mountainmeijin
03-06-2007, 09:51 PM
So I'm working hard on finishing up my 35. Got just a few left now and I'm gonna finish this thing. Grrr. On Saturday the 3rd I started out of the Biscuit Brook trailhead by about 9:15 AM with my eye on Big Indian and possibly Fir. The first two miles to the lean-to were simple enough, but the snow wasn't terribly supportive. After that the climbing started as did the snow. Fir Mountain disappeared from view as wet, sticky flakes fell. Temperatures were surprisingly warm for February in the Catskills. The whole scene became quite beautiful. Unfortunately, by around 3200 feet the snow became much deeper and less supportive, and my pace slowed as I sunk in much more with each step.
Visibility was quite low as I passed the 3500 foot marker. The trail was broken out leading to the canister, but as far as I could tell it was not yet traversed from Eagle to the point where one turns off to find the canister. Speaking of which...why is Big Indian considered trailless? Would it be that hard to move the trail .25 miles East? Just seems a little odd calling it a bushwhack peak. I found the canister by about 12:15 and signed in with heavy flakes falling all around. Finding that the snow was unbroken in the direction of Fir and that the snowfall prevented me from establishing a visual marker to supplement my compass, I decided to hit Fir another day.
Descending, I noticed that someone had left the trail just north of the lean-to heading in the direction of Fir...but he had sunk in quite a bit as well, so I decided not to try. Incidentally, if anyone travels that trail and finds himself inconvenienced by any holes that I made, I'm most contrite. What a klutz I must look like on the trail. :oops: A winter barebooting fetish is a sin that carries it's own punishment...and it's a tough one at times. Brrrr.
Having another Tuesday afternoon free, and deciding I might not get much more of those, I decided to capitalize on it and visit Halcott today. I got to the Rt. 42 PA by about 1:00 PM then found myself in an unusual predicament. I had somehow tied a not so tight in the elastic tightening cord of my snow pants that I couldn't undo it to get them on, no matter what I tried. Eventually I tired of trying to pick the knot apart with my car keys and decided just to cut the cord...that was taking far too long because of the toughness of the material. I finally burned through the cord with the cigarette lighter from my car. It's an odd day in the Catskills when preparation for a hike involves setting your pants on fire.
My little misadventure led to me not getting started until 1:30. There is a good trail broken out up Halcott and the surface is very hard. There is a thick shell of ice covered by 1-3 inches of freshly blown powder...no problem finding support. However the trail is very slippery because of this in places. Going up was quite difficult in places.
The trees from about 3000 feet and up had icy on them and every time the wind would blow, there would be a sound like a sort of crackly glass rainfall. In the snow could be found what looked like pieces of broken wine glasses. It was a very otherworldly sight, but also ominous. I kept looking up expected to be knocked on the head by falling ice...or a falling tree.
I found the canister quite easily, though it took a bit of wrestling to get the icy lid off. Boy, was it cold up there with the wind blowing. I rested for a bit at the top before starting my descent and getting back to my car by 4:45. Good afternoon hike. :tup:
Pictures: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2673580870099999532VhgUBo
Visibility was quite low as I passed the 3500 foot marker. The trail was broken out leading to the canister, but as far as I could tell it was not yet traversed from Eagle to the point where one turns off to find the canister. Speaking of which...why is Big Indian considered trailless? Would it be that hard to move the trail .25 miles East? Just seems a little odd calling it a bushwhack peak. I found the canister by about 12:15 and signed in with heavy flakes falling all around. Finding that the snow was unbroken in the direction of Fir and that the snowfall prevented me from establishing a visual marker to supplement my compass, I decided to hit Fir another day.
Descending, I noticed that someone had left the trail just north of the lean-to heading in the direction of Fir...but he had sunk in quite a bit as well, so I decided not to try. Incidentally, if anyone travels that trail and finds himself inconvenienced by any holes that I made, I'm most contrite. What a klutz I must look like on the trail. :oops: A winter barebooting fetish is a sin that carries it's own punishment...and it's a tough one at times. Brrrr.
Having another Tuesday afternoon free, and deciding I might not get much more of those, I decided to capitalize on it and visit Halcott today. I got to the Rt. 42 PA by about 1:00 PM then found myself in an unusual predicament. I had somehow tied a not so tight in the elastic tightening cord of my snow pants that I couldn't undo it to get them on, no matter what I tried. Eventually I tired of trying to pick the knot apart with my car keys and decided just to cut the cord...that was taking far too long because of the toughness of the material. I finally burned through the cord with the cigarette lighter from my car. It's an odd day in the Catskills when preparation for a hike involves setting your pants on fire.
My little misadventure led to me not getting started until 1:30. There is a good trail broken out up Halcott and the surface is very hard. There is a thick shell of ice covered by 1-3 inches of freshly blown powder...no problem finding support. However the trail is very slippery because of this in places. Going up was quite difficult in places.
The trees from about 3000 feet and up had icy on them and every time the wind would blow, there would be a sound like a sort of crackly glass rainfall. In the snow could be found what looked like pieces of broken wine glasses. It was a very otherworldly sight, but also ominous. I kept looking up expected to be knocked on the head by falling ice...or a falling tree.
I found the canister quite easily, though it took a bit of wrestling to get the icy lid off. Boy, was it cold up there with the wind blowing. I rested for a bit at the top before starting my descent and getting back to my car by 4:45. Good afternoon hike. :tup:
Pictures: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2673580870099999532VhgUBo