Maddog and I did it again: the steep badass Hell Brook trail. 2,200' in 1.4 miles from rte 108 to The Adams Apple of Mt. Mansfield. As we ascended, the snow got deeper and our postholes got crotch deep, then the powder just got plain deep. The biting cold (maybe -15F at the start) wasn't so bad because there was no wind, but wading through the cold, soft, deep snow was punishing.On the final push up The Adams Apple, we had short alpine fir trees covered in rime and snow, with some bent double under the powder making deep traps. At times, they were so close together we had to punch the ice off the trees to make enough room to push through.
Heard It On The Mountain: "I keep asking myself, am I doing something wrong?" - Maddog, after spending quite a bit of energy without making much forward progress (see pic)
The pictures don't really do the setting justice. The trail starts rising steeply immediately and never stops. It's hard to follow and relentlessly challenging. Showshoes would've helped, but only mountaineering snowshoes. MSR's would've been hard to maneuver (I think) - not enough 'crampon'.
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