PDA

View Full Version : First snow.



Slo-go'en
10-13-2018, 16:50
Raf and I climbed Smarts Mountain yesterday and spent the night in the Ranger cabin. This is what we woke up to this morning and that's only at 3200 feet. After a short discussion, we decided it would be best to head back down rather then continue on the Hexacube shelter and spend the night there all wet and cold and freezing. Yep, call us wimps, but we weren't really geared up for this.

Oh and we meet two SOBO flip floppers who hope to make it to Harpers Ferry - good luck!


43786

egilbe
10-13-2018, 18:09
We decided to stay in bed this morning rather than climbing North Twin. Listening to the rain falling was sufficient impetus to roll over and go back to sleep.

Slo-go'en
10-13-2018, 18:30
We decided to stay in bed this morning rather than climbing North Twin. Listening to the rain falling was sufficient impetus to roll over and go back to sleep.

Don't blame you, looks like all the summits got some snow. Adams/Madison should look nice in the morning if the clouds clear.

Astro
10-13-2018, 21:31
I would call you wise instead of wimps. :sun

RangerZ
10-13-2018, 22:30
It snowed a bit yesterday in West Lafayette, IN.

Slo-go'en
10-13-2018, 22:33
looking at the forecast for the next week, it looks like winter is suddenly here to stay.

peakbagger
10-14-2018, 07:16
Yup, a trace of snow outlining the above treeline areas of Madison and Adams this AM. Supposed to warm up so it will melt off. I have been at my house in Gorham since 1988 and for the first 15 years it was pretty predictable that the summits would get a brush of snow at least one night before the end of September. For the last 10 years, its been shifting to mid October. I still have one tomato plant and a pepper plant out in the garden as I havent had a hard freeze yet. Getting close but trying to reduce the amount of green tomatoes I end up with. I cover then on the nights that its expected to go below freezing.

Puddlefish
10-14-2018, 12:06
Bah, I was too slow. Had tentatively planned a two day trip up to Gorham on Tuesday/Wednesday to do some hiking. I'm not a big fan of hiking in freezing rain and snow. I'll keep an eye on the weather over the next few days.

Slo-go'en
10-14-2018, 14:04
Bah, I was too slow. Had tentatively planned a two day trip up to Gorham on Tuesday/Wednesday to do some hiking. I'm not a big fan of hiking in freezing rain and snow. I'll keep an eye on the weather over the next few days.

Doesn't look promising. Rain every other day and followed by some real cold temps. I would imagine more snow up high.

egilbe
10-14-2018, 14:40
May have to start carrying snowshoes

Puddlefish
10-14-2018, 15:05
May have to start carrying snowshoes

Maybe I should give it another chance, since the last time I snowshoed I was fat and horribly out of shape. But I remember a lot of sweaty uncomfortable trudging involved, and I gave away the snowshoes.

Traveler
10-15-2018, 08:21
Snowshoes may not be that useful as opposed to micro-spikes when winter begins and the snow pack is not very deep, however as the snow pack deepens they can be. Much like other foot gear there are different snowshoes for different conditions. Very broad and long shoes for more float on fresh snow (which may account for uncomfortable trudging through fresh snow) to narrow, shorter snowshoes used on groomed trails to avoid postholing and improve traction.

As winter conditions mature, snowshoes should be worn on groomed (traveled) trails especially when the snow pack is deep. Postholing on groomed trails in winter is not only poor form, it can cause injury when postholes catch the edges of snow shoes or are unseen following a light snowfall. There are some areas and parks where not using snowshoes can generate a ticket.

cmoulder
10-15-2018, 10:08
There are some areas and parks where not using snowshoes can generate a ticket.

This is true in the Adirondacks, and regular folks up there are not shy about reminding — if not loudly demanding — that folks should wear snowshoes or skis.

I wish that were true everywhere. A couple of jerks in the Catskills can really decimate what was previously a beautiful, perfect snowshoe/ski trail.

tdoczi
10-15-2018, 11:37
This is true in the Adirondacks, and regular folks up there are not shy about reminding — if not loudly demanding — that folks should wear snowshoes or skis.

I wish that were true everywhere. A couple of jerks in the Catskills can really decimate what was previously a beautiful, perfect snowshoe/ski trail.
i wont pretend to know why or how, or if, this relates to the points raised above. but the one time i used snowshoes in harriman state park i actually got yelled at by a skier FOR wearing snowshoes on the groomed trail.

cmoulder
10-15-2018, 12:16
lol, Harriman is hopeless — far too close to the Big City to expect anything but complete mayhem. Totally avoid Reeves Meadow and pretty much anything on the west side of the park and life will be a lot better.

Slo-go'en
10-15-2018, 12:21
i wont pretend to know why or how, or if, this relates to the points raised above. but the one time i used snowshoes in harriman state park i actually got yelled at by a skier FOR wearing snowshoes on the groomed trail.

Groomed x-country trails usually have two tracks for skies and snowshoes should stay in the middle between the tracks. But if there is no option but to stomp along the ski tracks, well that's just the way it is. At least you weren't postholing.

cmoulder
10-16-2018, 07:52
Good point I forgot to address... no actual "groomed" trails in Harriman AFAIK. And I have the exact same philosophy to avoid set tracks whenever possible, but if there's no option, well, I've done what I can and a good skier can still navigate them no problem.

peakbagger
10-16-2018, 07:58
Funny, I frequently find skiers tracking up my snowshoe track in the winter, it its deep power and flat country they dont mind the help breaking trail.

egilbe
10-16-2018, 08:57
I broke out a cross country ski track on the Eastern trail one winter. It's a gas pipeline right of way. Next day I went back to ski and somebody snowshoes up my ski track. I broke out another ski track and some moron illegally drove a snowmobile down it. I gave up after that. Too many bidiots in Biddeford.

tdoczi
10-16-2018, 09:00
Groomed x-country trails usually have two tracks for skies and snowshoes should stay in the middle between the tracks. But if there is no option but to stomp along the ski tracks, well that's just the way it is. At least you weren't postholing.

the snow wasnt deep enough to really post hole, especially not in the "groomed" area. but i will add he didnt say anything to the people hiking in it without snowshoes.

tdoczi
10-16-2018, 09:02
Good point I forgot to address... no actual "groomed" trails in Harriman AFAIK. And I have the exact same philosophy to avoid set tracks whenever possible, but if there's no option, well, I've done what I can and a good skier can still navigate them no problem.
i have no idea what the diff between groomed and "groomed" is or if these things are officially sanctioned by the park or what the explanation is but there are trails that are signed as being for cross country skiing. not many, and i think in only one area.

peakbagger
10-16-2018, 09:50
I broke out a cross country ski track on the Eastern trail one winter. It's a gas pipeline right of way. Next day I went back to ski and somebody snowshoes up my ski track. I broke out another ski track and some moron illegally drove a snowmobile down it. I gave up after that. Too many bidiots in Biddeford.

Before I realized I could go much farther uphill with BC skis before the downhill slope exceeded my crappy skiing skills I used to ski around the local area. There was a major snowmachine trail going through land posted no snowmobiles on either side of the trail. I would use the trail to get to an interesting point and then head out in the woods with my skis. The area was in regrowth with pretty dense trees and old logging paths that were growing in. Many of newer snowmobiles are built for speed but have lousy flotation in fresh snow. I frequently would find that my ski tracks packed the snow down enough so that the machines would follow me onto the posted land. After observing this a bit I would head down one of the grown in roads until I was out of sight of the main trail and then I would head into the dense woods where the machines could not follow. On more than few occasions I would ski by later on in the day past that spot and would see where a snowmachine had gotten stuck in spot where they could not turn around. Usually lots of footprints and broken branches and once I saw where someone had blown a seal on their sled trying to rev it up enough to get it out.

Sleds can usually follow moose tracks in deep snow and on occasion folks will get busted chasing moose on a sled which can be death sentence for a moose in winter.

Frogger
10-17-2018, 14:33
Raf and I climbed Smarts Mountain yesterday and spent the night in the Ranger cabin. This is what we woke up to this morning and that's only at 3200 feet. After a short discussion, we decided it would be best to head back down rather then continue on the Hexacube shelter and spend the night there all wet and cold and freezing. Yep, call us wimps, but we weren't really geared up for this.

Oh and we meet two SOBO flip floppers who hope to make it to Harpers Ferry - good luck!


43786

Thanks for the trip report. I'm trying to do a 5-ish day hike in the whites starting in a few days and this is a useful data point.

Another useful data point was seeing the weather forecast for Mount Washington :)

At this point I'm thinking of starting near Moosilauke and hiking up to Lonesome Lake, and hitting peaks along the way as weather allows.

Slo-go'en
10-17-2018, 21:08
The summits have been picking up snow all week, with rain lower down. With temps dipping below freezing the next few nights (and snow flurries predicted) ice is going to be forming. Just enough to be deadly, but not enough to want to put on microspikes. These early winter conditions are the worst and most dangerous to hike in, be careful!

Slo-go'en
10-18-2018, 09:46
27 degrees and the snow made it's way down into the valley this morning. Windy out too, feels like about 10 degrees. We might have a real winter this year :)

43811

Puddlefish
10-18-2018, 11:18
27 degrees and the snow made it's way down into the valley this morning. Windy out too, feels like about 10 degrees. We might have a real winter this year :)

43811

Days like this annoy me. I don't want to wear the microspikes, but I kind of need them every once in a while.

Slo-go'en
10-18-2018, 12:30
Days like this annoy me. I don't want to wear the microspikes, but I kind of need them every once in a while.

The walk down the street to get the paper this morning was a bit crunchy - and damn chilly. Well, its suppose to warm up into the 50's tomorrow so this will all melt. Then it goes back into the 20's so it will all freeze again. Yep, late fall/early winter conditions are really annoying. Time to wait until there is enough snow for snowshoes...

kestral
10-19-2018, 14:55
I’m sweating with ac blasting. Pick your poison! Wish I was there��

Slo-go'en
10-19-2018, 15:20
27F and 1.5" of snow yesterday, 60F out today. Summits are still white though. Crazy weather swings.

fastfoxengineering
10-19-2018, 16:04
27F and 1.5" of snow yesterday, 60F out today. Summits are still white though. Crazy weather swings.Hows the waterville area? I was thinking about doing the welch dickey loop as a night hike with some friends.

Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk

peakbagger
10-19-2018, 17:26
I drove up last evening and the snow line was around 2500'. It was warm today an expect Welch Dicky with its good exposure should have mellted off if there as any one it. Still plenty of snow up high.

Slo-go'en
10-19-2018, 19:53
I drove up last evening and the snow line was around 2500'. It was warm today an expect Welch Dicky with its good exposure should have mellted off if there as any one it. Still plenty of snow up high.

But those ledges are steep and scary and if wet, treacherous. Well, I guess if you do it as a night hike, you won't know how close to dying you'll be.