This year marked the second year that I hiked with a great group of guys. We have hung out and did other activities throughout last year that I felt like we have been doing this for years. It was a little different this year as we had to delay the hike later into February and in retrospect it was a good thing that we did because this past winter had many warm spells. We stayed in Keene Valley, NY as opposed to closer to the central High Peaks. Our group had some new faces and they were are great addition to the hiking crew. And we also started the trip a little earlier in the week, Thursday, to allow for more R&R before the work week.
Driving into the High Peaks Region regardless of where you are coming from, is always a spectacular moment. The windy roads and looming mountain peaks really does it for me.
Big Slide mountain in the background
We stayed in the heart of Keene Valley, right on the main road in a lovely house that easily accommodated all 10 of us. Its the largest group I have ever hiked with. As with all big groups, we trickled into town throughout the day until 1 am Friday. This was different as we usually have a big potluck dinner where we all sit around and enjoy a meal together. It was a bit broken up this year but fun nevertheless.
Majority of us got into town early enough to enjoy the area and that included stopping into The Mountaineer to look for some deals. Some of the crew had to rent some hiking equipment so it was nice to get that taken care of before dinner.
And of course there is the trip into the bigger town, Lake Placid, to see what is going on at this time if the year. February, I learned, is the time when most of the winter competitions take place, primarily on the weekends. Even though it wasn't quite the weekend yet, the town was bustling with athletes, their families, and simple tourists like us. We did the usual, hit the souvenir shops, wonder around Easter Mountain Sports, and enjoy the scenery.
Back at the house, we enjoyed our dinner, and we each took to our own spot in the house to lay out the gear, and have small talk about our gear and things to pack and not to pack. After look at the forecast as predicted by the Vermont Weather Service, we understood that it was going to be a cold start with potentially high winds. Another concern we discussed was how packed with the Garden Parking lot be at this time of the year? After all the gear was packed and we agreed on the final plans, we crawled into bed around 10:30pm. With 10 guys getting up at once in the morning, it was going to be quiet the show. The original goal was to get to the Garden by 5:30 am but we all made it out of the house after 6 am. Note to self, there is a lot to be done, including packing lunches, boiling water for drinking water, eating breakfast, bathroom time, and last minute packing.
To our surprise, the Garden parking had 3 cars. Once out of the cars, there was plenty of adjustment and fine tuning going on as we strapped on the snow shoes and adjusted the head lamps. We were on the trail at 6:37 am. With 10 sets of snowshoes crunching on the crispy snow, it made a lot of noise and it times we sounded like soldiers marching down a trail.
The trail was moderate and we made good time before we hit the first major hill. As the terrain grew steeper, the pack spread out during equipment adjustments and breaks. As we marched out, we became more comfortable with each others pace.
We reached Brother 1 which yielded some nice views, but because it was till early, the clouds still hung low over the higher peaks in the distance. The clouds appeared to be breaking up enough to give us hope for good views at the summit.
Each of the Brother Summits provided a short period of taking photos, snacking, and regrouping. The steeper sections definitely gave way to some nice views.
We finally made it to the final stretch before the summit. At this point we had broken up into 3 groups. The last group slowed down quiet a bit because one of the guys was cramping up really bad. Despite the water, electrolyte pills, and stretches the cramping didn't give up. This eventually cost him the summit view but it prevented additional muscle harm and unforeseen injury.
The final 0.3 miles was very steep but the short push was rewarded with amazing views. The sun was shining and I was surrounded by a great team of hikers, what more could one ask for. We summited at 11 am with plenty of daylight to spare.
After many photos, some summit grub, and rest we headed back to join up with the group that waiting just beyond Brother 3. Some of us enjoyed a significant amount of butt sledding on plastic sleds that were designed for this very purpose. On this hike I didn't even bring one, not the biggest fan partly because my longer snowshoes prevent me from having a good long ride.
On Brother 2 once agin, we soaked up some sun, chatted with a few passing hikers, and took many more photos. At this point, the rest of crew made it to the summit and radioed in that they were heading back. We were making good progress on the way down at a steady gait.
We made it back to the truck at 3:30 pm. Since we carpooled, we packed 6 people in and head back to the house to clean up and rest before dinner.
Enjoyed a very nice dinner at The 46er restaurant in Keene, NY. I had some really delicious Duck Fat Bread Rolls and Ribeye Steak. The experience was great and I would recommend this place for dinner.
TRIP STATS:
2/21/2020
Start: 0637
Summit: 1100
Left summit: 1130
Finished: 1530
Trip Duration: 9 hours with many stops
Trip Miles: 8.0 miles
Temperature: 8 F
Summit temp: 20's with wind chill
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