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Special note:
This was supposed to be Hillman's job but somehow it got foisted onto my fingertips.
(Pictures of this and other trips coming very soon!)
Participants: Rik, Hillman, Neil, Eric, Jenny and Dominic
This was Jenny’s first winter peak and her first time ever on snowshoes or crampons. She was awesome! It was my first time hiking with Rik and Eric who turned out to be super guys. Man, do they fly!
If you’re thinking of hiking Allen, now is the time to go. I can’t imagine it being any easier than it was yesterday. The first 5 miles or so on the official trail were on frozen snow in the cool morning and barebooting was the order of the day. Just after the turnoff, at the gravel pit we put on our sowshoes but could have waited a lot longer. The herd trail was easy to follow thanks to a group of 10 who had been in a day or 2 before us.
For me, the route to Allen gets interesting at Allen brook making the approach the longest I’ve done so far. (I suppose Seymour from the winter parking lot would be right up there.)
As we motored our way to Allen Brook we were slapping ourselves on the back for what great time we were making but I couldn’t help wondering how I would feel going back over the same trail later on. At least I was well prepped: I had 2 full rest days in me after hiking Marshall and having eaten loads of carbs the day before I was only short on sleep. Additionally, I made myself eat and drink steadily all day long.
The trail up Allen Brook was no where near as “bad†as I was expecting and I’m sure that was because of the perfect snow conditions. No need for crampons, in fact I only used my Northern Lite snowshoes all the way up. To boot, we had a perfectly sunny calm day so at rest stops on the slide we basked in the sun in our t-shirts and marvelled at the ever expanding panorama of peaks. It seemed like there was something new to see with every vertical foot we ascended.
Allen offers views of the Dixes, Colvin, Nippletop, Skylite, Marcy etc. from a rather unique angle and we spent a lot of time determining which peak was which before reluctantly packing up and heading down.
Butt sliding down the upper portion of Allen brook was lots of fun. After you break out of the trees you have a long straight shot down some steep terrain. Rik and Eric were standing in the middle at the bottom of the steepest section as I began my descent and when they very quickly got the heck out of there I knew something was up. I shot over a lip of bare ice, got some air, landed on some more ice and then hit the soft stuff and stopped. Invigorating!
I quickly got my camera out and took pictures of the others as they came down a less dramatic but nonetheless rapid line of descent. Lots of big, sunshiney smiles and laughter all around.
The trip out was long. Very, very long. That 1 mile section from Skylight brook to the top of a height of land went on forever. One consolation was the beautiful sunset that silhouetted the mountains and the trees and then later on the stars on a moonless night. However, on the way out from Allen once the headlamps come on and all you can see are your partners’ little halos of light and the trail in front of you there’s no way around it: it’s a death march.
This was supposed to be Hillman's job but somehow it got foisted onto my fingertips.
(Pictures of this and other trips coming very soon!)
Participants: Rik, Hillman, Neil, Eric, Jenny and Dominic
This was Jenny’s first winter peak and her first time ever on snowshoes or crampons. She was awesome! It was my first time hiking with Rik and Eric who turned out to be super guys. Man, do they fly!
If you’re thinking of hiking Allen, now is the time to go. I can’t imagine it being any easier than it was yesterday. The first 5 miles or so on the official trail were on frozen snow in the cool morning and barebooting was the order of the day. Just after the turnoff, at the gravel pit we put on our sowshoes but could have waited a lot longer. The herd trail was easy to follow thanks to a group of 10 who had been in a day or 2 before us.
For me, the route to Allen gets interesting at Allen brook making the approach the longest I’ve done so far. (I suppose Seymour from the winter parking lot would be right up there.)
As we motored our way to Allen Brook we were slapping ourselves on the back for what great time we were making but I couldn’t help wondering how I would feel going back over the same trail later on. At least I was well prepped: I had 2 full rest days in me after hiking Marshall and having eaten loads of carbs the day before I was only short on sleep. Additionally, I made myself eat and drink steadily all day long.
The trail up Allen Brook was no where near as “bad†as I was expecting and I’m sure that was because of the perfect snow conditions. No need for crampons, in fact I only used my Northern Lite snowshoes all the way up. To boot, we had a perfectly sunny calm day so at rest stops on the slide we basked in the sun in our t-shirts and marvelled at the ever expanding panorama of peaks. It seemed like there was something new to see with every vertical foot we ascended.
Allen offers views of the Dixes, Colvin, Nippletop, Skylite, Marcy etc. from a rather unique angle and we spent a lot of time determining which peak was which before reluctantly packing up and heading down.
Butt sliding down the upper portion of Allen brook was lots of fun. After you break out of the trees you have a long straight shot down some steep terrain. Rik and Eric were standing in the middle at the bottom of the steepest section as I began my descent and when they very quickly got the heck out of there I knew something was up. I shot over a lip of bare ice, got some air, landed on some more ice and then hit the soft stuff and stopped. Invigorating!
I quickly got my camera out and took pictures of the others as they came down a less dramatic but nonetheless rapid line of descent. Lots of big, sunshiney smiles and laughter all around.
The trip out was long. Very, very long. That 1 mile section from Skylight brook to the top of a height of land went on forever. One consolation was the beautiful sunset that silhouetted the mountains and the trees and then later on the stars on a moonless night. However, on the way out from Allen once the headlamps come on and all you can see are your partners’ little halos of light and the trail in front of you there’s no way around it: it’s a death march.
). She's a hell of a hiker and person, we exchanged a lot of great info for those few hours. I wish she used the internet more, it would be fun having her around here.
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