Monroe & Washington
March 21, 2009
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Back to the mountains! The weather forecast looked pretty promising so we
set our sites on Washington. While the morning started pretty cool (8
degrees at 6:30am in Twin) we figured we could start leisurely and headed up
Ammo at the crack of 9:30.
Our hike started with clear skies, not a cloud in sight. The trail was a bit icy
in spots, but we managed fine bare-booting up to the Gem Pool. Bob was
snapping photos along the way and we quickly shed quite a few layers.
At the pool, we put on the crampons. Now it was a bit more work. We haven't
worn crampons all winter, and the steep trail proved pretty challenging. I
decided that crampons should come with the same heel 'lifters' as our
snowshoes.
We got up to the hut in 2 hours, marveling at the views and enjoying the
warming temps. I was able to get up to the roof top of the hut, still an
incredible amount of snow blown into the entrance side of the hut. As Monroe
looked so close, we felt obigated to grab the peak before heading over to
George.
Still perfect blue skies and very little breeze. We passed a number of hikers
(some skiers) and everyone seemed to be in high spirits given the lovely day.
We found ourselves at the Westside trail junction and started up the final
section to the summit. Here we started to slow down a bit. The crampons
(and steep Ammo trail) had taken a bit of a toll, and we both were feeling the
start of a heel blister. Great to have a camera, a built in excuse for frequent
stops.
We finally reached the peak around 1pm. The wind had picked up a bit so we
put on our shells again for the obligatory photos. Still nice enough to stroll
onto the observatory deck, and then spend quite a bit of time on the back
side facing Wildcat. Out of the wind here, it made for a very comfortable stop.
There were about 15 skiers gathered in one area, and then about a dozen of
us hikers in a second area. We talked with two women who were in the
middle of a Presi Traverse - Bob blew protocal to ask one of the women her
age and we were impressed that this attractive, 60 yr old woman was such an
accomplished hiker. Yes many of us hike on well into our years, but great to
see such a strong hiker (3rd time this WEEK she was on washington).
We nibbled a bit and figured it was time to head down. We were able to take
a few short cuts - the snow was fairly crusty, with no postholing. We dropped
straight down towards the Ammonoosuc, then followed another 'winter' trail that finally
joined the Ammo trail just before it headed into the trees.
Out of the heavier wind, the breeze now blowing up from the valley was feeling
pretty warm. We shedded our jackets and braved the steep trail back to the
Gem pool. While we had a blast butt sliding the last time here, I think it
would have been suicide given the hard packed conditions. So we behaved,
kept on the crampons and remained upright.
The pool was a welcome site - great place to delayer further and remove the
crampons. We lounged a bit, basking in the sun and wishing these lovely
late winter conditions would last a bit longer. The final leg of the trail went
fairly quickly and shortly before 4 we were back at the car. Overall time 6.5
hours. Lots of photo ops, long stop up on Washington and all-around
amazing day.
Length of Hike: 6:30 hours
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