Tuckerman Ravine – Mt. Washington NH

Saturday April 8, 2006

Group: BAE SYSTEMS Outdoor Adventure Club
Hikers: Jodie, Millie, Pam, Pat, Randy
Weather: 20s and 30s, Overcast, Windy in the Ravine
Miles: 6.2
Elevation Gain: 2500 ft
Duration: 5.0 hrs

I led a group of people from work up into Tuckerman Ravine on Saturday. The conditions were vastly different than my trip the previous week.

This trip was part of the BAE SYSTEMS Outdoor Adventure Club, of which I am currently President. Early in the week, it looked like nine people were coming, but two of them were planning on skiing and decided the conditions weren’t looking that good so they dropped out. Two other people didn’t show up, so that left us with a group of five. Four of us, Randy, Pam, Jodie, and I, drove up together from Hooksett. Millie was staying in North Conway anyway, so she met us at the trailhead. We had a fairly experienced group. Millie had even thru-hiked the AT last summer.

We started hiking at 10:00am. The trail was covered in snow from top to bottom. There was only about an inch or two at the base, but progressively more as we climbed. The snow was well packed by all the hikers and the snowcats that go up the trail occasionally. It is 2.4 miles to Hermit Lake shelters and the caretaker’s cabin. Those 2.4 miles are a wide trail that climbs steadily, but never steeply. We had a good group, and we made it up to the cabin without any difficulties. We took a break at the cabin to layer up and grab some food. There were about thirty other people doing the same thing, most of whom had skis or a snowboard.

From the cabin, the trail narrows to a normal hiking trail and climbs a couple steep pitches. We got chilly during our break at the cabin, but the steep pitches warmed us up nicely. After those steep sections, the trail levels out on the floor of the ravine and it is only a short climb up lunch rocks. We took a fairly long break at lunch rocks admiring the steep walls of the ravine. A few people skied down while we were there, but most people were either hanging out at lunch rocks or climbing up the ravine with their skis. There was a bunch of fresh snow (18+ inches that week) that was covered with about an inch of crust. The crust was easy to kick solid steps through and provided a surprising amount of friction. I tried to slide a few times on purpose and didn’t have much luck.

The climb down was fun and fairly uneventful. Pam tried her crampons for the first time, but they kept loosening up on her, so she gave up on them. The size adjustments on the crampons were changing after she put the crampons on. We think the extra piece that stuck out the back due to her relatively small feet (one size fits all crampons) was catching in the snow and changing the size adjustment. The trail wasn’t icy, so she was fine without them.

The descent from the cabin to the trailhead on the wide Tucks trail always seems to go by quickly. The trail allows two, three, or four hikers to walk next to each other easily, which facilitates good conversations. Jodie and Millie enjoy exchanging NOLS and AT stories. They seemed like old friends even though they had just met. And, of course, at some point the conversation turned to food. We decided to head down to Moat Mountain Smoke House and Brewing Co. in North Conway for some food. We reached the trailhead around 3:00pm, checked out the visitor center for a few minutes and then headed to North Conway for dinner.

We had a great hike! Tuckerman’s Ravine in the spring is sort of a cross between hiking and a circus because of all the people. It’s certainly not a hike for those seeking solitude, but it’s a fun hike with breathtaking views nonetheless.

Tuckerman Ravine - Mt. Washington, NH

Friday March 31, 2006
Temperatures broke the 70 degree mark in southern NH for the first time this year, and I decided to take the opportunity to head up to Tuckerman ravine. I’m so glad I did! It was absolutely gorgeous! I started hiking from Pinkham Notch around 8:30am and reached the caretaker’s cabin about an hour and ten minutes later. I took a break for a few minutes, grabbed a snack and some water, and was very glad I decided to hike in shorts and gaiters without the polypro.

From the cabin, I headed towards Hillman’s Highway, the prominent gully on the south side of the ravine. I stopped at the base to get out my helmet and ice axe, and then began the long steady climb. I expected the climb to be long, which it definitely is, but I didn’t expect it to be quite as steep as it is. Particularly at the top, the gully exceeds 45 degrees. The gully seems to increase in steepness with every step. To compound the difficulty, the snow got more firm with every step. At the very top, I was basically on all fours kicking steps (very shallow steps) and scrambling up the slope. It’s pretty cool to all of a sudden pop out on flat terrain after climbing something so steep. I topped out at 11:15, took a break for awhile, and then hiked around the ravine to right gully. I contemplated going back down Hillman’s because I was feeling pretty wiped from the climb, but the steep, firm snow didn’t make the descent very appealing. I knew the snow would be softer on the other side of the ravine and I wanted to get into the bowl anyway, so Right Gully it was.

It took very little time to hike around the ravine, and after my break I was feeling pretty strong again. I got to the point where the summer Tucks trail climbs out of the ravine and I wondered whether that would be an easy way down. I headed down that way for a little bit until I saw a few skiers and a line of people coming up. I realized I was heading straight for “The Lip”, which looked frighteningly steep, so I decided I better climb back up and look for Right Gully. It was hard to figure out exactly what part of the ravine I was above. I had descended Right Gully a couple years ago in May after climbing Lobster Claw Gully, but I remembered Right Gully wasn’t obvious from above. Soon I came upon a gully heading down into the ravine. I thought it was too soon for it to be right gully, but it looked big and not too steep. I decided to check it out. After testing the snow a little (nice and soft) and seeing where the gully went I decided to give it a go. Close to halfway down, I noticed I was next to a bunch of vertical ice. Now I knew I was definitely not in right gully, but in what I believe is called “The Sluice”. The last thing I needed was for a big chunk of ice to break off in the warm sun, and if I continued straight down toward Lunch Rocks I would be in the ice fall zone for awhile. So, I traversed as quickly as possible below the ice towards Right Gully. Now safely out of the ice fall zone, I cruised down the bottom of Right Gully with a sitting glissade before finishing it of with a stylish standing glissade. I mingled around Lunch Rocks for awhile taking some pictures and watching the skiers, including one guy who jumped off one of the smaller waterfalls on the headwall and then tumbled down to the base of the ravine (to resounding cheers, of course).

The hike down from the ravine was more interesting than usual. Just after leaving Lunch Rocks, I passed a yellow lab a little bit in front of a hiker. The lab seemed to be trekking straight up the trail and not really paying attention to the guy, but I didn’t think too much about it. Then when I got down to the caretaker’s cabin, an older woman (70s?) asked if I had seen a dog. I told her I had, and then she said, “Well, why didn’t you tell it to come back here. That’s my dog.” I told her it was near some guy so I assumed it was his dog. She said her husband had gone up there to get the dog. I took a break for a little while and then continued down. Shortly, I caught sight of an older women (70?) hiking down the trail. She had hiking poles and was actively sliding with her trail running shoes at all the slippery spots. She was moving pretty well and it took me awhile to catch up with her. We then hiked down the rest of the trail together at a brisk pace. She has been retired for ten years and lives in Berlin, NH. Obviously, she is still very active and agile. It made me hope I’m in such good shape in 50 years.

It took about an hour to descend from Lunch Rocks to the trailhead. I was down around 2:00pm.
Distance: 6.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 3600 ft
Time: 5.5 hrs

Pack Monadnock (North & South)

Sunday, March 26, 2006

I hiked the last section of the Wapack Trail with some people from work. We started at the northern end of trail and hiked south over North Pack and then South Pack Monadnock. The hike ended at Miller State Park. It was a nice hike. It is rocky in some spots, most notably coming down from South Pack, but overall it's fairly easy. We had a good group of 6 people. Everyone had a good time.

Distance: 5.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1600 ft
Time: 4.5 hours