Saturday, December 24, 2022
Start/End: Roaring Brook TH
Miles: 18.25
Elevation gain/loss: 7844’/8018′
Peaks: Colvin, Blake, Nippletop, Dial, Bear Den Mountain, Noonmark shoulder
We started out from the trailhead at 5:30am, with me, David, Megan, and Andy. We’d been planning to park in the Ausable parking lot, but the plow edge had left a ~12″ ridge of snow along the entry to the parking lot that had frozen solid so we parked across the street instead. We bundled up in the 10-degree cold and headed out on the road. We made quick time along the partially plowed road, making the first 3 miles in just over an hour. As we headed into the mountains, it only got colder and windier. As we passed the turnoff for the HG Leach Trail up towards Bear Den and Dial, we saw snowshoe tracks so we felt better about the odds of the trail being broken out. As we started up Gill Brook Trail, we found Gill Brook was raging to the point that the ‘scenic’ trail sections were often overwhelmed by the water, washing the trail away in its flooded banks. We had to backtrack and go the ‘easy’ trail route instead.
We had a few water crossings, where small trickles had expanded to become streams as well as one small stream crossing that required ingenuity to get across with mostly dry feet. Megan slipped while crossing and ended up with a wet leg up to her knee; given the cold and windchill, she and Andy decided to turn back rather than risk it. David and I pushed on, overseen by a cloudy sky. We took the trail spur over to Colvin and Blake; it was very steep, icy, and technical. We hit both summits, and then headed back up and over Colvin to get down to where we started, suffering the entire way. It had started to lightly snow and the wind was picking up; forecast had predicted -35 windchill and a high of 5 degrees actual at the summits. We hesitated but after a quick snack, we started our climb up Nippletop. We circled the lake and then began climbing in earnest up a steep, powdery slope; for the most part, the trail was consolidated enough to stay on top of the snow. After an eternity, we topped out by the sign indicating the 0.2mi spur trail over to Nippletop. We took the spur, summited the peak, and then quickly headed back the way we’d come. We enjoyed the descent, though the wind was whining at 30-35 MPH and by the time we made it to Dial, there were some 40-50 MPH gusts that were downright scary. The windchill dropped by at least 15 degrees and my mittens froze into my handshape within a minute. It was intimidating but the only thing we could do was drop in elevation as quickly as possible.
We went over Bear Den Mountain with little fanfare and then on the final climb up to the shoulder of Noonmark Mountain, my left snowshoe became very difficult. The straps came undone at least 5 different times in the course of 15 minutes. I finally just used it like a Croc, dragging it along as we hustled downhill towards the flat and packed road. It did eventually trip me and send me flying, but I just picked it up and hobbled down the trail with one snowshoe and one bare boot for the last 0.5mi to the road. I strapped them to my pack and we knocked out the ~2 mile road walk in 45 minutes, making it back to the car without needing to turn on our headlamps because the terrain was smooth enough in the fading light. A challenging but triumphant start to winter!
Transcending Mountains 