The first part of the herdpath route is a gentle ascent. Along this portion of the climb, we met another hiker coming down, who again told us that yes, Brian and Harold were still ahead of us. But, how far ahead of us, I wondered. At this rate, it wasn't clear if we would catch up to them before they reached the summit!
Steep trench
Starting at around 2,800 feet, the Seymour mountain herdpath route starts a straight up ascent of the mountain's northern slopes: no traversing, no switchbacks. As a result, it is very steep - and consistently so. Our place slowed and we instituted our so-called "Quarter-K" rule: a brief rest stop every 250 feet of elevation.
3,000 came and went, then 3,250, then 3,500. Still no Brian and Harold. We were pushing fairly hard; surely we'd have to catch up with them soon. I tried calling out their names, in hope that they were within earshot and we could get them to wait, but the forest and thick snow quickly muffled the sound. I probably would have had to be practically on top of them for them to hear me.
courtesy RHanel
I really wanted to keep my promise to share with Harold's witner 46R moment on the summit, and I was starting to fear that we wouldn't catch up to them in time. I asked Jenn and Roland if it would be ok for me to push on ahead at a bit faster pace, and then continued on up without any further "Quarter-K" breaks.
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
Tracked out summit plateau
Seymour Moutain has a wooded and somewhat flat summit. I was glad when the super steep stuff was over, for it meant that I had almost reached that plateau; it also meant that I couldn't be that far from Brian and Harold, because they probably wouldn't stay on the summit for very long before starting back down. Especially so since clouds and light snow had moved in, removing all views.
I raced across the wooded summit plateau, arriving at the lookout and summit sign at the far end. And, there they were: Brian and Harold, having a quick munch of food. Finally!
Finally - we caught up!
As it turned out, they had arrived just moments before. We had indeed been catching up, but not at a rate fast enough to reach them before the summit. Happily, though, we did catch them, and we did it before they had left the summit. Jenn and Roland arrived about five minutes later.
After congratulations and a few summit shots, we started down, now a unified group of five. The ultra-steep trail on the way up now provided a great benefit: the ability to glissade (i.e. slide) back down. With perfect snow conditions and nice, high walls on each side of the track, we bob-sledded down nearly one thousand feet of elevation in just a few minutes. If only all descents could be so fun and quick!
courtesy RHanel
courtesy JInnes
In no time flat we were back down at the Ward Brook Lean-to, where we re-grouped and prepared for the long flat journey back out to the trailhead. Jenn, Roland and I prepared to put on skiis and had a bit more food, while Brian and Harold headed off ahead of us on their snowshoes.
Regroup at Ward Brook Lean-to
Without the pressure of needing to catch up with Brian and Harold, we proceed back at a more leisurely pace, taking stops for pictures and such. Even so, being on skiis meant that we eventually caught back up to them. Somehow it seemed a bit easier - the skiing, I mean - and we wondered if perhaps we were getting slightly better at it.
courtesy RHanel
Nearly done with trail section
Owing to our more rapid pace, we arrived back at the summer trailhead well ahead of Brian and Harold. After waiting for them to catch up, we started off again, this time on the Ampersand Road section. Once again, us three skiiers quickly outpaced the two walkers, and we arrived back at the winter trailhead just before 5:30pm - roughly ten hours and fifteen minutes after having started out.
Weather Gods playing tricks
