Baxter Creek 6.1n, 6.1pd
Left home at 7:15 and arrived at Exit 440 on I 40 at 8:18; this was considerably earlier than our 9:00 planned meeting time. This Sunnoco truck stop is not the neatest; I had no desire to order anything from their eatery. The temperature was 16 degrees F.
BZ Lane and Bob Bolinger arrived ~8:45; Bob wanted to drive so I put my gear in his vehicle. We started on the Baxter Creek Trail at 9:20; I was comfortable with my two wicking long sleeve T’s (plus summer long sleeve shirt with pockets—the pockets are the reason that I wore it), vest, and duck hunting cap (with ear flaps down). However, my cc-ski mittens failed to warm all my finger tips until we were well into our hike (next winter hike I’ll also bring a pair of my thin running gloves as a first layer). This trail has more than a 4,000’ gain in its 6.1 miles; however, the gain was typically gradual and not as bad as some had said it would be. We stopped for lunch (pic) and I put on my Crampons for the snow depth had increased (my new ones are really slick—LL Bean with a Vibram sole—I wore them the rest of the trail up and all the way back to the car). We pursued on our trek and arrived at the junction of Mt. Sterling trail at 12:55 (see pic).
On the return I climbed the fire tower and shot a few pictures (one attached); the tower itself had glass windows so I shot the pics from the landing below it. On the return trip we paid more attention to the giant hemlocks; that is BZ and Bob by one of them. We met two backpackers; those poor guys would have to walk in the dark for perhaps their last mile if they wanted to reach Campsite #38. One of the good things going for them is that they could follow our tracks in the snow; that should be helpful since the trail was not always distinct.
BZ Lane and Bob Bolinger arrived ~8:45; Bob wanted to drive so I put my gear in his vehicle. We started on the Baxter Creek Trail at 9:20; I was comfortable with my two wicking long sleeve T’s (plus summer long sleeve shirt with pockets—the pockets are the reason that I wore it), vest, and duck hunting cap (with ear flaps down). However, my cc-ski mittens failed to warm all my finger tips until we were well into our hike (next winter hike I’ll also bring a pair of my thin running gloves as a first layer). This trail has more than a 4,000’ gain in its 6.1 miles; however, the gain was typically gradual and not as bad as some had said it would be. We stopped for lunch (pic) and I put on my Crampons for the snow depth had increased (my new ones are really slick—LL Bean with a Vibram sole—I wore them the rest of the trail up and all the way back to the car). We pursued on our trek and arrived at the junction of Mt. Sterling trail at 12:55 (see pic).
On the return I climbed the fire tower and shot a few pictures (one attached); the tower itself had glass windows so I shot the pics from the landing below it. On the return trip we paid more attention to the giant hemlocks; that is BZ and Bob by one of them. We met two backpackers; those poor guys would have to walk in the dark for perhaps their last mile if they wanted to reach Campsite #38. One of the good things going for them is that they could follow our tracks in the snow; that should be helpful since the trail was not always distinct.
We got back to the Big Creek Campsite at 4:00; Bob then took me back to my vehicle (today I had an ice wrap rather than my typical "Ice Up" and could drive and ice my knee at the same time). I arrived home ~5:40.
posted by Wendell Liemohn at 8:38 PM
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