lowlander
01-27-2007, 11:52 PM
I met up with hermit and rockysummit around 8am at the end of Moon Haw Rd. I was worried that the parking area would be hard to find but just drive until the road ends and pull into the turn around area. The hike starts pretty straight forward cross the road and head up hill. Right away we pass a telephone pole that was really chewed up. Hermit said it was from the bears. The hear the hum of the electricity and thinks it's bee's. From there just follow the logging road up. We broke off once the road leveled off.
Hermit lead the way up. We stuck to the south of the Friday ledges and when you see them you know why. They don't look like a good time during the winter. During the climb up there were some slick spots, nothing major just ice hidden by snow. As you get closer to the top there are plenty of ice falls and views behind you. Unfortunately we were in the clouds so there wasn't too much to look at.
We had a pretty quick hike to the top. We signed in and decided to take our break lower down. The summit was pretty windy and the wind chill was not pleasant. On the way down we ran into 2 other hikers doing the same peaks as us. We had a quick conversation and continued down. We stopped at an outlook and got a good view of Balsam Cap. We could see the clouds moving past the summit. It gave us a good idea how windy the summit actually was going to be. We stopped again a little further down and had a bit to eat. Then it was off to Balsam Cap.
The hike up we stayed a couple of hundred feet off the ridge to avoid the rough stuff. You get a pretty good look at how rough it actually is. Hermit did a nice job of angling towards the summit. Before I even realized it we were on the summit. We toke a couple of summit pics, and started back down. A quick hour and a half down and we were back at the cars. After that a couple of beers at Hermits to wash down a great hike. That was number 29 and 30 for me, and one million (I think) for Hermit and Rocky summit. Great day, Great winter weather, followed by great beer.
No special equipment barebooted the whole time. Stabilizers might be nice for reassurance. Used frosty mugs for beer.
I will have pics tomorrow, webshots is running alittle slow tonight
Hermit lead the way up. We stuck to the south of the Friday ledges and when you see them you know why. They don't look like a good time during the winter. During the climb up there were some slick spots, nothing major just ice hidden by snow. As you get closer to the top there are plenty of ice falls and views behind you. Unfortunately we were in the clouds so there wasn't too much to look at.
We had a pretty quick hike to the top. We signed in and decided to take our break lower down. The summit was pretty windy and the wind chill was not pleasant. On the way down we ran into 2 other hikers doing the same peaks as us. We had a quick conversation and continued down. We stopped at an outlook and got a good view of Balsam Cap. We could see the clouds moving past the summit. It gave us a good idea how windy the summit actually was going to be. We stopped again a little further down and had a bit to eat. Then it was off to Balsam Cap.
The hike up we stayed a couple of hundred feet off the ridge to avoid the rough stuff. You get a pretty good look at how rough it actually is. Hermit did a nice job of angling towards the summit. Before I even realized it we were on the summit. We toke a couple of summit pics, and started back down. A quick hour and a half down and we were back at the cars. After that a couple of beers at Hermits to wash down a great hike. That was number 29 and 30 for me, and one million (I think) for Hermit and Rocky summit. Great day, Great winter weather, followed by great beer.
No special equipment barebooted the whole time. Stabilizers might be nice for reassurance. Used frosty mugs for beer.
I will have pics tomorrow, webshots is running alittle slow tonight