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November 25, 2005 |
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To work off our Thanksgiving feast at the Highland Center we choose to summit Mt Pierce and try to make it over to Eisenhower.
We started at the Highland Center and were joined by Christine, and MichaelJ. Sunny skies and little wind awaited us as we start out the Crawford Path, however the forecast was for temps just above zero with 30 mph winds. The trail was not broken out until we reached the split where the trail from the Clinton road park area merged in. We had started in snowshoes and left them on, even though we met others that were bare booting. An hour or so into the hike, 4 Grey Jays found us. Eventualy we gave in and all (all but Geri that is) took turns feeding them from both our hands and mouths! (okay - so only I did that one, but it was fun) The birds followed us up the trail for the enxt 30 minutes looking for more handouts, but eventually gave up as we reached windier areas. Soon we found ourselves just below the summit behind another group that was donning more layers before making pressing on to the summit. We donned face masks and googles before making the final ascent. Off to the side of teh summit is a protected area in a group of pine trees where we could enjoy the bright sun, but stay out of the wind. We enjoyed our lunch here and discussed the plan to head over to Eisenhower which was peaking in and out of the clouds. After lunch we departed the summit and returned to the Crawford path heading towards Eisenhower. Although the trail had been tracked out the day before, with a foot of snow overnight, and 3 foot drifts we realized it would be slow going. As we reached the exposed areas of the ridge we bagan to feel the full impact of the wind, which was strong enough to make it difficult to stand at times. At 2 PM we were only @ 2/3 of the way to the summit. Based on the conditions and time, the group made a decission to turn around at this time and return to the Highland Center. Our descent was fairly quick. We ran into several groups that we planning on camping out over night at the tent site. After changing into dry clothes we stopped at the Mooseland Grill for dinner. |
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Directions to the trailhead: Rte 93 north to Exit 35. Follow Route 3 East to the intersection with Route 302 in Twin Mountain. Take a right onto Route 302 adn follow it Wotuh for @ 10 miles. The Highland Center and Crawford Station will be in your right. |
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and our