JZ Here
07-23-2012, 10:11 PM
On Saturday with the Eagle in our sights, my buddy and I took the Roaring Brook trail to the cairn/herd path at around 2200' and then dipped into the brook.
We had been on the same route two weeks prior with someone else. On that day I was "the lead", but it had been two years since I had taken the route (with someone else's lead) and Irene's aftermath combined with my lack of planning caused me to take the broad, tempting right where you are supposed to go left. However, we talked with Jan at The Mountaineer before we started this time and even he said it can get a little confusing in there. That made me feel a little better about the oops.
For the record, we ended up having a good time after the oops. We undertook a healthy bushwhack up and then down, got our bearings and realized where we had gone wrong. We decided to turn back though because the weather started looking ominous. This turned out to be a good decision since not long after we turned back it started to storm down on us pretty good.
As it was the time before, the brook was both fun and challenging and I would take my two decent spills of the day while moving up it. The closer we got to the slide the more encouraged we became. "There it is! We're on our way!"
The first slab had a few small streams of water coming down it, but it was mostly dry. Beyond that the slide itself was bone dry and easy to manage with our rock climbing shoes. The first time I went up it I was wearing tennis shoes and I must say that the rock shoes made a HUGE difference. I felt secure and confident the whole way up and was able to fully enjoy myself.
We had lunch on the summit and got to talk with some nice folks before we would head for the car.
On the way down we hiked the ridge trail and took in the great views overlooking the Giant Washbowl, which was a great idea on my buddy's part.
The weather was great, we accomplished what we had set out to do, we took a ton of photos, and also had a ton of fun. Then to top it off there were the BBQ lovers platters that we demolished at Tale O' The Pup on the way home.
I could try to say more about the day, but words won't do it justice. You had to be there, and we were... fully.
PHOTOS (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4367358144783.2177907.1312819820&type=3&l=ebeb119c9a)
:smile:
We had been on the same route two weeks prior with someone else. On that day I was "the lead", but it had been two years since I had taken the route (with someone else's lead) and Irene's aftermath combined with my lack of planning caused me to take the broad, tempting right where you are supposed to go left. However, we talked with Jan at The Mountaineer before we started this time and even he said it can get a little confusing in there. That made me feel a little better about the oops.
For the record, we ended up having a good time after the oops. We undertook a healthy bushwhack up and then down, got our bearings and realized where we had gone wrong. We decided to turn back though because the weather started looking ominous. This turned out to be a good decision since not long after we turned back it started to storm down on us pretty good.
As it was the time before, the brook was both fun and challenging and I would take my two decent spills of the day while moving up it. The closer we got to the slide the more encouraged we became. "There it is! We're on our way!"
The first slab had a few small streams of water coming down it, but it was mostly dry. Beyond that the slide itself was bone dry and easy to manage with our rock climbing shoes. The first time I went up it I was wearing tennis shoes and I must say that the rock shoes made a HUGE difference. I felt secure and confident the whole way up and was able to fully enjoy myself.
We had lunch on the summit and got to talk with some nice folks before we would head for the car.
On the way down we hiked the ridge trail and took in the great views overlooking the Giant Washbowl, which was a great idea on my buddy's part.
The weather was great, we accomplished what we had set out to do, we took a ton of photos, and also had a ton of fun. Then to top it off there were the BBQ lovers platters that we demolished at Tale O' The Pup on the way home.
I could try to say more about the day, but words won't do it justice. You had to be there, and we were... fully.
PHOTOS (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4367358144783.2177907.1312819820&type=3&l=ebeb119c9a)
:smile: