cantdog
02-27-2006, 05:25 PM
(continued from part1)
Pete and I started up the path to Redfield, alternating the lead. Trail was not broken, but there was a slight groove in the snow indicating where it was. Once in a while, a blowdown would leave us confused as to where to go from there, but we managed. Julie soon caught up to us as the path was up against the stream on the left. As Pete said, the path ran in and out of the stream. Julie did a fabulous job breaking trail, especially where the snow was deep and the terrain was steep. She had discovered she lost on of her crampons at that point so we had to remember to look for it on the way out. She last saw it at the shelter, but it was snowing had and the wind was blowing. Just when we thought we lost the path, we found that second stream on the right and went that way. Near the top of the stream were a few steep steps in deep snow. At that point, there was only one way-up the cone. The reward of the Redfield summit was more authentic to me because I saw the brown wooden sign with the yellow letters and the yellow coffee can lid in the tree. We took a quick photo stop to document my #31 and her #33 and headed out. Pete said 45 minutes to the junction. I looked at my watch-one hour. I was in the lead on the way out ever minful of the missing crampon. When I reached the shelter, it was right there on the ground under the front awning. I yelled, "I found it," but I heard no reply. This had me thinking I would be waiting a while, but they showed up about 59 seconds later. We started our long march back to Upper Works in the order we headed in, passing by the cliff on the right, the stairs that I almost fell down, Vanilla Ice and the suspension bridge on the right. Those hills were also there waiting for us as well.
We regrouped near the shelter as to cross Flowed Lands together. To our good fortune, the path across was still there. there were some ski tracks on the other side though I don't know where they came from. Perhaps skis were carried in or Flowed Lands was approached from the Marshall path. We stopped at the shelter for food and water. Julie headed out first and said she would warm up the car. Pete said he was putting his headlamp in his pocket so it would be ready. As some of you may know, I did not do just that at the Sewards. Anyway, it was a good idea because it was about 5:30 and I wanted to do the same. However, I could hardly hold a zipper head between my index finger and my thinmb. "To hell with the headlamp," I thought as I took to the trail while Pete was still eating. It got progressively darker, but the snow really illuminated the terrain nicely. Also, the open spots without trees weren't as dark. At some point, I had to slow down and watch for the shadows of the broken trail. Every now and then, I would take a misstep and slide. Every time I heard a tree creeking in the wind, it would startle me, like something bad was about to happen. Then I started hallucinating. I would think there is someone standing there watching me in the dark or even coming toward me. "Nonsense," I said and moved on. It was kind of creepy though. I thought of waiting for Pete so we could be together, but I was freezing and wanted to get back to the car as soon as possible. Pete often complains of his glasses fogging up so he chooses to do without them in such situations. This time was one of them. I thought it might be inconsiderate not to volunteer to wait for him, but I knew he could catch me if he wanted to.
About 7:30, I was a few minutes from Upper Works when I saw a funny flickering light. It was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and I was glad. However, I was puzzled because headlights would be a solid and steady light. Once I arrived, I saw Julie leaning into her mini van hatch arranging equipment. I said that I had not seen Pete since the shelter, but no sooner than I had said that, we saw his headlamp coming out of the trailhead. The cold car started up without incident. The unplowed snow was not a problem as we were able to leave the parking lot and get back to the hard top road. Julie had said she forgot to sign the register. She signed us in so I assumed she signed us out. Normally, Pete is the one who handles the register when we fike together. We both turned and looked at him for the supreme judgement as he said, "don't worry about it." Phew! It was a long brutal day, but I found it to be very rewarding, Thanks to the good company. The sweetest icing on the cake was that there was no line to use the shower when we got back to the house.
Pete and I started up the path to Redfield, alternating the lead. Trail was not broken, but there was a slight groove in the snow indicating where it was. Once in a while, a blowdown would leave us confused as to where to go from there, but we managed. Julie soon caught up to us as the path was up against the stream on the left. As Pete said, the path ran in and out of the stream. Julie did a fabulous job breaking trail, especially where the snow was deep and the terrain was steep. She had discovered she lost on of her crampons at that point so we had to remember to look for it on the way out. She last saw it at the shelter, but it was snowing had and the wind was blowing. Just when we thought we lost the path, we found that second stream on the right and went that way. Near the top of the stream were a few steep steps in deep snow. At that point, there was only one way-up the cone. The reward of the Redfield summit was more authentic to me because I saw the brown wooden sign with the yellow letters and the yellow coffee can lid in the tree. We took a quick photo stop to document my #31 and her #33 and headed out. Pete said 45 minutes to the junction. I looked at my watch-one hour. I was in the lead on the way out ever minful of the missing crampon. When I reached the shelter, it was right there on the ground under the front awning. I yelled, "I found it," but I heard no reply. This had me thinking I would be waiting a while, but they showed up about 59 seconds later. We started our long march back to Upper Works in the order we headed in, passing by the cliff on the right, the stairs that I almost fell down, Vanilla Ice and the suspension bridge on the right. Those hills were also there waiting for us as well.
We regrouped near the shelter as to cross Flowed Lands together. To our good fortune, the path across was still there. there were some ski tracks on the other side though I don't know where they came from. Perhaps skis were carried in or Flowed Lands was approached from the Marshall path. We stopped at the shelter for food and water. Julie headed out first and said she would warm up the car. Pete said he was putting his headlamp in his pocket so it would be ready. As some of you may know, I did not do just that at the Sewards. Anyway, it was a good idea because it was about 5:30 and I wanted to do the same. However, I could hardly hold a zipper head between my index finger and my thinmb. "To hell with the headlamp," I thought as I took to the trail while Pete was still eating. It got progressively darker, but the snow really illuminated the terrain nicely. Also, the open spots without trees weren't as dark. At some point, I had to slow down and watch for the shadows of the broken trail. Every now and then, I would take a misstep and slide. Every time I heard a tree creeking in the wind, it would startle me, like something bad was about to happen. Then I started hallucinating. I would think there is someone standing there watching me in the dark or even coming toward me. "Nonsense," I said and moved on. It was kind of creepy though. I thought of waiting for Pete so we could be together, but I was freezing and wanted to get back to the car as soon as possible. Pete often complains of his glasses fogging up so he chooses to do without them in such situations. This time was one of them. I thought it might be inconsiderate not to volunteer to wait for him, but I knew he could catch me if he wanted to.
About 7:30, I was a few minutes from Upper Works when I saw a funny flickering light. It was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and I was glad. However, I was puzzled because headlights would be a solid and steady light. Once I arrived, I saw Julie leaning into her mini van hatch arranging equipment. I said that I had not seen Pete since the shelter, but no sooner than I had said that, we saw his headlamp coming out of the trailhead. The cold car started up without incident. The unplowed snow was not a problem as we were able to leave the parking lot and get back to the hard top road. Julie had said she forgot to sign the register. She signed us in so I assumed she signed us out. Normally, Pete is the one who handles the register when we fike together. We both turned and looked at him for the supreme judgement as he said, "don't worry about it." Phew! It was a long brutal day, but I found it to be very rewarding, Thanks to the good company. The sweetest icing on the cake was that there was no line to use the shower when we got back to the house.