Poison Ivy (Amy) posted this trip a few weeks back on ROT. With all the rotten October weather (especially on weekends!) I really wanted to get out. We met early Saturday morning off RT-49 near Waterville ski area, snow lined both sides of the road. The bank thermometer read 28 degrees when I passed by. Only two cars were in the parking lot when I rolled in.
Our group started off as Amy, Mtnpa, MEB, Bob, Geri, MichaelJ and me. Sapblatt and Rols decided to head off a little earlier, we hoped to meet up with them somewhere on the trail. Sunlight tried to warm up the frozen landscape, we'd be trekking up the north side of these hills so for awhile its warmth wouldn't reach us.
Heading up Sandwich Mt Trail we walked along Drakes brook before descending down a little sag to the crossing. As with all the streams in the Whites this one was pretty full with some ice atop those rocks that did poke their gray heads above the water.
Just a little ways downstream was three thin logs, I watched several cross this way. MEB decided to just plunge across!
Geri kindly leant me a pole as I was tottering somewhere in the middle of this crossing and I managed to get across dry with some dignity. I'm not a huge fan of brook crossings! Others did much better.
After we re-grouped it was an uphill march starting at 1,500 feet. MichaelJ and MEB led the way, steaming up the ridge. The sun was hidden by the high ridge called Noon Peak. We did great, stopping a couple of times briefly to breathe. Soon we reached a nice little outlook with nice views. Some took the opportunity to take some pictures, it was turning out to be a beautiful day and the sun was a welcome sight.
The ground was frozen, we'd gone from spotty snow with frozen mud and leaves to a thin snowpack with some ice. I remembered the 6 point crampons in the pack but my footing was OK. We left and reached a more open area with lots of blueberry branches poking up through the snow. A rabbit had been through here, leaving his mark, other tracks wove around and through the winter scene.
The views were spectacular, big white Mt Washington dominated the valley as it always does. Sunshine bathed the open ledges of what I guessed to be the nearly 3,000 foot high Noon Peak. Sandwich was pointed out to me, it looked quite a ways off.
Somebody also pointed out what we thought was Jennings Peak, there didn't seem to be very much elevation loss or gain getting over there. It was a nice hike with good company through some dark woods. At a trail junction for Jennings some of us took our packs off to climb the .2 mile spur to the summit.
They were sitting and enjoying the sun so I found a spot and stretched out after snapping a few pictures....a wise person once told me.."never stand when you can sit, and never sit when you can lay down."
My stomach rumbled but I gnawed at some half frozen left-over Halloween candy. Great place, I'll have to come back in later summer to take advantage of some nice looking spots to pick blueberries.
The trek down the side of Jennings was interesting, a crust had formed on the snow which meant I was hugging quite a few trees on the way back down to my pack. "Crampons definitely going on later" I muttered to myself. Back to the trail junction we packed up and headed towards Sandwich Dome, one of the New England Hundred highest. Amy needed this one for her list, I will too if I ever decide to do it. Amy was exhausted from no sleep the night before. I've been there before and know how tired she must've been.
She noticed some small trees that'd been scraped pretty badly. The scapes went far up the tree trunk and almost down to the bottom. Probably 6 or 7 feet up the tree. I thought bear at first but wouldn't the marks be more vertical? There's a Beech tree on the Mt Tecumseh trail from Tripoli side that has been ripped up by a bear, those deep scratches went up and down, like a cat sharpening their claws.
These were horizontal. Way to high for deer and it didn't look anything like those scrapes I'd seen before. So I guess moose, I could imagine a big bull here in this close forest rubbing his massive antlers to get the velvet off. Many of the hiking community saw this and most thought the animal was moose but the weapon was teeth, not antlers.
The woods were dark here, snow was maybe 2 inches of hardpack but the footing was still OK. We slowly went down a gentle hill to a col then gradually went up the other side of Sandwich Dome.
It was a pretty easy jaunt up to the summit which we shared with a couple and a big yellow dog "Farley?" It was much colder here with the wind blowing and the summit rocks covered in ice. MEB dragged a big apple pie from her pack and served everyone. Farley came to the party but was a disappointed guest. I think all but one piece got eaten. She always brings such great treats.
I found a somewhat comfortable place to sit and eat my lunch. Jennings was a much more welcoming summit but the views were much better here. We looked out and recognized many summits, from stately Washington to the rugged Franconias, even Moosilauke!
I put on my 6-pointers which just about froze my fingers
I was really glad to have the security of those steel points down the hill. At another trail junction we took the Drakes brook trail. Geri warned of another bad brook crossing at the bottom. The woods again were dark as the bulk of Sandwich Dome hid the slanting sun. We had a nice walk down that trail, never was steep.
We spread out for awhile, each hitting their own pace. At the bottom on the shores of Drakes Brook we regrouped again for the crossing. I watched MEB cross over a string of rocks that went left across the raging brook. Bob decided to take a different tack and go right. I watched them....hmm, who to follow?
For some reason I decided to follow MEB, she by now had hopped the last rock and was on the far side. About half way across and tottering on a slippery rock I heard a small splash, I spun my head over to see Bob slip on any icy boulder and plunge thigh deep into the stream. A few blue words briefly filled the air. :) He decided to backtrack. Others crossed the way we'd gone and soon everyone was across safely.
Back at the parking lot we parted ways, saying our goodbyes. Nice to meet Sapblatt, Rols, Mtnpa and MJ for the first time. Hope to hike with you this winter!
Hike covered about 9 miles with around 3,000 elevation gain. This one makes my New England's Prettiest Hike list. Thanks to Amy for the invitation!