Our group of three started from the gate around 7:30am and headed up to the H.G. Leach (?) TH. The snow was barely covering the ground as temperatures hovered in the low 20's. The climb over the w. shoulder of noonmark was easy going with snow amounts increasing to almost 8". We figured we would strap on the snowshoes at the fire line and get a little more grip seeing as how we were sliding a lot with bareboots. the trek down the back side of noonmark was easy however Bear Den mtn was a totally different world. This turned out to be more of a bushwhack than a trail. Every 50 yards or so we encountered nearly impassable blowdown that made finding the trail extremely difficult. On the western section of Bear Den's summit we got a bit confused and wandered aimlessly for nearly 30 min until we backtracked and spotted the continuation of the trail through the wall of spruce blowdown. Snow amounts continued to increase as we found our way to the col btw Dial and BD mtns. Snowshoes were a necessity when ascending Dial with nearly 1' of dry fluffy powder covering the blowdown, roots and slippery leaf litter. After considering the weather and time of day we decided to turn back and head out over BD rather than break trail to Ntop. We made good time back to the parking lot and headed home around 2:30pm. if you are attempting Dial in the near future I strongly recommend bringing a chainsaw, compass, and patience. This hike drained us completely and we were very thankful that we were able to summit at least one mountain.
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"The pleasure is in the path, the search for something good" -
Than ks for the TR. I was actually thinking of doing Dial and Nippletop sometime soon, but base don this I think I'll save it for later in the winter (with the possibility of hiking over the blowdown
).
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I had heard that that whole area has a LOTof recent blowdown. Should make for an interesting trip for those who plan on doing the Nippletop or Blake slides in the future!The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.Comment
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Neil,
Thanks for this report! I was looking at doing this hike for our gathering in January
You never know what you'll find and without these trip reports we'd be going in blind.
Sounds like you had a tiring but fun day in all!If you don't like the weather in the DAKS just wait an hour...Comment
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It's not my report, but your welcome anywayOriginally posted by DoryNeil,
Thanks for this report! I was looking at doing this hike for our gathering in January
You never know what you'll find and without these trip reports we'd be going in blind.
Sounds like you had a tiring but fun day in all!
Re: the blowdown. I got it from probably the most reliable source there is for the Dacks. Then I read a VFTT trail condition report that didn't sound all that bad, so who knows. More people will go and will post. Keep watching it.The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.Comment
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