The Second & Third Trip of Winter

CONTINUED: (See blog entry below for the first part of the story)
Again, this is an OLD trip, but a NEW blog entry. : )

We took a risk by driving up the "private" road and parking at the intersection, though we didn't risk it by driving down the other small road to the trail register. The gate keeper is a feisty elderly man and by feisty I mean it! We have a story about him, but that's for another time.
It was bitterly cold when we got out of the car and walked the road. It was very icy and extremely slippery. We got to the register and saw that famous PinPin had been in and hiked Colvin & Blake. We were more interested in doing the Great Range, but not many had been in there. Honestly, we were still exhausted from breaking trail in the Sewards and while we'd planned on heading to Esther, I'd asked my mom via text message which peaks we should do and she'd responded with "Colvin & Blake". It was a sign! That did it. We carefully walked back to the car and decided on C&B for the next day.
Went to sleep beneath our Christmas lights and up early the next morning for a walk down Lake Road. The snow was fairly hard and icy and it was quite cold. Paul took a photo of my frozen hair. The ice on it made it look gray! We eventually made it to the turn off for Colvin and up we went.
The trail was nicely broken and it was easy to follow, just a lot of climbing. I felt very sluggish and slow and still felt as though I hadn't recovered from the few days before. I just wanted to lay down in the snow and take a nap.
Up up up we went and just below the summit of Colvin was a steep, somewhat narrow and exposed section. Paul went first and made it up ok, but I was tentative. I was nervous and wasn't comfortable. I didn't think I could do it. Then came the tears. It was just all too much. Paul reached out and helped me up and I was relieved. We topped out on the summit and the views across to the Great Range and beyond were phenomenal. We took photos and decided to press on toward Blake because we figured it would take a little while to make the careful descent.
As expected, it was slow going because of steep and icy conditions. Paul helped me in certain spots and we made it to the col after what seemed like eternity. I remembered that it was a lot of elevation loss, but apparently I'd forgotten just how much! We finally made it to the summit of Blake and took a couple photos there. No views from the treed in summit, but it counted nonetheless. Had a quick snack then back up up up to Colvin. More photos from Colvin and spent time admiring the majestic peaks across. I was nervous about the tricky section, but Paul helped me down and we were off. We made good time getting down and before we knew it were back at Lake Road.
As we hiked Lake Road I noticed a twinge of discomfort in my right quad muscle. I didn't think much of it and kept going. We got back to the car, changed clothes, and off to the Noonmark Diner we went. We had dinner and my leg was definitely sore, but most of my body was sore. I was still getting back into my hiking shape afterall.
We discussed trip options for the next day and planned on doing Esther. The forecast called for heavy rain, so we wanted to do something that we knew we could accomplish in those conditions.
We decided we'd sleep in a little bit the next morning, but still get an early-ish start. We wanted to beat the rain if all possible. We started off from the weather station just about daybreak and I remembered how steep it was once we started. The first time I climbed Whiteface with Paul and Rick back in 2007 was in deep, deep unbroken snow. It took us forever! This day was different as the trail was broken, but it was still just as steep!
The nice part was that it was warm. Unseasonably warm! I was thrilled to be hiking in only 2 layers instead of my usual multiple layer look. We got to Marble Mountain and it looked so different from 2007. Off toward the trail intersection and the rain finally started to fall. I guess we weren't going to beat it! We trudged along and the wind picked up too. We made it to the trail intersection and of all things found a sign pointing to the herd path for Esther! We were surprised! That was a new addition since last time we'd been through there.
The broken trail continued toward Whiteface, but it did not continue toward Esther. It was ok. The snow was pretty firm and while we had to break it, it didn't compress a lot so it wasn't as difficult as other trips.
We used GPS to navigate and zigged where we needed to zag sometimes, but eventually found the yellow disk high in the tree on the summit of Esther! I had to really look for it too because my hood was drawn tight over my head!
The wind was really howling and the rain was falling and blowing. We took a few quick photos and off we went! I was feeling the same pain in my leg and was hoping it would relent. We raced back to the trail junction and turned left to go back the way we came.
As we descended, my leg became worse and worse. It was unusual. The pain was not in the "meaty" part of the front of my quad, but almost my inner thigh just above my knee. It was honestly excrutiating. I felt like such a wimp.
We made it back to Marble Mountain and the scene was so different from that morning. So much of the snow had already melted off. It was incredible. I was anxious about the steep descent from there and how my leg would hold up. It was a slow and painful descent. Each bend of the knee sent sharp pain signals to my brain. I was in tears multiple times. Paul tried to help where he could, but there really wasn't anything he could do. We made it back down and to the car and had a break in the rain where we could shake off our wet gear, change into dry clothes, and figure out our next plan.
I put Biofreeze on my leg and we decided to head into Lake Placid to get some lunch. I told Paul I didn't think I could hike the next day with my leg as painful as it was. I felt bad. I felt as though our vacation time was being wasted because of me. We grabbed some soup and a sandwich in LP and decided to head back to Paul's parents' house.
On our way we stopped and I bought a wrap for my leg. We grabbed a pizza for dinner and brought it with us.
It was nice to be able to dry out because everything we had was pretty wet. We talked about what trip we'd try next and went to sleep figuring on discussing more options in the morning.
My leg felt quite a bit better the next morning as Paul and I mused over which trip to do. Paul asked what I thought of the Sewards. He figured on doing the unthinkable: returning to the Sewards! We knew the gate was still open. We knew the road was plowed and we hadn't received much snow. This was our opportunity. I was nervous though. I really didn't want any part of it. Why couldn't we do another trip? We had plenty of peaks to choose from! In the end though, I understood Paul's way of thinking and we decided on the Sewards. I was pretty grumpy about it though. Meh...
Packed up the car AGAIN and off toward Tupper Lake. Dinner at The Lumberjack AGAIN and off to Corey's Road AGAIN. Does this sound like deja vu? The wind in Tupper Lake was absolutely ridiculous. I could not believe the ferocity of it. The forecast said it would die down around midnight and I sure hoped so because it was insane how it was blowing.
We started down Corey's Road and not too far down was our first obstacle: a downed tree. Ummm, to me it was a sign not to continue. To Paul it was simply that--an obstacle. He got out to take a closer look and I stayed in the car until I watched him try to move it. I got out and he yelled to me that it was very slick. And it was! I stepped carefully toward him and the tree and we both tried to move it. It was hard enough without the ice, but that made it even worse! With enough "oommphh" we got the tree out of the way and got back into the car. Whew! Now what? Onward we went and the road conditions got worse. The whole road was almost like a skating rink--pure ice. The car was handling it well at first, but soon we started to slide. As hilly as the road becomes, we knew it was a recipe for disaster. We'd made it as far as a parking lot for other trails, but it was still quite a ways from the summer trailhead. So, what to do, what to do. Do we park where we were and hike from there? Do we give up on the Sewards for now and head somewhere else? These Sewards were really becoming my nightmare.
We tossed ideas back and forth. We both really weren't feeling any love toward the Sewards, so back into the car we went and we left Tupper Lake bound for Keene Valley to peaks we love more: The Lower Great Range.
How frustrating though to be eluded by the Sewards AGAIN. Ugh!
We decided instead to do as much of the Lower Great Range as we could. Our goal would be five, but we'd take what we could get.
Up really early the next morning for the LONG LONG LONG walk down Lake Road to start the ascent for Sawteeth. The snow was hard and crusty and I was tired by the time we got to the turn off for Sawteeth. So far the leg felt good and I was glad for that. The trail was broken until, well, until it just wasn't. It appeared that the tracks stopped and just turned back. Again it was compact snow, so breaking it wasn't too big of a deal.
We made the col between Sawteeth & Pyramid and felt good about our timing. I didn't remember much about our first Sawteeth climb and it's probably good that I didn't. I had no idea (no memory) of how steep it was. Paul went first and kicked some steps that I tried to use, but I ended up kicking some of my own. Another tricky section and tree roots provided my hand holds. Got to the top and you'd swear you were on the summit, but it's a quick traverse away. FINALLY we made it! A few photos and a careful descent of the tricky spots. At one point, the toe crampon of my snowshoe stuck so well into the hardpack snow that I tripped and fell over...It was not a good place to fall, but I was able to stop myself and regroup. I was really scared and it definitely effected me the rest of the day and made me take very tentative steps.
On our way down we ran into another hiker--first we'd seen that day. Then it was off toward Pyramid.
I did remember how steep Pyramid was and it didn't disappoint. I was tired and felt as though we weren't making very good time, but Paul assured me we were doing ok. Up to the top of Pyramid and Gothics looked SO far away! Would we ever make it?! We kept trudging and at one point determined snowshoes were not going to cut it, so we stopped and changed to crampons. I was so excited to make the summit of Gothics! Gothics is a great peak. It's a special one. Unfortunately we didn't have any views as it started to cloud in, but we were stoked to have made it!
We were still good on time, so we decided to push to Armstrong. I didn't really even noticed the whole ice cornice thing. It was cloudy and I couldn't see off either side, so I didn't notice. I've seen some pretty cool photos of it in good conditions and it looks much worse than it is. It's a neat section of trail though.
It didn't seem as though it took very long to get to Armstrong and we were happy again! Another peak! It was already a successful day, but we were so hopeful to get all five. We figured we'd push on to Upper Wolfjaw and see how it went. We started on our way down and got to the infamous ladder section. It bothered me the last time we came down and it wasn't covered in ice then! We found the ladder to be somewhat exposed, but mainly icy and it looked treacherous. We put crampons on and skirted the ladder to one side where we descended via tree roots, trees, etc. I was a nervous wreck. Two other hikers decided to downclimb the ladder in their snowshoes. I watched them in awe while I was frozen where I was waiting for Paul's help. I REALLY felt like a wimp then. As we neared the bottom, it was tricky. The guys waited to make sure I got down alright (ok, nice gesture, but very embarrassing for me) and I took my pack off, handed it to Paul, who then handed it to one of the guys. Little by little I got down, but only with Paul's help. We took pictures of the ladder, but it does not do it justice. We came down on the right side of the ladder as you're looking at the photo. Sometimes winter hiking is just plain scary. I was so relieved to get off that section!
We pushed to Upper Wolfjaw and realized that Lower Wolfjaw was not in the cards for that day. But hey, four out of five really wasn't bad, though I was severely disappointed because I don't like not meeting my goals. Still, we had a long way to go to get out and our light was fading fast. The worst was passing by LWJ knowing we were only .5 away. Blah!
We did our best to get down quickly, but the snow was hard, I was tentative with my steps. Do you see "tentative" is a theme this day? Because of that, my leg started to hurt again. It had been very mild all day. I first noticed it coming off Sawteeth, but I tried to tell myself it was fine. Really it was, until the descent toward Lake Road.
I was getting anxious about not being down before dark. I'm not sure why it bothered me so much this time, but I really was worried. I don't mind hiking in the dark, but I don't like descending. Paul reassured me that we'd be off the steepest stuff by the time it got dark, but that we couldn't dilly dally. And all I wanted to do was dilly dally. The more we went down, the more my leg hurt. But, we kept moving at a steady pace and eventually got closer to Lake Road. Much snow had melted down low and there were many patches of dirt, ice, bare rock, etc that were a pain to navigate through on snowshoes sometimes. It wasn't worth removing them though because as soon as we made it through a bare section, the next section was completely snow covered.
As we went, not only did my right leg hurt, but guess what? My LEFT leg started hurting in the exact same place. : ( I was really having problems and was so upset. I didn't understand why my legs were hurting where they were. I've hiked a lot in the past but have never experienced pain in that location on not only one but BOTH legs.
We were racing the clock to get back to the car because we wanted to make it into town to the Noonmark Diner for dinner. We were running out of time, but amazingly we really kicked it into high gear once we FINALLY made it back to Lake Road. The rest of the road was a blur as our stomachs encouraged us to get out of there!
Back to the car and we didn't even change out of our shells. We were on the road to the diner in a flash. We got there about twenty minutes before they closed and we asked if they'd serve us. I think we held our breath while we waited for their answer. Of course they would! We were so relieved and SO hungry. I bet they were annoyed with us, but if only they knew how we tried to hurry to get there!
We ate and ate and ordered pie to go so we didn't keep them any later. We got back in the car and decided that with my legs hurting there was no way I could hike the next day. We were too tired to head home, so we slept in the car and headed toward home the next morning.
And, that was it. While we'd anticipated staying up there the entire two weeks, it just didn't work out that way. I was disappointed and I think Paul was too, but he said he was pleased with us getting seven peaks. I was pleased too, but I had hoped of more.
We took the rest of our vacation time to relax, heal up, and to prepare for our next trip north. That post is on the blog--titled Success in the Sewards.
So, that was the start of winter climbing season 2008-2009 and the beginning of our pursuit of the remaining 23 peaks we had to conquer. You know the rest from there---if you've read our posts! : )

Sawteeth-Lower Wolfie:

Sawteeth, Gothics, Armstrong, Upper Wolfjaw 29 Dec 08



Esther:

Esther 27 Dec 08



Colvin & Blake:

Colvin & Blake 26 Dec 08