Rik
12-30-2005, 06:58 PM
... to Graham we go.
Well maybe this is the good karma Jay gets for resisting the temptation that is Campmor? Charlene and I went out and broke the trail up to Graham today. The Dry Brook Ridge trail was pretty thin with snow and had standing water in spots but all was avoidable. We wore snowshoes since we figured we would need them when we left the trail as no one had signed the register for Graham but many have been to Balsam Lake Mt. When we started at 10am we were the only car in the lot. By the time we returned there was several including the ranger. We saw only two people all day as everyone must have been at the tower when we came back to the trail. The path was pretty easy to follow with only a handful of easily avoided blowdowns. The trees were coated with snow from overnight. The snow ranged from 4 to 12 inches under an icy crust with a coating of fresh powder on top. The crust wasn't strong enough to hold me (and I'm pretty little) except in a few spots toward the top that were windblown. So basically we punched holes in the snow all the way up and then smoothed the track a bit on the way back down. No views while we were up there but the snow coated trees were just as cool as any views. The ugly building up top did block the wind while we had lunch and cocoa. A nice time in the woods with the wife and the dog. Lots of animal tracks in the fresh coat of snow. Near the top I came across some pretty old tracks that looked like they may have come from the Seager direction. They were filled in and faint so hardly noticable. So Jay, not sure if you'll read this before you go but it should be pretty quick for you. Took us four hours round trip but you should be able to cruise in our tracks. Have fun.
Well maybe this is the good karma Jay gets for resisting the temptation that is Campmor? Charlene and I went out and broke the trail up to Graham today. The Dry Brook Ridge trail was pretty thin with snow and had standing water in spots but all was avoidable. We wore snowshoes since we figured we would need them when we left the trail as no one had signed the register for Graham but many have been to Balsam Lake Mt. When we started at 10am we were the only car in the lot. By the time we returned there was several including the ranger. We saw only two people all day as everyone must have been at the tower when we came back to the trail. The path was pretty easy to follow with only a handful of easily avoided blowdowns. The trees were coated with snow from overnight. The snow ranged from 4 to 12 inches under an icy crust with a coating of fresh powder on top. The crust wasn't strong enough to hold me (and I'm pretty little) except in a few spots toward the top that were windblown. So basically we punched holes in the snow all the way up and then smoothed the track a bit on the way back down. No views while we were up there but the snow coated trees were just as cool as any views. The ugly building up top did block the wind while we had lunch and cocoa. A nice time in the woods with the wife and the dog. Lots of animal tracks in the fresh coat of snow. Near the top I came across some pretty old tracks that looked like they may have come from the Seager direction. They were filled in and faint so hardly noticable. So Jay, not sure if you'll read this before you go but it should be pretty quick for you. Took us four hours round trip but you should be able to cruise in our tracks. Have fun.