I am in the process of training for a winter hiking project. I have 3 months of training behind me and three months in front of me. To kick off the start of the 2nd 3-month period I decided to test my current fitness level with this combination of peaks.
I set a goal of 10 hours without reflecting on it but when I broke the hike down into segments and considered potential times for each segment I came up with 11h15m, including breaks.
Something like this*:
Gate-Saw: 2:15
Saw-Uppwer lake: 1:00
UL-Hay: 2:00
Hay-UL: 2:00
UL-Saw: 2:00
Saw-Gate: 2:00
I awoke at 4am in my tent right next to the gently gurgling Boquet River, broke camp and carried my gear to my car. I made coffee and sat in my camp chair reading, sipping and waking up. At 5:30 I passed the gate and began collecting data. (heart rate monitor and altimeter) Even on the road pre-dawn I was hot and sweating. I wondered how my program would proceed once the sun and temperature rose higher.
I found it moderately difficult to summit Sawteeth but made it in 2h10, which I thought was pretty good. After a 5 minute break I took off down the Shanty Brook Trail (2.7 miles) and made it to the brook in exactly 60 minutes. I filled up with 2 liters of water and 6 minutes later was on my way.
The 2750 foot of ascent to Haystack is in 3 parts. First: 820 feet of easy ascent to the Bartlett Ridge-Haystack Brook junction. Second: 830 difficult feet of ascent up Bartlett Ridge and last but not least: 1100 very steep feet to the summit. The middle section was taking it out of me and I noted very high heart rates for the vertical feet per minute. My perceived level of difficulty was very high. I mused that a lot of my blood was being diverted away from working muscle to my skin for cooling purposes. As a result I was doing 2 things poorly. Ie. I was swelteringly hot anyway and climbing with a lot of difficulty. I arrived at the junction in 1h15 and doubted seriously that I would make the summit in 45 minutes – didn't really care and in any case self-preservation was infinitley more important. But, without destroying myself too badly (I had to keep in mind the re-climb up Sawteeth in mid-afternoon sun and heat) I topped out exactly 2 hours after leaving Shanty Brook. However, it was a tough climb, much tougher than I recall from a half-dozen previous ascents. By the way, I think that section of trail should be called the Look-up Trail because you are always looking w-a-a-ay up at what you are about to climb.
I didn't break stride on the summit and enjoyed a very mellow stroll across my favorite High Peak to the junction. Then, feeling the fatigue of about 5400 feet of ascent, I carefully descended my least-favorite trail to the top of Haystack Brook Trail. I stopped and took on a liter of water and slammed a protein drink. The upper part of the Haystack Brook Trail, aka Snakes and Ladders, is not a trail one should attempt to make time on, unless one thinks getting injured in a far-away place might be a lot of fun. I made it back to Shanty four hours and 5 minutes after departing, soaked my feet, washed my head, relaxed and force-fed myself a few bites of energy.
When I got up to go I felt a hundred years old and do believe I hobbled for a few steps. Then I gradually established a sustainable rhythm for the next 40 minutes. I had predicted 2 hours for the ascent but realized I was on target for 1h30 and made it in 1h20. At the 40 minute mark (950 feet above the Shanty Brook crossing ) the trail made a hard right turn and I turned with it and looked up, way up. The next 1000 feet of gain came at a high price but I found it easier than Haystack (HR, feet per minute, perceived exertion). This I attributed to the excellent footing on the seldom-used trail. But it was still brutal, as always.
I didn't break stride on the summit, just kept moving. I was still looking at 11 hours total and 10h30 of moving time. The rest of the hike was uneventful. With sore feet and shredded quads I sauntered down the road taking 10 minutes more than the hike up. My altimeter reported 7860 feet of elevation and my HRM reported a calorie burn of 8850 although that might be too high considering the elevated HR due to the heat. When I got home at 8 that evening I found the cold beer I cracked open tasted so good that I, like Johnny Cash, had one more for desert.
I set a goal of 10 hours without reflecting on it but when I broke the hike down into segments and considered potential times for each segment I came up with 11h15m, including breaks.
Something like this*:
Gate-Saw: 2:15
Saw-Uppwer lake: 1:00
UL-Hay: 2:00
Hay-UL: 2:00
UL-Saw: 2:00
Saw-Gate: 2:00
I awoke at 4am in my tent right next to the gently gurgling Boquet River, broke camp and carried my gear to my car. I made coffee and sat in my camp chair reading, sipping and waking up. At 5:30 I passed the gate and began collecting data. (heart rate monitor and altimeter) Even on the road pre-dawn I was hot and sweating. I wondered how my program would proceed once the sun and temperature rose higher.
I found it moderately difficult to summit Sawteeth but made it in 2h10, which I thought was pretty good. After a 5 minute break I took off down the Shanty Brook Trail (2.7 miles) and made it to the brook in exactly 60 minutes. I filled up with 2 liters of water and 6 minutes later was on my way.
The 2750 foot of ascent to Haystack is in 3 parts. First: 820 feet of easy ascent to the Bartlett Ridge-Haystack Brook junction. Second: 830 difficult feet of ascent up Bartlett Ridge and last but not least: 1100 very steep feet to the summit. The middle section was taking it out of me and I noted very high heart rates for the vertical feet per minute. My perceived level of difficulty was very high. I mused that a lot of my blood was being diverted away from working muscle to my skin for cooling purposes. As a result I was doing 2 things poorly. Ie. I was swelteringly hot anyway and climbing with a lot of difficulty. I arrived at the junction in 1h15 and doubted seriously that I would make the summit in 45 minutes – didn't really care and in any case self-preservation was infinitley more important. But, without destroying myself too badly (I had to keep in mind the re-climb up Sawteeth in mid-afternoon sun and heat) I topped out exactly 2 hours after leaving Shanty Brook. However, it was a tough climb, much tougher than I recall from a half-dozen previous ascents. By the way, I think that section of trail should be called the Look-up Trail because you are always looking w-a-a-ay up at what you are about to climb.
I didn't break stride on the summit and enjoyed a very mellow stroll across my favorite High Peak to the junction. Then, feeling the fatigue of about 5400 feet of ascent, I carefully descended my least-favorite trail to the top of Haystack Brook Trail. I stopped and took on a liter of water and slammed a protein drink. The upper part of the Haystack Brook Trail, aka Snakes and Ladders, is not a trail one should attempt to make time on, unless one thinks getting injured in a far-away place might be a lot of fun. I made it back to Shanty four hours and 5 minutes after departing, soaked my feet, washed my head, relaxed and force-fed myself a few bites of energy.
When I got up to go I felt a hundred years old and do believe I hobbled for a few steps. Then I gradually established a sustainable rhythm for the next 40 minutes. I had predicted 2 hours for the ascent but realized I was on target for 1h30 and made it in 1h20. At the 40 minute mark (950 feet above the Shanty Brook crossing ) the trail made a hard right turn and I turned with it and looked up, way up. The next 1000 feet of gain came at a high price but I found it easier than Haystack (HR, feet per minute, perceived exertion). This I attributed to the excellent footing on the seldom-used trail. But it was still brutal, as always.
I didn't break stride on the summit, just kept moving. I was still looking at 11 hours total and 10h30 of moving time. The rest of the hike was uneventful. With sore feet and shredded quads I sauntered down the road taking 10 minutes more than the hike up. My altimeter reported 7860 feet of elevation and my HRM reported a calorie burn of 8850 although that might be too high considering the elevated HR due to the heat. When I got home at 8 that evening I found the cold beer I cracked open tasted so good that I, like Johnny Cash, had one more for desert.
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