ADKJack
06-27-2007, 10:29 PM
Drove down Corey's Rd. on Tue. nite. Find a nice campsite about a mile north of the summer trail head. The site was rather large enough room for a car, camper, another car, shopping center. Anyway after setting up and getting some shuteye I found out it was also a Killing Field for a local screech owl. Nothing will wake you out of a deep sleep and make you check your sleeping bag like the pouncing and subsequent flight of an owl at 2:14am:rolleyes:
Up early Wed and drive down to the TH. Sign in at 5:10am and start down the trail. Weather is already warm and forecast today is for Temp's in the 90's and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Based on this information, the fact that I am going to be on a westerly ridge I decide that noon is my drop dead time to turn back and head down off the ridge. I have never been in these hills before and really have not done much in preparing for the trip but I figure 7 hours should be more than enough time to reach all three summits.
First part of the hike is cake, marked trail for a short distance, I took the foot trail not the horse trail, back to what would continue as Coreys Rd. The road walk is well a road walk what can you say. Just as the road turns to the west at Calkins Brook the herd path appears on your left. Her is where the fun begins. Mind you I have really not done any research on the herd path and I envisioned it running up the left side of calkins much farther than it does. So when the herd path crosses the brook at about .2 miles I miss it completely.
I press on looking for the trail figuring that i must climb to the north ridge and I had marked what I considered the logical crossing to be in my GPS. To make a long story short I bushwhacked about 2 mile east and north before I was about to trac-back when In the middle of some pretty thick stuff I spy an orange flag on a tree. I follow the flagging on no discernible trail ,at best a hunter path and the flagging continues orange than blue and leads me back to the brook about 300 yards below where I had placed my marker. I cross and pick up a couple more blue and then silver flags before I pick up the herd path again. This was an excellent adventure, thanks to whoever was in there flagging, but a tremendous amount of time was wasted.
The walk up the herd path is soft, so much nicer than the rock hell on the Van Ho last week. A lot of maintenance has been done on the blow down and that helps recapture some of the lost time. There is a LOT of boot sucking mud on this trip. Waterproof bots and gaiters are highly recommended. The climbing is significant but not grueling, at least up the the intersection with the herdpath to Seward, Donaldson and Emmons. I head up and over to Donaldson first. A couple of steep pitches and some mud but it is a short climb.
Hazy day's are not very photographic so I only took a few, then off to Emmons. I know the rules about distance and elevation gain needed to denote on peak as being counted, but I am not thrilled with the direction of the HP from Donaldson to Emmons. A lot of slide sloping for what can be a ridge walk. At least on the way back. Will have to try that in the winter.
Back to Donaldson and then back to the junction for Seward. It is already 11:00am and I am having doubts about making it to the summit. I decide I gave myself to 12 and if I make it fine, if not High on Life has told me she would like to do this range again.
The elevation loss from this point is steep and immediate, the cripple brush seems thicker and there is a lot of bootsucking in the col. And oh yeah rock hopping and climbing. I push on and find myself at the summit after considerable work. 11.45am, I made it. I take a picture of the 2 nails that used to hold the summit disk (that and all the signs are gone) and head back.
I follow the herd path all the way down this time and see that there are not one but two cairns that marked the brook crossing d'oh:oops:
Oh well needless to say I made much better time on the way back and could here thunder to the south as I headed back up the road.
3:00pm I sign out 9hours 50minutes later, too much time wasted because I ASSUMED and bushwhacked needlessly.
Oh yeah it was pretty hot and I went through three liters of water before I pumped another 2 liters at the first stream crossing on the way back. For all the mud up top it is very dry.
Up early Wed and drive down to the TH. Sign in at 5:10am and start down the trail. Weather is already warm and forecast today is for Temp's in the 90's and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Based on this information, the fact that I am going to be on a westerly ridge I decide that noon is my drop dead time to turn back and head down off the ridge. I have never been in these hills before and really have not done much in preparing for the trip but I figure 7 hours should be more than enough time to reach all three summits.
First part of the hike is cake, marked trail for a short distance, I took the foot trail not the horse trail, back to what would continue as Coreys Rd. The road walk is well a road walk what can you say. Just as the road turns to the west at Calkins Brook the herd path appears on your left. Her is where the fun begins. Mind you I have really not done any research on the herd path and I envisioned it running up the left side of calkins much farther than it does. So when the herd path crosses the brook at about .2 miles I miss it completely.
I press on looking for the trail figuring that i must climb to the north ridge and I had marked what I considered the logical crossing to be in my GPS. To make a long story short I bushwhacked about 2 mile east and north before I was about to trac-back when In the middle of some pretty thick stuff I spy an orange flag on a tree. I follow the flagging on no discernible trail ,at best a hunter path and the flagging continues orange than blue and leads me back to the brook about 300 yards below where I had placed my marker. I cross and pick up a couple more blue and then silver flags before I pick up the herd path again. This was an excellent adventure, thanks to whoever was in there flagging, but a tremendous amount of time was wasted.
The walk up the herd path is soft, so much nicer than the rock hell on the Van Ho last week. A lot of maintenance has been done on the blow down and that helps recapture some of the lost time. There is a LOT of boot sucking mud on this trip. Waterproof bots and gaiters are highly recommended. The climbing is significant but not grueling, at least up the the intersection with the herdpath to Seward, Donaldson and Emmons. I head up and over to Donaldson first. A couple of steep pitches and some mud but it is a short climb.
Hazy day's are not very photographic so I only took a few, then off to Emmons. I know the rules about distance and elevation gain needed to denote on peak as being counted, but I am not thrilled with the direction of the HP from Donaldson to Emmons. A lot of slide sloping for what can be a ridge walk. At least on the way back. Will have to try that in the winter.
Back to Donaldson and then back to the junction for Seward. It is already 11:00am and I am having doubts about making it to the summit. I decide I gave myself to 12 and if I make it fine, if not High on Life has told me she would like to do this range again.
The elevation loss from this point is steep and immediate, the cripple brush seems thicker and there is a lot of bootsucking in the col. And oh yeah rock hopping and climbing. I push on and find myself at the summit after considerable work. 11.45am, I made it. I take a picture of the 2 nails that used to hold the summit disk (that and all the signs are gone) and head back.
I follow the herd path all the way down this time and see that there are not one but two cairns that marked the brook crossing d'oh:oops:
Oh well needless to say I made much better time on the way back and could here thunder to the south as I headed back up the road.
3:00pm I sign out 9hours 50minutes later, too much time wasted because I ASSUMED and bushwhacked needlessly.
Oh yeah it was pretty hot and I went through three liters of water before I pumped another 2 liters at the first stream crossing on the way back. For all the mud up top it is very dry.