Sunday, January 27, 2008

hike/ski Mt Cardigan

My son Nicholas (13 next month) and I went to Mt. Cardigan to hike and ski. Here are some notes (actually, lots of notes) about our day and some links I found while researching or trip. I also am attaching some photos, and the notes I printed out and carried with me.

On the East Side is the AMC 1000 acre Cardigan Reservation, including the Class 3 Holt trail which is considered one of the more difficult trails in New England.
The West side of the mountain is Cardigan State Park.

Here's what we did (times are approximate).

  • 6:45 AM – Left Winchester.
  • 8:45 AM – Arrived at AMC lodge, bought a map and futzed around with our equipment (e.g., figured out how to carry Nick's ski boots, and put on our crampons).
  • 9:30 AM – Hiked 1200 feet (vertical) up Holt to Cathedral Forest to Clark Trail.
  • 11:00 AM – While eating a sandwich at the top of Alexandria Ski Trail, watched another skier get first tracks in the couple inches of new snow frosting the trail. (Note to self: eat at bottom of ski trail, not at top.) Then clicked into our skis and realized that Nick's boots didn't fit the bindings on his skis. Using my Swiss Army knife, we were able to adjust the bindings and hiking downhill was averted. (Note to self: check all equipment the night before.)
  • 11:30 AM – Skied down Alexandria (800 vertical). The trail was fun, narrow and twisty. It must have been heavily skied after the last big snow, because it was bumped up with a couple inches of new snow on top. As we skied down, we hit hidden rocks and ice lurking underneath the light cover of new snow. We met the skier who beat us to the trail skinning back up as we went down.
  • 11:45 AM – Tried to traverse along Allieway Ski Trail to Manning Trail. Quickly realized that without cross country skis or climbing skins we were not going to make it so we put our skis on our packs and post holed next to the ski tracks; very tiring. Then we hiked up Manning (for a total of 1000 vertical) to some ledges where a large group of hikers was getting ready to head back down. They didn't know where the ski trail was, but they shared some brownies with us. Then we ate the rest of our food (of course we had reserves in case we didn't make it back before dark—you can survive on dried mango and bison jerky if you have to) and looked around for the ski trail.
  • 1:45 PM – After failing to find the start of Duke's Ski Trail, we decided that if we headed down slope and kept to the right we should be okay. The first 50 yards or so was through an open field of snow and we had some really fun turns. As we approached the forest ahead, we saw some blue blazes and then a sign for Duke's Ski Trail. The trail was less steep than Alexandria but the snow cover was better and the run was longer (1300 vertical) and took us right back to the lodge. Near the bottom we discovered the remains of the old rope tow, and the rusted out car used to power it.
  • 2:30 PM – Put our skis and boots back in the car and sat around the fireplace in the lodge. Before hiking up for our second run, Nick wanted to do three or four runs. But after hiking up twice, I decided I wasn't carrying my skis and his boots another vertical foot. I was still up for snowshoeing the Nature Trail near the lodge or hiking out the waterfall and back, but after thinking about it over hot chocolate, Nick admitted his thighs were tired and he was ready to call it a day. The lodge was full of 60+ AMC members from the Boston Chapter who were there for a weekend of hiking. They shared their snacks and stories and made us feel welcome.
  • 3:30 PM – Drove to Bristol for dinner at an Irish Pub called Cu Na Mara. We ate bangers and Boxti stuffed with lamb, garlic, and rosemary and drank Irish beer (Harp for me, Root for Nicholas).
  • 5:15 PM – Drove home. Nick slept the whole way.
  • 7:00 PM – Unpack then watch The Longest Yard on TV.

Below are some useful links I found while researching our adventure.

what to wear

  • thermal underwear
  • wool socks
  • fleece
  • snow pants
  • snow coat
  • insulated boots
  • hat
  • gloves / mittens

packing list

  • snow shoes
  • crampons
  • hiking/ski poles
  • sunglasses
  • skis (not this time, let's just hike and check out the skiing for another trip)
  • extra clothing: including glove liners or mittens, hat, fleece, goggles, face mask
  • food
  • water
  • camera
  • binoculars
  • compass
  • map (but I don't have one)
  • directions
  • first aid kit
  • emergency supplies
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