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i am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.

2/24/2015

 
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I personally would rather do the existentially essential things in life on foot. If you live in England and your girlfriend is in Sicily, and it is clear you want to marry her, then you should walk to Sicily to propose. For these things travel by car or aeroplane is not the right thing. Werner Herzog

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, snowy morning up top. The high yesterday reached 29 degrees. The overnight low was 17 degrees. It was 19 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received 2 inches of new snow, bringing our snowfall total up to 6 inches. The trails are very slick, so be sure to pack Microspikes if you intend to reach the summit. It's a beautiful day, get out and enjoy it!

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I had a great night hike up Rainbow last night. I took off at 6:30 with my buddy Pretzel and we walked up the road from Twin Creeks. We made it to the trailhead just as night was darkness was settling in between the snow laced trees. There were plenty of blowdowns, adding a new wrinkle to a trail I've done more times than I can count. The moon's crescent was bright enough as we turned near the Falls that I thought there was someone else night hiking down. The stream crossings were a bit of a gamble in the dark, the snow covered rocks gave no hints as to how sturdy they'd be as stepping surfaces. We plunged our feet in a few times and laughed it off because there was nothing to do but go onwards and upwards. The Falls roared, but our headlamps were not bright enough to see them from the bridge. The first flakes of last nights' snowfall greeted us as we trudged up the final .6 from the Bullhead junction, giving us a taste of what we'd have in store come morning.

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Sharon S
2/24/2015 01:32:37 am

Whatever winter clothing you wear during these excursions...I'll take two of everything.

JP
2/24/2015 01:55:46 am

Last night I hiked up in Merrell Thermo 6 boots, wool socks, Patagonia running shorts, a thrift store t shirt, smart wool arm warmers and a Patagonia Nano puff vest...

Sharon S
2/24/2015 02:31:50 am

You must have left out something...like a battery-powered, heated overcoat, or something. I'm wearing that much inside my house to keep warm. Impressive! Those companies should pay you endorsement fees.

norman
2/24/2015 02:00:48 am

JP, is Phillip Connors about your age??

JP
2/24/2015 02:09:51 am

Norman,

I am not certain, but I think he is a bit older than me...

norman
2/24/2015 02:57:16 am

I think you are right. Thanks (just looked at a u-tube vedio of his lookout job)

Rick Shepherd
2/24/2015 02:02:41 am

Yeah, but what a place to go!.....You are already closer to Heaven!..... ;-)

Chris Schultz
2/24/2015 03:50:29 am

Looks like another day stuck on our mountain down here in town. Our road up is under about 3" this morning. Looks like a good day to sit by the fire and read a good book. JP, my first shipment of my novel finally arrived yesterday so I'll be bringing a signed copy up to add to the lodge's guest library around the time the lodge opens. It's dedicated in part to the workers of LeConte Lodge so hopefully I'll get it up there before you leave for the season. If not, maybe it'll still be there when you return next winter. You are returning aren't you?

barbara
2/24/2015 04:06:08 am

JP. Sure hope you do return, love the pictures and your writings. Will be hiking up in spring, will look up your book charles. Take
care. Thanks for keeping us Connected to the mt. Top. Barbara

jw
2/24/2015 04:44:46 am

Enjoy it JP i hope to be up in about amonth to stay in shelter again in march hope its not like the last one in march last yr!! lol on the 29th! OH YES I DO LOL! AND YES FOR THRIFT STORES AND SALVATION ARMY LOVE TO SHOP!

Jim
2/24/2015 09:01:48 am

Looking forward to hiking up there this weekend...packing my puffy jacket, microspikes, hat and gloves for sure!

tomk in SC
2/24/2015 09:28:22 am

The key is PACK the puffy, hat & gloves. JP's post is consistent with my winter hiking experience. Hiking UP dress lightly. After about 15 minutes of hiking you will be generating plenty of heat. Wear a puffy jacket and you will surely sweat and the puffy jacket will do you almost no good when you stop. I managed my temperature by wearing or not wearing a ball cap and removing and donning gloves as required. It was below freezing and I was way more comfortable than my multi-jacketed companions when we stopped to take a break

Jim
2/24/2015 11:44:30 pm

I hear you Tomk. This isn't my first trip up. In fact I've summited Longs peak in CO nearly a dozen times, Cayambe in Ecuador at 18997'. My own philosophy is to wear a wool base layer and mid weight fleece layer while going up. A wind/rain jacket and Patagonia micro puff pullover in the pack. Lightweight skull cap and medium gloves. I am bald so my head gets cold.

Pretzel
2/28/2015 12:06:38 am

OH MY AWESOME! I made it on region famous blog.


Comments are closed.
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