The Mystery House

Today was the first successful bushwhack to the summit of Bald Mtn (Waitsfield, VT).  Back in November I snowshoed the route in blue, which took me to the top of some fantastic cliffs that overlook the Mad River Valley.  Today's route in red circumnavigated the cliffs, rose into a notch just below the cliffs, then turned SSW to reach the summit.  This post is about something astonishing I saw up on the cliffs.  Now bear in mind that this entire ridge shows no signs of use except by logging every now and then and moose and deer (and mice, rabbits, etc.).  It's quite desolate, with no human footprints other than mine.

Today, on the way to Bald Mtn, Spanky and I explored an old abandoned road which we'd found before and used it to as a landmark and as a way to move quickly on the east side of the ridge.  We'd taken it up to where it evaporated and from there climbed to the to of the cliffs (shown in blue above.  Today, we took it down for 15 minutes looking for views into Northfield.  After a bit, we turned around and headed back to the spot where I wanted to enter the woods to continue on.  I don't know what the road is - too blown out for cars or ATV's, block by fallen trees in spots making even snowmobile awkward.  But on rounding a turn, I looked up and high on the cliffs in front of me was a house.  It was a dull grey, the same color as the cliffs.  It was like finding a monopoly board in the middle of the saharan desert.  Clearly that was the point of the road, but the road just dissolves near the summit - clearly I've got to go back.  

I've been on top of those cliffs and under them a number of times and never saw that house.  I was a little confused about it's exact location since I'd been up on those very cliffs just a month ago, right near the spot where I thought the house stood.  I've also looked at those cliffs from the south and have never seen that house.  I took a picture.

When I got home I stared at satellite images and found no evidence of a house anywhere.  i did notice that in the summer there are tracks higher up than I'd found before, so the road dissolves but then reconstitutes higher up.  I noticed when I took the picture that I was facing along the road but turned a bit to the right to see the house so I figured it wouldn't be hard to confirm that the house was on top of the same cliffs (the terrain is ragged enough that it could be a ridge in the foreground or a different ridge entirely, given that I'd never stumbled on that house before).

I noted the timestamp on the photo and based on my known start time, confirmed that the photo was taken 1:20 into my trek.  I looked on my Garmin GPS track and determined I was at the position of those gree dots in the next picture.

I was on a SW bearing and looking almost due west toward the cliffs and narrowed it down to the area swept by the pink beam in the picture.  I've looked carefully over satellite pictures of the area before, looking for old logging roads, and had never seen a house.  This gave me a specific target area though.  I looked again at a variety of satellite images and could not find any structure at all.

 And yet it was clear exactly where it should be:  On the ship's prow:  the height of the cliffs overlooking Northfield.

The next photo is my track on the satellite view.  There are a few noteworthy features.  My red track comes in at the upper right.  I took the side trip to explore the views down to Northfield and on the return, came in on the little "U" track just above center-right.  I notice the house and snapped the photo while standing right where the red track enters the picture on the right.  I continued north, then entered the woods and dropped SW along a drainage that follows along the base of a vertical cliff face which appears as a NNE/SSW-trending grey line alongside my track in the center of the photo.  That's the top of a 60-80' vertical wall.  My track continues south as I maintained an elevation of about 2100' to come around the big ship's prow where the house was located.  I headed NNW up into the notch and then hooked SW to hit Bald Mtn.  On the diagram I note the curve of the ship's prow in light green (the top of the cliff band) and the approximate location of the house based on my photo as a pale yellow disk.

I searched satellite images and finally found an object that had straight, seemingly man-made lines, including lines at right angles.  This must be the house.  The location is severely dramatic but I can't imagine that anyone's been up there in a long time.  During hunting season there was no indication anyone was using it.  The old logging road doesn't go that far any more (downed trees make it so inaccessible that I bushwhacked up to the top of the cliffs on my first snowshoe there).

There's no indication of snowmobile use, ski or snowshoe tracks, or anything other than deer tracks.  The road to the house has huge washouts and fallen trees, making it unlikely a vehicle has been up there in several years.

I've been all over the rocks at the top-left of the picture below, looking out over the notch to the west, which put me about 30 - 40' feet to the west (and a little north) of the house - and I never knew it was there.

I'm going to go back this winter and poke around a bit.  I'm absolutely intrigued.  I might check in at the town hall too and see if anyone has any record of that structure - which I believe is in Waitsfield.

Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe

Date:  11/17/2012
Team:  tmail, dogman, trudy, spanky, chris, mark, g-$$$
Route:  Crawford Path out and back
Time:  7.5 hours
Conditions:  No snow, but a lot of ice on the trails.  Microspikes would've been helpful.  The ice was extensive on the entire ascent to Pierce and in the saddle between Pierce and Eisenhower.  After that, no issues.

photos here:

Date:  11/10/2012
Team:  Dogman, Trudy, Spanky & me
Route:  Franconia Ridge Loop (counter-clockwise)
Conditions:  Up to a foot of fresh snow on the ridge, no traction needed anywhere except on the descent below Greenleaf Hut - wore microspikes.

Photos here.

Franconia Ridge Lafayette & Lincoln

October 13
Me and Spanky
photos here

Mt. Washington

Checkin' 'em off the list.  October 6 w/ Dogman.
photos

Franconia Ridge Loop

little haystack:  1:09
lafayette:  1:37
parking lot:  2:51

team:  dogman, trudy, chris & margaret

Pemi Speed Loop

Date:  9/1
Route:  Counter-Clockwise from the campground on the Kanc
Time:  11:20
Splits:

• 00:00  Start
• 02:15  Bondcliff
• 02:40  Bond
• 04:00  South Twin
• 06:00 Garfield
• 07:45 Lafayette
• 11:20 End

This was 25 minutes slower than my PR of 10:55.

At the same time, John was running in the opposite direction targeting 8hrs.  We crossed between Galehead and Garfield.

Also at the same time, tMail was running counter-clockwise.  He hit 8:30 and passed me on the summit of Liberty Springs.

Mt. Washington Speed Climb

Mission:  I tried to (and did) break my speed ascent record.  The descent was casual.
Date:  8/24/2012
Route:  Pinkham Notch to Summit via Tuckerman Ravine Trail.

Distance:  4.2 miles
Elev Gain:  4250

Time:

Elev (ft) vs. Time (min) - Green line is average ascent rate

• To Caretaker Cabin:  0:40
• To Base of Waterfall:  0:55
• To Auto Road:  1:30
• To Summit Sign:  1:33 

VAM

• For 1st 40 minutes = 854 m/hr
• For last 53 minutes = 808 m/hr
• Overall = 828 m/hr (45 ft/min)

Pictures:  Here

Franc Ridge Loop w/ Spanky

4 hours including lunch, stops, snacks, swimming.
pics here:

Franc Ridge Loop w/ tMail & MadDog

4.5 hr loop due to sprained ankle and maddog's bum knee.  tmail in 2:26.

VT100

Crewed tMail in Vermont 100 w/ DogMan, Spungie and Pat "The Irish Rose".  tMail's trip report is here.

My Trip Report:

[This message is subject to the 'What Happens At The VT100 Stays At The VT100' rule of self-censorship, or WHVT100.]

Some Notes:

TIMING:
*  tMail rocked it like a hurricane.  to hit sub-24 he consistently averaged a 22hr pace for the first 55-ish miles, and during the last 45-ish miles barely slowed, averaging faster than a 22:30 pace. he finished the last 2 miles at a 'walk' without sacrificing those stats, but summoned the last of it and ran the finish line like a pro.

*  the low point physically this year was not Tracer Brook (mi 57), but The Spirit of '76 (mi 77).  we made an extended stop for soup/potatoes/etc. and his body said 'oh hey, we're done, right?'

*  the rally:  within an hour out of Spirit of '76 not only did his mojo return, but tMail hit his groove and consistently maintained a 12-13 min/mile pace for long intervals resulting in recovering from a 23hr forecast to a 22.5 based solely on the minutes we put in the bank up to mile 88.  While Spungie had come to meet us a minute or two out of Spirit of '76, we arrived at Bill's (mile 88) early enough to surprise the crew who was busy napping, puttering about and watching a runner bleed from a face-plant-induced open head wound.  the rally continued, arriving at aid stations and the last manned stop (Polly's) ahead of schedule.

CREW:
*  This year's 4-man crew with last year's event as learning, was like a sort-of decently-oiled machine.  The Irish Rose drove, DogMan navigated and the two never made a single error, taking us to stops, stores, gas, ice-cream, etc. like they were born there (possible exception is getting from Bill's to Polly's, but that was because of the directions.  I wasn't there, but it sounds like carnage, with cars going every which way).  Spungie and I kept the humor and retard-commentary going in the back of the car.  But at the handler stations, with 4 of us with our thinking caps on, we remembered just about everything.  As an example, Pat:  "we're low on water". Spungie:  "we're low on fruit".  Dogman "I'll cut watermelon".  Mutha: "this reminds me of Spungie's Grandmother".

*  Kudos to DogMan for playing Mother Hen.
*  Kudos to The Irish Rose for maintaining an unwavering calm in the face of uncertainty
*  Kudos to Spungie for being focused on tMail's nutritional needs (tracking calories, in this case)
*  Kudos to me for the "What the fuck are doing on my beach?" story.

PACING:
I paced from Camp 10 Bear last year, and again this year - making it to the finish line w/ our runner this time.  I have a few comments as a newbie pacer for any of you that have not done this before and may do it in the future:

*  'Pacing' is 0.01% physical
*  'Pacing' is 25% being able to estimate speed, know where you are and estimate arrival times at stops, and likely finish times w/ margin of error.
*  'Pacing' is 74.99% mental.  While the goal of the pacer sounds physical ("get your runner across the finish line at all costs"), the demand kicks in when the need is presented and it shows itself like this [Note the WHVT100 rule - so this is just the tip of the iceberg, it's up to me and tMail to remember the details]"
    - after an hour of silence:  "mutha....i don't visit my parents enough..."
    - after an hour of silence:  "mutha....i don't think i'll ever run again..."
    - etc.
*  I blew it a few times when it was my responsibility to keep the shit together:
    - we got passed by a truck on the approach to a fork in the road.  i instinctively followed the truck.  tmail noticed that the route went the other way. goddamn it.
    - on some really long stretches with no turns after dark, the event organizers spaced the chem lights pretty far apart.  when tMail asked "are we on the route? i haven't seen a chem light", I had to crank up to an 8 min pace to find the next light to confirm.  I should've known we were good and on the route.
    - early in our run together tMail asked me the time to the next stop.  i had no idea. i never made that mistake again.  for the next 7 hours i had all arrival times estimated to within 5 minutes of our actual arrival times.
    - i got 2 extra-strength tylenols for tMail and left them in the car.  he asked for them and at the next med stop i forgot to get more because while the crew was attending to his needs, i got busy eating and drinking to meet mine and forgot.  major embarrassment.

My memory of the 30 miles (8 hours) was of only two things:
    - twice tMail's rally nearly left me huffing and puffing in the dust on two major ascents
    - the rest of it was all about the mental game.  as evidence, that was all i chatted about w/ dogman on the way home.  all.  really.

*  As Spungie and I were discussing while crewing, being happy and smiling will elevate your mood and dull pain.  Being angry, depressed or forelorn will cause physical pain to deepen.  The role of the pacer is really to dull physical pain to bring the pace up and cross the finish line, but to stay within the mental focus of the runner.  Don't tell dumbass jokes unless the runner asks for one.  frame all 'problems' expressed by the runner as positive elements within the runner's control. If it requires lying, don't say it.  Find the truth in all positive, uplifting aspects of the subjects that is on the runner's mind.  for example:
    - runner:  "i don't think i'll ever run again ..."
    - pacer:  "that's a great option too.  follow your heart and do what makes you happy.  nobody cares if you run unless you like to run.  take up ballroom dancing or video games.  your family and friends take pleasure in your happiness.  we're just following your lead."

THE RACE:
*  This race, as an observer, is a lesson in interpersonal dynamics.  The fascinating variations in relationships and crew/runner dynamics is astounding.  Some examples (no gender bias intended - these are just some specifics):
    - runner wife heaps abuse on miserable husband crew.  she appears to not at all be able to get mind into a good place.
    - runner wife has not clue why husband is even doing this, but is correct in her assessment of how stupid the event is, in a way.
    - runner husband is easy-going, happy guy.  wife is the same but under pressure to support husband.  all is good and they are kind and forgiving to each other
    - family supporting father runner.  father goes out of his way to carry found horseshoe 10 miles to give to his kids at the next stop.  kids thrilled.  hugs.
    - aunt runner is met by little nieces and nephews at Margaritaville station.  screaming, hugs, laughing and shouting.  smiles everywhere.
    - business-only support crew mimics NASCAR pit-stop.  runner in-and-out faster than NASCAR.  lug-nuts everywhere.

*  We thought the temps would drop but we sweated our balls off throughout the race (except for tMail's 'low point' at Spirit of '76 where his body decided to check out momentarily.

POST RACE:
*  I drank 2.5 bottles of beer immediately after and had the beer shits when we woke up.  bad move.  next time, hydrate and eat FIRST, then drink
*  Spungie is the greatest guy to hang with while drinking.  I was laughing so hard I was crying, but can't remember what the fuck we were talking about.
*  I brought my own TP and ass-wipes.  smart move.
*  DogMan and I stopped at the Dirty Cowboy Cafe and were astounded by the stupid college students behind the counter.  It was like ordering food at a retard-clinic.

SUMMARY:
This was a great weekend.  Again, lots of fun and good times had by all.  A shit-ton of laughing and enjoyment punctuated by crazed lunacy and focused support of the runner.  Good to get home.

DogMan's Trip Report:

Thanks TMail. Nice chapter(s) to life. And congrats. Excellent dig. Going forward no fear, only methodical assassination. With a big s* eating grin next time. Watch out!

Very grateful to everyone. Highlights:

1) Mutha was in his story telling  prime. Enough said.
2) Kudos to Mutha for the guidance to the finish. Most excellent. A++.
3) Spungie was in his enthusiasm prime, keeping the energy level and attitude in tune all day.
4) Kudos to Spungie for the calorie calculations.
5) Kudos to Pat for the steady hand on the wheel, and the even keel throughout. Great complement to us all.
6) Thanks to MadDog for schooling me on the meadow dinner at Bill's. We cashed in big on that this year, and Spungie brought it home with the tea and dessert. Was some super fine dining.
7) Watch out for the napping demons at Polly's. We should set an alarm next time, just in case.
8) BadWater
9) Grey shorts
10) Keep smiling
11) What a beautiful yet totally f* up event. I am NEVER f* running 100 miles. Really, eh well maybe unorganized 50K, eh maybe 50M, eh....
12) The hallucinations of lights. Wow that was freaky. Seeing a f* horse where there is none, who knew.
13) I did nothing, yet I am totally f* chucked.

Some lessons learned, mostly personal...

0) It's all about the runner.

1) Manage your anxieties, listen more.

2) We definitely had some minor snafu's, but TMail never saw it, so we get an A. If one were to professionalize crewing would probably consider more semi formal separation of concerns and/or lists so we make objective assessments. You get tired, there is confusion. And anxiety. Having some structure to decision making could only help.

3) One particular example of above would be in assessment, having a pre-determined idea of how to decide to push versus pull. I had a major anxiety attack after the send off at 76 that one of two things was about to happen. Either TMail would rally in about 2 miles and smoke it. Or he would keel over and Mutha would be stuck in the middle of no where with a hypothermic whimpering de-hyrdrated undernourished sack of potatoes needing a warm blanket. It turned out A, but would really suck if it were B and we missed it.

4) Need to cut down the amount of s* being carried around. Some low hanging fruit here.

Cross that f* off the list! Hoorah!

Carrigain

July 15
Dogman, Spanky, Trudy and me.
Route:  Nancy Pond Trail to Nancy/Norcross Pond, Down to Stillwater Jct, Desolation Trail over Carrigain to Sawyer River Rd.

Trip Report:
19.2 miles
5700 ft

the dogs survived. 

we didn't run it.  we kept the pace low and did the whole thing in about 8.5 hrs.

the desolation trail is painful.

two guys had hunting rifles on their packs.  don't ask... i didn't.

weirdest thing ever:  encountered two guys on our way down carrigain.  they were also descending.  one carried a fishing pole in one hand.  seriously.  i asked him about it.  he said they wanted to fish in carrigain pond.  see attached image.  in case anyone was wondering, trying to bushwack from the SUMMIT OF CARRIGAIN is insane.  clearly they didn't google the bushwack routes.  the feature to the SSW is "The Captain".

Notes on Carrigain Pond Bushwack:  you don't go up carrigain unless you want to summit.  the advantage is that it gets you close, quickly, but the 'standard' bushwack goes in from the end of the sawyer river road and follows old logging trails.  apparently, going down the desolation trail part way and then heading 'around' carrigain to the 'left' is also a good, but challenging route.

it's important to *not* use the topography as your primary guide.  avoiding swamps, cliffs, blowdowns, etc. is paramount to doing this in a reasonable amount of time.

when you're bored, there are some good discussions out there.  for example:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/printthread.php?t=3097

or

http://www.mountwashington.org/forums/showthread.php?5340-A-Photo-of-quot-The-Captain-quot

Mt. Lincoln

Hit Lincoln w/ Jake and Spanky via Falling Waters up and down.

This makes:
Lafayette:  43
Lincoln:  41

On my way to 50 for each.

Mt. Waumbek

Team:  Dogman, Trudy, Spanky and me.
Time:  1:02 to Waumbek summit, 1:59 round trip.

Mt. Cabot

Team:  Dogman, Trudy, Spanky, MadDog and me.
Time:  1:25 to summit.  Short day.

Franconia Ridge Speed Loop

Team:  Dogman, Trudy, Spanky and me.
Time:  3:15 including all rests
Details:  1:05 to the top of Haystack (via Falling Waters), 15 minutes at Greenleaf, a few dog water/food stops between.

Decidedly hurried.

This was my 40th tag of Lincoln and my 42nd tag of Lafayette.

Owl's Head Bushwack via Garfield and Galehead

Date:  5/17/2012
Route: 

• From Garfield Trailhead to Garfield, Franconia Brook to Pemi
• Bushwack up West Ridge to summit, return via Bowl
• Twin Brook to Galehead, out Gale River Tr.
• 1.6 mile trot on road to car

Team:  Dogman, tMail and me.
Condition:  pretty wet.  We waded across Twin Brook and Franconia Brook.
Time:  9.5 hrs, including 20 minutes at Galehead Hut

• 1:25 to summit of Garfield
• 3:25 to summit of Owl's Head (4:50 from start)
• 2:50 to summit of Galehead (7:30 from start)
• 2:00 to car (9:30 from start)

The bushwack route was up the 'West Ridge', sometimes called the 'Northwest Ridge'.  The descent was via the middle of the bowl.

Notes on the bushwack:

1. We waded across Franconia Brook and followed the Lincoln Brook trail as it gained elevation.  You'll note on the map that the trail has a sharp bend to the south, followed by a bend back west.  At the second bend we headed into the woods.  If you continue on the trail another 100', you'll hit a very straight section that looks almost like a 100 yard-long cobblestone path.  Making the left anywhere along there is fine too.  That's actually where we came out.
2. The West ridge isn't well defined - it's broadly rounded and forested, however it's no trouble to determine when you've reached it as you can detect the terrain curving down toward the west.
3. You'll cross 4 or 5 old logging roads.  The first two are very well defined grades.  Continue across them straight up the hill or you'll just waste time moving diagonally across the bowl.
4. At around 3600' the fir trees become challenging and you'll encounter both extensive blowdowns and an extreme thickening of the balsam as you enter into the krumholz.  We took advantage of blowdowns near the summit by walking the horizontal trunks, often quite high in the air.
5. Many of the trunks in the blowdowns are rotted through.  Test before committing your weight.
6. Visibility drops to 3-4ft near the summit.
7. We didn't go all the way to the 'old' summit where the well-worn paths are.  We were actually unsure of where we were, but when we began to descend into the saddle between the summits we decided that was where we were, and turned around.  Instead of retracing our route we stuck to the western side of the ridge about 100ft below the ridge and avoided all the blowdowns.
8. The descent into the bowl wasn't as steep as we'd imagined, however there are extensive networks of brooks draining, and a series of fascinating and muddy marshes.  If you can see Garfield as you drop into the bowl, head directly at it.  If you can't, stay on a bearing toward magnetic north.  The bowl faces South Twin and naturally turns you in that direction but that will take you .  To head toward Garfield (and return to your entry point) you will feel like you're walking along the contour lines but you really want true magnetic north.  When you hit the Lincoln Brook trail, make a right to take you down to the falls.

Garfield & Lafayette

Date:  May 5th, 2012
Route:  Garfield via Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge to Lafayette Summit, Return via Skookumchuck.
Team:  Dogman, Trudy, Spanky and me
Logistics:  Spotted a car at the Skookumchuck trailhead.
Conditions:  Dog-Friendly and soggy.  Used Microspikes on upper part of Garfield Trail.  Never after.

tMail's pics:  here
mutha's pics:  here

Bondcliff to Galehead Birthday Bash

Date:  3/17/2012
Route:  Bondcliff to West Bond, South Twin via the Twinway, Galehead, Gale River Trail to Rte 3.
Gear:  light packs, light shoes, no snowshoes, microspikes (except tMail)
Team:  MadDog, DogMan (birthday celebration), tMail (birthday celebration) and me.
Conditions:  Bondcliff:  good snow cover, some postholing off the narrow treadway.  Bondcliff and the Twinway over Guyot were melted out.  Twinway between Guyot and South Twin was painfully slow due to postholing, as was descent off South Twin.  Gale River Trail had sporadic postholing higher up, completely melted out on lowest mile.  The Loop road has no snow on it.
Mutha's Pictures:  here
tMail's Pictures:  here

Trip report:  DogMan, MadDog and I trotted the rail bed from the campground (0:55 to the turn to ascend Bondcliff).  My microspikes exploded and we all got separated while I was doing repairs.

Lots of folks heading up to BondCliff - quite the crowd on a summit known for its remoteness.  Probably a dozen people on the trail on the way up, a few already on the summit, and another dozen coming in from Zealand.

DogMan and I stuck together for the next few hours, tagging West Bond.  We ran into tMail a few minutes into the W. Bond spur, on his way out.  While the three of us were on the spur trail, MadDog trotted by on his way north.  We eventually all met up by the time we got to South Twin.

The Twinway between Guyot and South Twin was pretty tough w/out snow shoes.  The postholing was unpredictable and I lack the language skills to do justice to just how hard that 2 miles was.

We all ran out of water by South Twin and refilled from a brook crossing the Gale River Trail later in the evening.

tMail took off on the final descent and arrived at the cars a good 1:30 before the rest of us.  DogMan defeated his demons and ran out the last 2 miles at a half-marathon 'sprint'.

Good for us.

Mt. Isolation in 2:32

Date:  3/10/2012
Route:  Isolation via Rocky Branch (from Rte 16).  Took Engine Hill bushwack.
Team:  Dogman, Trudy, Spanky & Mutha
Conditions:  Completely packed out trail.  Dogman was barebooting - i put on micros at some point although they weren't really necessary anywhere.  The bushwack was in great shape.  Two snowshoers from Keene did their best to follow the packed trail, which was a bit blown over.  To a large degree they followed it.  The Isolation trail near The Davis Path is a bit filled in and a few minor deviations by the snowshoers were corrected on the return trip.  Snowshoes aren't a bad idea beyond the bushwack but aside from a few deep postholes it actually wasn't that bad.
Pictures:  here

Trip Report:  We're preparing for Leadville so keeping the pace up was pretty high on the priority list.  On the other hand, the weather was gorgeous, the birch groves open and inviting and our packs light (z30's).