the final hut at Lonesome Lake.

12:04 AM - Lonesome Lake Hut

By the time I got there, everyone had long since retired for the night, but I did find a friendly note and care package from the caretaker. After 23 hours and 7 minutes, that PBR sure did hit the spot.

Hale, Zealand, and the Twins - January 6, 2013

"Where'd you come from?"

"The Hale Fire Warden Trail."

"Where are you going?"

"Over Zealand, Guyot, and the Twins."

"You mean, like, today?"

"Gosh, I sure hope so."

Fire Warden Trail

Hale Summit

Hale Summit

Zeacliff

Zeacliff

outlook on the Twinway

Mount Zealand

Bustin' through on the Twinway

Mount Guyot

South Twin

N. Twin Trail

North Twin

River Crossing

19 miles, 6400 feet gained, and 8 hours, 15 minutes of peace and quiet.

adamiata's Trail running Move 1/7/2013 - Move at Movescount.com

Miata Update #4

Miata Update #4

The end of this project is finally in sight. I drove the Miata on the road for the first time in four years. It was only a half mile trip, but everything worked. The car goes, stops, shifts, and turns without any funny noises, shakes or shedding of parts. It would've been nice to go farther but this was just a cautious test around the neighborhood... and my registration expired in 2007 so I thought it best not to attract any attention.

Most all the lights and exterior trim pieces are now in place. The paint buffed out fairly well, though I need to work out a couple remaining flaws and go back over the whole thing with some swirl remover for final polishing, but I'm feeling reasonably happy with the way it came out.

While pulling some of the old parts out of storage I discovered that the tupperware bins holding my carpets had become infested with mice - possibly the same mice that had been crapping under the hood and stuffing old insulation into all the car's nooks and crannies. Normally I try to respect living creatures... but they aren't welcome to live in my garage, especially when my carpets end up smelling like piss. So I dragged the bin out into the driveway, kicked it over, and watched the dog go bezerk trying to chase all the fleeing rodents.

With the carpet de-odorized and re-installed, there's still some work to do on the interior but like the paint, it's mostly down to tying-up loose-ends. While I was at it I also installed a new steering wheel - a gift from the same friend that made my aluminum shift knob after the old one was stolen during a break-in by some tweaker back in 2003.

In a lot of ways this car feels like an artifact. It has no A/C, power steering, or power door locks. There's even some primitive yet clever way of opening and closing the windows without the use of electric motors.

And aren't those one-finger door handles positively dainty?

I'm not sure they offer aluminum wheels as small 14 inches on new cars anymore.

The point of all this is that there's a sense of minimalism I enjoy that's unavailable in new cars, even in what passes for a 2013 Miata these days. It's kind of the polar opposite of traveling in a Lexus-like cocoon; loud, cramped, bumpy, and breezy, but fully engaging. The steering is direct and communicative, turn-in is immediate, cornering grip levels are high, and even with the top up there's a motorcycle-like sensation of speed. Now I remember why I held onto this thing.

Some time was also cleaning up the engine bay a bit by removing a few superfluous items, degreasing things, and hiding wires. Like everywhere else, there's still a bunch of details to take care of, but it's getting there. But for now, that'll have to wait until spring.