Isolation 20-21 Oct 2007
Start and Stopped at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center
Trails: 20 Oct: Glen Boulder to Davis Path to Isolation Trail (camp), Isolation Trail to Summit
21 Oct: Isolation Trail to Davis Path to Boot Spur to Boot Spur Link to Tuckerman's Ravine Trail
Miles: 20th: (5.2 to campsite, plus about 1 mile along road to trail head so call it:) 6mi to campsite plus 1mi to Summit, 1mi back to camp, Total for day: 8mi
21st: 6.2 mi
Total for trip: 14.2
Pack weight: I did not weigh my pack at the start but at the end it weighed 35lbs, my water bladder was empty so add about 3.4 lbs for my 1.5 liters at the start that would give me a pack weight at start of about 38.4 lbs.
Highlights: Summit at Sunset, View from Boot Spur into Notch and Ravine, VERY High Winds in alpine zone, the chili and the wine and the company
Number 22 on my list of NH 4K's
This trip was planned for a several weeks, first suggested by Cumulus on 2 Sep. Since Isolation was still on my list and I've it was often one people leave for last because of accessibility, and looking at maps I could see why, I saw this as a good opportunity to bag this peak and an excuse to go ahead and buy a backpacking tent. I planned on buying one for next year anyway but I wanted to go on this trip so I sped up my research and ended up buying a Cloudmaster from Tarptent, a 2 person so I could use it for trips with my son and because I thought I'd like to have the room.
The original plan was to up via the Dry River trail but the recent rains meant the river crossing would likely be very difficult if not impossible so we changed plans, at Madriver's suggestion, and ended up starting and stopping at Pinkham Notch.
We met at 9AM in the parking lot, made our final decision about the route and waited a bit for Windy who showed up a little late due to car trouble buy we were on our way by 9:25AM.
I saw the pack scale at Pinkham but made a conscious decision not to weigh it, a little helpful self-deception to keep me from cringing at the weight which I thought was close to 50lbs. But as it turns out it was more like 38.4lbs (see above).
About a mile down the road to the Glen Boulder Trail Head then Up we went. The trail was easy to moderate, wet with some nice falls along the way wet in spots but nothing dangerous by far. I saw a couple of grouse in the trees as we ascended but they didn't attack. It got more difficult as we approached the ledge. I had never done this trail before and never saw the leaning boulder which was pretty interesting. We had our lunch under the boulder and watched a couple of groups continue past us. One pair of ladies with a dog said they were headed to Isolation too and had overnight packs, but we never saw them again during the trip. The views of the notch and peaks east and south were very nice from around the boulder.
Once we got up into the alpine zone the wind hit and the temperature dropped. We paused at the Slide Peak to layer up and snap a few pictures and pushed on to the intersection with Davis Path. The wind was fierce that day, I don't know what the speeds were but going up to the intersection and then down Davis Path towards Isolation trail I was nearly knocked off my feet a couple of times. In the early morning hours of the 21st the Observatory registered gusts of 110mph. As strong as the winds were on the 20th we faced even heavier winds on the way out.
We arrived at the intersection of Davis Path a about 2PM, then headed down towards Isolation path and our planned camp site. The winds as I said where fierce, my pack was pushing me to the left all the way down like a sail. We reached the camp site by about 3PM. After setting up tents, unpacking, collecting water we settled down to eat before bagging the summit for sunset.
Madriver lugged up some homemade chili and shared it with us, saving me from having to use my 'self-heating' packaged chill meal. It was very good, tasty, filling and warm. Along with a buttered roll from Windy I had a nice feast that night.
After dinner we weathered a fairly heavy shower for about 30 minutes. There had been a light sprinkle just before dinner but this time we were all driven into our tents. As I mentioned above this was my first time using my new Tarptent and I will say I was very happy with how it performed in the wind and rain. I was dry and comfortable throughout the shower. It wasn't the harshest shower but I'm confident the tent would do well in even more sever rain. During the overnight we had some Very high winds and some more rain and the tent kept me and my equipment dry.
After the rain we headed out to watch the sunset on Isolation. The sky still had clouds but there were plenty of breaks and the setting sun gave us a wonderful show of reds and oranges reflected off the bottoms of the clouds. There was a sign showing us where to leave the main trial to get to the summit but I guess that isn't usually the case as rangers typically will take down the signs, so I took a waypoint on my handheld GPS for next time. While I was doing that a very large and vocal Gray Jay landed on a branch right next to me. Unfortunately I could not get my GPS down and camera out in time to snap a picture. The views were clear and spectacular. The Moon was up, about half, and clear and beautiful. We saw some very neat lenticular cloud formations to the north. Windy brought some wine, and Cumulus' brought some delicious brownies his daughter had made for a summit treat. I could get use to summiting with RoT people!
After the sunset the temps started dropping and the wind started picking up, so we donned our headlamps and headed back to camp. Madriver talked about how concerned he gets about people who hike unprepared, we were going back to the relative comfort and luxury of dry cloths, sleeping bags and tents, anyone lost or in trouble that night would be in for a serious challenge for survival.
Another comment on my tent, it kept me dry and protected from the wind - almost - I had to hunker into my sleeping bag to escape the bit of wind that still came through the bottom netting. I would definitely take this tent out again for a late October trip but it definitely is not the right choice for very cold weather.
The next morning I woke to the sound of voices and the smell of coffee (and me without a cup to share in that luxury!). I got up to see that Madriver already had his tent down and was largely packed up. We all breakfasted up and started packing. Madriver felt he would be very slow that day and wanted to get a head start so he left before the rest of us. About 10 or 15 minutes later Windy headed out to keep herself warm. Maybe 10 minutes later Cumulus and I followed the others, that was about 8:20AM. We met up with Windy at the Isolation trail just a bit down from the campsite. The three of us headed up back towards Davis Path hoping the wind would not be dangerous once we got out into the open.
I eventually caught up with Madriver just below the point where the trail comes out into the open alpine zone. We discussed what our options were if the winds were bad. Madriver initial thought he would go back down Glen Boulder as the quickest way to get off the mountain but thinking it over as I discussed it with him it seemed like Boot Spur and Boot Spur Link might be the better route even if the winds were still strong.
And strong they were! I'm not sure if the winds were worse or about the same as the day before and I was just more tired and less able to stand up against them, but I was really struggling to get up to the Davis Path intersection against the wind. At one point I got knocked over, I managed to land without getting hurt. Windy and Cumulus had caught up to Madriver by now and I looked back to see that they were all making their way up through the wind. At one point I had to lean against a cairn and tried to wait out a particularly strong burst of wind, it wasn't letting up and I finally had to push off and make my way the best I could. I finally made it to the intersection with Davis Path, sat myself down as out of the wind as possible and watched the others struggle up and enjoyed the views. The winds were high but the skies were clear, the horizon was aglow with an ocean view.
When we all gathered it was confirmed that we all wanted too and though the Boot Spur option would be our best bet. So after few minutes we pushed off again into the wind. The intersection with Boot Spur was probably my low point in terms of energy and enthusiasm during the trip but it was well countered by the outstanding views of Washington and the ravines. The others settled in more than I wanted though, I was getting cold and wanted to get over the knob and hopefully out of the wind. So I left ahead of the others. The wind did die down but occasionally gusts would come around and give me a moment of worry as I clambered down the step knob and finial portion of the Boot Spur trail. The views from the top of Boot Spur were well worth the effort and renewed my enthusiasm. We did find ourselves warning many people on their way up about the winds, I hope they fared well.
Boot Spur link was a bit hairy but manageable. I stopped to wait for the others just before we reached Harvard Cabins, I didn't realize how close we were actually - just about 0.1mi at the most. I stripped off some of my heavy layer and followed the others up to the cabin, they had passed while I stripped off my sweater. At the cabin we all got down to lighter clothing and had something to eat.
The rest of the way was uneventful. I had lead the way most of the trip, on the way up Glen Boulder the others teased me with calling me "Speedy Gonzales' and from then on I felt I had to live up to the reputation :) , but the last 2.4 miles down Tuckerman's ravine trail I was pretty slow. I'm usually slow on the down hill and even though that section of trail is nearly flat and where it isn't flat is gently downhill going but the rocky nature of the path is the kind of path that makes me slow. And I guess as usual I feel a little hesitant to end the trip. Some nice falls along the way, a chipmunk and a rather irate red squirrel I nearly tripped over.
Madriver and Windy made it down first and Madriver needed to get going so I missed saying goodbye to him. I made it down to Pinkham about 2PM, Cumulus was not far behind. Cumulus, Windy and I said our goodbyes and got into our cars for the trip home.
It was a wonderful trip for me. I was technically prepared but not properly "RoT prepared" next time I will know better! And I hope there will be many, many more next times.
Picture:
http://flickr.com/photos/thinfea/sets/72157602621480724/
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