Drove up to ADK Loj on Friday evening Feb 16th, enjoyed a pleasant night in a lean to with hammocks hung. Brisk temps in the low teens. Heart Lake a welcome but noisy bed fellow with its ice grumbling.
Up prior to dawn, much to the chagrin of a dog in the next site that woke up to challenge us. Bit of a racket but once we were introduced all was well.
At AMR prior to 7am. Lot filling up. Temp in teens F. The weather was really what I wanted - cold enough so that nothing on trail would be wet. Trails were well packed. So we carried snowshoes but did entire loop in micro-spikes.
Bluejay day for the morning and great views from Nippletop and Dial. Initially trails were well traveled but after maybe 2pm we say no one else.
We took our time - I am a very slow uphill hiker. So finished up the HG Leach trail in the dark with headlamps (expected). Dusk on Noonmark's shoulder with a front moving in was awe inspiring.
Back to Loj for a hot meal and another pleasant night in hammocks under stars.
We have been out late fall and early spring, and a January Day hike but this would be our first high winter peak and I think it went well.
Things we did well:
Things we will do different next time:
Thanks to one and all for the advise and tips from this forum.
Up prior to dawn, much to the chagrin of a dog in the next site that woke up to challenge us. Bit of a racket but once we were introduced all was well.
At AMR prior to 7am. Lot filling up. Temp in teens F. The weather was really what I wanted - cold enough so that nothing on trail would be wet. Trails were well packed. So we carried snowshoes but did entire loop in micro-spikes.
Bluejay day for the morning and great views from Nippletop and Dial. Initially trails were well traveled but after maybe 2pm we say no one else.
We took our time - I am a very slow uphill hiker. So finished up the HG Leach trail in the dark with headlamps (expected). Dusk on Noonmark's shoulder with a front moving in was awe inspiring.
Back to Loj for a hot meal and another pleasant night in hammocks under stars.
We have been out late fall and early spring, and a January Day hike but this would be our first high winter peak and I think it went well.
Things we did well:
- water lasted whole trip, no need to melt.
- I can't say enough about 'primaloft' as an insulation. It really breathes well.
- New Motorola Android phone with AlpineQuest app was a treat.
- Used our EMS packs as day packs and this helped manage the extra stuff one brings along for winter hikes really well.
Things we will do different next time:
- We had good intentions of packing day packs prior to trip. Doing it at trail head is a bit rushed. Did not leave anything out but wasted some time.
- Way to obsessed with time. Need more pauses along the way.
- Should have heeded others advice to boil water to keep a warm water supply on trail. Our cold water was freezing along the way. Drinking ice water in cold weather resulted in some nasty muscle cramps. We had a stove with us but did not wish to slow down. Advil resolved cramps.
- I started with one to many layers. By the time I shed the extra layer my base layer was a bit damp and had to dry out some. Have to remember to always start out hiking colder than comfortable.
- We had microspikes, crampons and snowshoes. Need to get longer spikes and ditch the crampons I think.
Thanks to one and all for the advise and tips from this forum.
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