Steep Descend
03-21-2011, 09:19 PM
I have to thank rbalbs for planning a great hike...and whatever he did leading up to this day the 20th of March in the year 2011. His keen sense of timing I guess... turned this winter hiking into one of the best I’ve been on in 5 years.
We meet at the exit 12 P&R to meet up with Jimmy Goggles((fka huggybear,nice reference to S&H)). We hit the trail just around 6am from the Garden. Jimmy Goggles leading way into JBL. Taking the well beaten up the Phelps trail to Mt. Van trail on our way to Marcy(1). What an amazing ascent. This was the time when you pick your Poisson. I’m certain that everyone that summited Marcy will agree “amazing 360 views.” We eye balled our next two peaks, Skylight and Gray. We decided to tackle Skylight first then take on Grey, to break up the second assault on Marcy into a manageable chunk. Both Haystack and Gray were the best ever. Jimmy Goggles and I took the path less traveled back up Marcy. We spotted some tracks that ascended the left side of Marcy up this open gully..deemed the wraparound gully in this story. This approach didn’t put us back on the immediate summit; however to our surprise it did save us elevation. We attacked Haystack next, pushing hard to keep on pace with our 1.8mph/avg. The bushwhack around little haystack was a gem, saving us the elevation and gear change. We hit haystack hard and fast then retreated to the junction for a well deserved lunch break. We decided to take basin with a steady pace and then on to Saddleback. Thanks for the shoutout Tmax. The descend from Saddle back was tricky, there are many steep spots that just got you thinking.. do I butt slide or just take this head on..we had 6 peaks bagged by 5pm. We headed down the oar bed trail for a few butt slides. We meet up with range trail and head back to Phelps trail for our final walk to the car. This was one heck of a day, conquered by three friends.
Conditions: Great surface all around, blue sky, minimal wind
Gear: Headlamp, Snowshoes or Microspikes, poles(your preference),sunblock,shades or goggles(Jimmy),light weight gloves, shirt and pants.
We meet at the exit 12 P&R to meet up with Jimmy Goggles((fka huggybear,nice reference to S&H)). We hit the trail just around 6am from the Garden. Jimmy Goggles leading way into JBL. Taking the well beaten up the Phelps trail to Mt. Van trail on our way to Marcy(1). What an amazing ascent. This was the time when you pick your Poisson. I’m certain that everyone that summited Marcy will agree “amazing 360 views.” We eye balled our next two peaks, Skylight and Gray. We decided to tackle Skylight first then take on Grey, to break up the second assault on Marcy into a manageable chunk. Both Haystack and Gray were the best ever. Jimmy Goggles and I took the path less traveled back up Marcy. We spotted some tracks that ascended the left side of Marcy up this open gully..deemed the wraparound gully in this story. This approach didn’t put us back on the immediate summit; however to our surprise it did save us elevation. We attacked Haystack next, pushing hard to keep on pace with our 1.8mph/avg. The bushwhack around little haystack was a gem, saving us the elevation and gear change. We hit haystack hard and fast then retreated to the junction for a well deserved lunch break. We decided to take basin with a steady pace and then on to Saddleback. Thanks for the shoutout Tmax. The descend from Saddle back was tricky, there are many steep spots that just got you thinking.. do I butt slide or just take this head on..we had 6 peaks bagged by 5pm. We headed down the oar bed trail for a few butt slides. We meet up with range trail and head back to Phelps trail for our final walk to the car. This was one heck of a day, conquered by three friends.
Conditions: Great surface all around, blue sky, minimal wind
Gear: Headlamp, Snowshoes or Microspikes, poles(your preference),sunblock,shades or goggles(Jimmy),light weight gloves, shirt and pants.