So plan was to hike up to around 3000 ft and camp out on Saturday, then tackle the last bit on Sunday morning. When we got to the spot to stake out a good campsite it was only 2, so we decided to go to the summit anyways, and then make our way back down to camp.
Above 3000 feet there is still thick packed ice on the trail. No snow, just packed ice. Microspikes or crampons are a must. My boots are just naturally clinging to snow/ice (I hike in Walmart snow boots) so I could just walk across it as long as I put my weight down and scuffed my feet. My buddy was struggling cause he has really expensive hiking boots which have some fancy "vibram" soles on them which are coincidentally super slippery when they touch any type of ice or water. Once we got into the real thick of the pine forest, it was all ice, and it was hard to avoid it. He was at sometimes just bushwacking through the moss and pines right next to the trail to avoid the ice. It was very slow going, especially since we still had our packs on. I kept having to sit and wait for him, and it was wearing me out.
It took us basically 2 hours to make it from the trail junction to the summit. Got there by about 4 and heard reports from other climbers that the Cornell Crack had a layer of ice in it, and people were using a rope and crampons to get up it. Since we only had a few hours of daylight left, we decided against Cornell and will have to come back another day. Maybe we'll do a traverse sometime across the whole range.
Anyways we hiked/slid back down and found a campsite around 2900 feet, just below the snow(ice) line. The ground was mushy but I had my hammock. We setup camp had a little fire and dozed off. Woke up for 6 am and had a chance to video the sunrise. Was a little chilly at night, but not as bad as camping in the dead of winter. Got up Sunday morning and we just had an easy hike out down the mountain. Back to NJ by lunchtime Sunday.
Here's some pics:
Here the clouds were moving out of the valley. It's hard to see behind all the trees.
One of my favorite things about hiking wittenberg is the transition from deciduous to pines and back. Here is a small pine forest.
peering over the edge
Here's me "hanging out"
Here's about where the ice starts.
I climbed right up it, but he kept slipping
From the picture it doesn't look like much ice, but it was all over the whole trail.
some more ice
was waiting by this cave for a while for my buddy. He was taking forever.
summit
Devil's path. I loved the big blue sky that afternoon.
Here's our campsite, this is my hammock I slept in.
Here's us the next morning. wanted a group shot with our packs on. yes I'm wearing shorts and gaiters.
The hike back was short and uneventful. It was a little warm, and good thing I was wearing shorts. The shadows are very long cause it was so early.
One last shot of the summit before we leave.
done
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Wittenberg 3/17
- Jon
- Posts: 324
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:43 pm
- Location: Bangor, PA
- mike
- Posts: 1442
- Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
- Location: Ravena, NY
Re: Wittenberg 3/17
Nice trip report! I always like the views on Wittenberg Mtn. Looks like you guys had a nice clear day. The icy trails have been fairly common in the last month. Microspikes for sure! A lot of the ice melted over the weekend. Hopefully, by next weekend, it will all be dirt.
- Jon
- Posts: 324
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:43 pm
- Location: Bangor, PA
Re: Wittenberg 3/17
Thanks mike. You know it's funny cause we drove up the thruway and it was an utter fog. Couldn't see anything beyond a few hundred yards. We checked the weather before we ran out of cell service on 28 and it said it would be "sunny" in west shokan by 10:00 AM. It was 9:50 and we were driving through a fog and then we hit Woodland vallyey at 10. It all of a sudden was sunny as can be. The clouds blew back off the mountains which is why I took that shot. It was amazing and the weather stayed clear all the way through the whole night. It was a little chilly but great visibility.mike wrote:Nice trip report! I always like the views on Wittenberg Mtn. Looks like you guys had a nice clear day. The icy trails have been fairly common in the last month. Microspikes for sure! A lot of the ice melted over the weekend. Hopefully, by next weekend, it will all be dirt.
I dunno if that ice will ever melt. It's like a meat locker up there everything is so cold and there's very little sunlight penetration to the forest floor. I'd imagine it will melt sometime, but not anytime soon. I'll definitely bring my crampons next time I go above 3500 until at least end of April.
- mike
- Posts: 1442
- Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
- Location: Ravena, NY
Re: Wittenberg 3/17
We hiked Huntersfield Mtn on Sunday. We started late. We had fog all the way, until we reached about 2000' on Rt 23. Then we popped thru the clouds. I was a little worried at first. By the time we got to the TH, it was warm and not a cloud in the sky.
We get fog up-and-down the Hudson River and this fog will float out to the Eastern Escarpment.
We didn't have any snow or ice the entire trip. Oh...maybe a small patch here-or-there. The heat this week should take care of it.
We get fog up-and-down the Hudson River and this fog will float out to the Eastern Escarpment.
We didn't have any snow or ice the entire trip. Oh...maybe a small patch here-or-there. The heat this week should take care of it.
-
- Posts: 496
- Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:46 pm
Re: Wittenberg 3/17
Sweet hike! Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.