That's a new word I made up. It's a combination of brutal and beautiful. I successfully* completed my first wintery type hike in wintery type weather with wintery type gear. Unfortunately, it's late fall here in the Adirondacks, so this does not count as a winter hike...oh well. It was good practice, right?!
[successfully*--as defined by me means that I made it to the intended summit and back to the parking lot without the assistance of a helicopter, Ranger, sled dogs, etc. ]
Brian and I met up with Chip and Siobhan at the Adk Loj a little before 8:00am. We repacked our bags for easy access to necessary gear and made that all important last potty break in a heated restroom. By 8:30, we were set and ready to go. Shortly after the first intersection, we strapped on the snowshoes (I don't have my own snowshoes yet so C&S let me borrow a spare pair--thanks guys!). I've never worn snowshoes in my life, let alone hiked a total of six miles in them so this was truly monumental, LOL!
It was probably 10 to 12 degrees the majority of the hike, so the tube to my camelback froze. My Propel was getting icy but still drinkable. I spent the better part of this section huffing and puffing, trying really hard not to hold up everyone else. We stopped the junction of Wright & Algonquin to take a lunch break. I was so hungry!!!! I managed to wolf down my tuna salad, a few slices of French bread and cheddar cheese and a Twix bar that didn't freeze because I had it in an inside pocket. Of course, as soon as we stopped I started to get cold...really cold. A hiker who was taking his lunch break at the same spot said it was pretty windy at the top and that we might need goggles and face masks.....Oh good Lord, what have I gotten myself into?
At this point, it was .9 of a mile to the summit. I kept chugging away, taking my little "be still my beating heart" breaks---oh, every 20 feet. As soon as we got out of the treeline, I felt the wind! Brian and I stopped behind a rock,oops, I mean erratic to put on the goggles and adjust the balaclavas. It was a slow go for me at this point since my feet were extremely cold and had been since the lunch break. After a little encouragement, I made to the summit. The wind was whipping---someone estimated it was blowing 20+ miles and hour and the temp was maybe 0. We had our picture taken on the rock with the survey marker. I didn't want to spend too much time up there but I finally decided to do something about my felt. Brian helped me out of the snowshoes and boots. I ended up having to put some hot hand packs in my boots hoping they would eventually work. We started down, slow but sure. I could not wait to get back in the treeline---relative warmth and comfort, LOL!
The funnest part of the hike (....fun? goggles, whipping wind, possible frostbite, sore thighs...) was the glissading: sliding down the steep sections on your fanny with your feet up. I know Brian has done this before, but I had not). Anyhoo, we took a well deserved break at the same junction...only 3 miles back to the car..woohoo! I did ok and was keeping up until the last .9 of a mile. My hip/leg/groin muscles were beginning to ache so it was slow going. It was after 4pm so I had to get it together and get out before it got dark(er). Brian and I made it to the parking lot a few minutes before 5pm, dropped our gear at the car and walked to the Loj for some hot chocolate and Siobhan's pumpkin bread. Yay! I did it.
I went to bed last night really sore and when I woke up this morning, I didn't feel too bad. Both of my big toes still feel weird--a little numb really. My neck is achy from the weight of the pack, but other than that, I'm feeling ok. There's hope for me yet!
