[Photos]
Valerie and myself decided last minute to attempt Whiteface and Esther. Valerie needed both of them for her 46 and I had climbed them around the same time last year on mostly dry trails. But 365 days makes a big difference! I was going on a hunch that things may be okay enough to hike without impact.
We arrived under sunny skies and set out from the Atmospheric Science Research Center around 9:30AM. Temps quickly rose into the 50s. We made good time up Marble Mountain, stopping for a breath after each stretch. This initial steep stretch is a rude awakening after sitting in the car for 2+ hours listening to Nine Inch Nails and sipping coffee. We were still enjoying the fact we were climbing a high peak after a break that lasted over a month (because of the typically poor trail conditions during the early spring months).
We stopped, hydrated, and snapped photos (to be uploaded soon) at the first rock ledge on Marble Mt. There were very few bugs out at this time. The visibility Monday was much better than my first (and only other) hike up this trail.
We continued on. Trail gets steep a few times. Then like magic we were standing on snow (around 3,000 feet). At first there was much more snow on the trail then there was in the woods. The packed trail turned into an elevated ridge of snow or ice. It was tough climbing at times because the traction was generally poor. This slowed us down but we basically hiked until we couldn't, and the conditions never got so bad it warranted us turning around. [Val, did you look up "running" yet?? - inside joke
] Main issue would have been the constant need to change in/out of snow shoes or crampons during the trip, as the trail vacillated from dry to packed snow 1-3 feet tall. We opted to bare boot (as that's all we had anyway) and only post holed a few dozen times the entire trip. The other hikers that day were also bare booting it. The good news is that where there was no snow it was generally dry or not too muddy. Where there was snow no negative impact on the environment was being made. However, I'm willing to bet that in a few weeks that will all change as the final inches of snow melt away and the standing water does its worse on the soft alpine soil.
The turn off for Esther took longer to reach than I remembered and was a welcome sight. We stopped again for nourishment and to catch our breath. I knew the hike over could be pretty messy as you go through a few boggy spots. Turns out there was lots of snow and very little bog to speak of. Someone also took the time to toss down some branches on the mud so it was easier in spots than last year. The views opened a few times before the summit and more photos were taken. Once on top we soaked in Valerie's 17th peak and took even more photos. The sun's intense this time of the year and I didn't have sunscreen, so we headed down to the wooded Willmington trail for lunch.
After trading laughter we started for Whiteface. As we approached the road and the trail started to climb the trail got increasingly slippery, snowy and difficult. Once at the road we headed up the foot path to treeline. Again, more snow but less consolidated and post holing increased in frequency. Thankfully the snow is maybe 3 feet at the deepest spots, but was generally about a foot. On bare-rock areas there was no snow at all, it was only when we had spruce around us did we have to contend with the snow. The band of snow to climb on this section of trail, because of the trail's width, was extremely narrow. We decided that it would be faster and more importantly safer to take the stairs to the road to the footpath turnoff on our descent.
Once on top we had gorgious 360 views. I walked around the entire summit snapping photos. There were some bugs by this time and the sun was very warm. After maybe 30 minutes soaking in Valerie's 18th peak, we started down. Making good time we arrived at the car at 5PM. The hike was tiring but very rewarding. Looking forward to a winter ascent someday.
Valerie and myself decided last minute to attempt Whiteface and Esther. Valerie needed both of them for her 46 and I had climbed them around the same time last year on mostly dry trails. But 365 days makes a big difference! I was going on a hunch that things may be okay enough to hike without impact.
We arrived under sunny skies and set out from the Atmospheric Science Research Center around 9:30AM. Temps quickly rose into the 50s. We made good time up Marble Mountain, stopping for a breath after each stretch. This initial steep stretch is a rude awakening after sitting in the car for 2+ hours listening to Nine Inch Nails and sipping coffee. We were still enjoying the fact we were climbing a high peak after a break that lasted over a month (because of the typically poor trail conditions during the early spring months).
We stopped, hydrated, and snapped photos (to be uploaded soon) at the first rock ledge on Marble Mt. There were very few bugs out at this time. The visibility Monday was much better than my first (and only other) hike up this trail.
We continued on. Trail gets steep a few times. Then like magic we were standing on snow (around 3,000 feet). At first there was much more snow on the trail then there was in the woods. The packed trail turned into an elevated ridge of snow or ice. It was tough climbing at times because the traction was generally poor. This slowed us down but we basically hiked until we couldn't, and the conditions never got so bad it warranted us turning around. [Val, did you look up "running" yet?? - inside joke
] Main issue would have been the constant need to change in/out of snow shoes or crampons during the trip, as the trail vacillated from dry to packed snow 1-3 feet tall. We opted to bare boot (as that's all we had anyway) and only post holed a few dozen times the entire trip. The other hikers that day were also bare booting it. The good news is that where there was no snow it was generally dry or not too muddy. Where there was snow no negative impact on the environment was being made. However, I'm willing to bet that in a few weeks that will all change as the final inches of snow melt away and the standing water does its worse on the soft alpine soil.The turn off for Esther took longer to reach than I remembered and was a welcome sight. We stopped again for nourishment and to catch our breath. I knew the hike over could be pretty messy as you go through a few boggy spots. Turns out there was lots of snow and very little bog to speak of. Someone also took the time to toss down some branches on the mud so it was easier in spots than last year. The views opened a few times before the summit and more photos were taken. Once on top we soaked in Valerie's 17th peak and took even more photos. The sun's intense this time of the year and I didn't have sunscreen, so we headed down to the wooded Willmington trail for lunch.
After trading laughter we started for Whiteface. As we approached the road and the trail started to climb the trail got increasingly slippery, snowy and difficult. Once at the road we headed up the foot path to treeline. Again, more snow but less consolidated and post holing increased in frequency. Thankfully the snow is maybe 3 feet at the deepest spots, but was generally about a foot. On bare-rock areas there was no snow at all, it was only when we had spruce around us did we have to contend with the snow. The band of snow to climb on this section of trail, because of the trail's width, was extremely narrow. We decided that it would be faster and more importantly safer to take the stairs to the road to the footpath turnoff on our descent.
Once on top we had gorgious 360 views. I walked around the entire summit snapping photos. There were some bugs by this time and the sun was very warm. After maybe 30 minutes soaking in Valerie's 18th peak, we started down. Making good time we arrived at the car at 5PM. The hike was tiring but very rewarding. Looking forward to a winter ascent someday.
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