Ice, Danger & Moose Calf in the Tripyram ids

“After two days around Sandwich Mt. with just my dog, I returned home Saturday and headed back north to the White Mountains with my 14 y/o son (Knotty) and my dog. I picked the Tripyramids, three peaks at the northern end of the Sandwich wilderness. Two of these 3 peaks are official “4,000 footers.” The South peak is about 4,090 ft, but is not officially on the list because there is not much of a drop off between it and the higher Middle peak (4,140).

After slipping and sliding on Mt. Sandwich, I knew I should bring hiking poles for these slightly taller mountains known for more challenging trails. We hit the trail near the Waterville valley ski area. Livermore trail begins with a series of logging roads. The first mile or so shows signs of recent truck traffic and is a general recreational area with people riding bicycles and taking short walks from the nearby resorts. As the trail winds into the Sandwich wilderness, the logging roads get older. A few miles in, the forest has nearly reclaimed the road. Our first thrill came about a mile into the trail. At first, I thought I saw a horse and a dog up ahead. Looking more carefully, I realized I saw a moose with its calf. I was amazed! I’ve walked hundreds of miles in the Maine wilderness since I last saw a moose in the wild, and here in NH… 1 ½ miles from a major resort and walking with a dog – minutes away from the mountain bikes I see my first moose calf. The calf seemed very young with spindly legs. Since calves are generally born in May or June, this was probably a virtual newborn. I called to Knotty and Gorgy (who had zipped ahead of me) to slow down as we approached.

Gorgy had been stiff and slow moving for about 24 hours after the earlier hike, but had obviously recovered. She was having a great time zipping back and forth along the trail as she rushed to catch up to Knotty and then came back to see about me. I’d made the mistake of making my pack heavier than my sons, but at 5’ 11 ½ he was no longer the little kid I had to pull and coax up mountains. I was eating his dust. We had to choose between two ways of ascending the north peak. One was to go up the North Slide and the other was to take the Scaur Ridge and Pine Bend Brook Trails. My AMC guide (25th ed.) says “the steep slabs of the North Slide are difficult, and dangerous in wet or icy conditions.” The other route is safer, but ends in a “steep, rough and rocky climb.” Despite my sons protest, I chose the safer route… because the North Slide was definitely wet and probably icy. The Scaur Ridge Trail was much thinner than the Livermore. If it had ever been a logging road, it had not been traveled by trucks for many decades. It was steep, but smooth and offered a gorgeous view of Waterville Valley and the surrounding mountains through the trees (which have still not filled out). We felt the forest grow quiet and still and saw the shadows lengthen. The black flies surrounding us (not too thick, and successfully held at bay by Ben’s DEET intensive lotion) began to desert us for the night. This was a clear sign that it was time to look for a place to set up camp. It took a while to find a likely area to search and we found a reasonable spot about 200 yards above the trail. There was just enough day light left for us to linger a little. Knotty hasn’t come along on a backpacking trip for years, although his brother was pretty gung-ho. He was keen on learning how to work the whisperlite, set up the tent and do all the other camp chores. Gorgy was dying to play Frisbee… we clearly hadn’t worked her hard enough.

Since Natti had left me in the dust the day before, I adjusted the loads a bit to even things out. I also had Gorgy carry some of the snacks (its easier to grab a bite out of her dog pack, then it is to get at things in mine). The adjustments worked. I was able to keep up with Knotty pretty well. The trail got thinner and steeper until we hit the Pine Bend Brook Trail. The last ½ mile or so of Pine Bend Brook was intense. It was entirely ice and snow bound and very steep at places. Crampons would have helped. We shortened our treking poles and took our time negotiating the rocks and ice. Gorgy stopped for help and advice on managing some of the challenges. She was quite a trooper. When its just the two of us, I am very careful to take routes she can manage or (when I can’t manage the route that works for her) keep her from following me in places that would be hazardous for her. I hadn’t told Knotty to do this and as Gorgy followed him over a steep ice covered boulder into a crevice and then slipped, sliding down the face of the boulder and into a crevice. Natti hollered for me and I zoomed up the trail as fast as I could. Gorgy was hanging on by her nails. She wasn’t in danger of falling far, but she was slightly wedged in under the rock. Her backpack actually helped, as I was able to get a good grip on it and her as I pulled her up and out. She was clearly a little shaken, but moved on gamely. I felt awful moments later when I noticed blood in her footsteps. She had cut one of her paws when she slipped. Luckily, she was cut a above her foot pads and didn’t have to put weight on the cut. The cold might have helped decrease the blood flow. It was hard work, and I was getting worried about my dog. I had figured that there wouldn’t be much ice on the decent along the South Slide (since I had only found ice on trails with Northern exposure), but was beginning to worry. I would definitely not want to get my dog down the trail we were ascending, and the South Slide would be even worse if it was wet or icy.

We were relieved when we finally reached the top of North Peak. I was especially relieved when I took out the Frisbee to use as a water bowl for Gorgy. She really wanted to play! The trek across the 3 peaks was easy and beautiful. The sky was mostly clear and the views were magnificent.

Much to my delight, the South Slide was as dry as I thought it would be. Nonetheless, the descent was steep, boulder filled and very loose at times. We emptied Gorgy’s pack to make the descent easier on her. Knotty and Gorgy both had a difficult time coming down. Gorgy was particularly cautious since she would often have to jump down from rocks and ledges onto rocks and gravel that seemed very loose. She was a great sport, but obviously anxious. When we finally got off the slide a mile or so later she was quite relieved. I was to, but I was also a little sad to be finishing up the trip. We were all thrilled to have a chance to drink cold stream water (this is the reason I my Pur hiker even on two day trips, I get so sad putting iodine into cold clear water and then waiting until it is warm to drink it). Since we were still a few miles from the car, I was happy to let Gorgy lie down in the stream and cool off while we pumped and drank water (knowing that there was plenty of time for her to dry off). The trail from the South Slide soon rejoined the Livermore trail and it was an easy few miles back to the car. We took our time soaking up the clean air and the great scenery. Knotty was entrancing by some of the calls. All too soon we were back in the general use area. We were both a feeling a bit annoyed and contemptuous when we came upon our first bicyclists shouting about something and drowning out the bird calls. But, we realized they were having fun and it wasn’t their fault that our time in the wilderness was over. This time, when I pulled out the Frisbee to let Gorgy have some water, she drank happily and didn’t try to get me to play. She was tired. The next day we both showed signs of sore muscles. The happiest ending to the story was the sound of Knotty saying that he wished we could just keep hiking for weeks, and then eagerly discussing plans for our next trek. Now that both sons are hooked, the summer is looking even better!

Gear:

Sierra Design’s Clip3: Now four years old and I still love it. It is just perfect for two people and a dog.
Pur Hiker: Still happy with it after four years.
MSR Whisperlite: Ditto

Lowe Alpine ContourIV: Still love it, but it is too much pack. (Will my new Auspex come today?)
Gregory Shasta: Has worked great for my older son (Express), but Knotty complained of sore shoulders.
We’ll have to work on adjusting it.
Marmot Arroyo: Still love the bag.
REI bag with Holofil: Still happy with the deal I got on it at the REI outlet. Works well.
Full length Guidelite: Nice balance between comfort and weight. Wonder if the ¾ would have been
almost as comfortable.
¾ length Z-rest: Not as comfortable as the Guidelite, but OK on soft ground.
Eagle Creek Dog Back Pack: Works Fine. Glad I used it. Have never tried another one.
REI trekking poles: Natti used ‘em… lost the bottom portion somewhere in the hike!
REI Haute Route poles: Fine, no complaints.

New Gear:
Marmot Precips: Didn’t need ‘em.
EMS Summit (wide) boots: Seemed OK, but its hard to tell. My feet hurt a lot, but the were hurting wearing sneakers due to my last hike in the NB Raniers. The fact that they didn’t get any worse is a good sign.”

“ped,
I noticed my dog's pack has some nice clips for putting him on belay

Ü”

“KÜL!”

“hey ped, I bought a SD clip3 last summer and have only used it once. I really liked it and it's light.
You were right to stay away from the moose, they're more ferocious than bears especially with their young.

Our Black Lab got hypothermic on a trip once. She swam in the lakes and creeks we passed all day and stayed out in the rain until about midnight, then wanted to crawl into the tent. Once in, she couldn't move- just layed there kind of catatonic. I fed her a Power bar and she seemed to snap out of it.

Sounds like a good trip!”

“Ped --

As I was reading along I was remembering the trips I have taken on Tripyramid. I have climbed them three times, all as day trips.

All of a sudden it hit me . . .the last time I was on Tripyramid was . . . 20 years ago, with a couple of high school friends. I did it three times by age 17 . . .and haven't done it since.

In fact . . .more time has passed since I last did it, than in the time lapsed for the first three trips.

Boy . . .time freakin' flies.

In any event. SOunds like a great trip. I loved the slides . . .absolutely loved them. Especially as a kid . . .you could pretend to be a mountain (techinical) climber, without actually being roped in.

FUn Fun FUn”

“Despite all my trips to New England, I've yet to see a moose, let alone a calf. I've seen plenty of tracks and even steaming moose poop but no moose. How cool!”

“steaming moose poop just doesn't cut it.”

“Yeah Biz... I usually bake or fry it.”

“yummy!
i'm glad your doggie is okay, yikes.”

“View From The Top is a great source of trail condition reports for New England. Two reports on our route for the same weekend:

Trail: North Tripyramid via Pine Bend Brook TrailDate Hiked: 5.27.02
Conditions: Muddy on many of the brook crossings. Nine major blowdowns, but only the three after the brook really force you off-trail. VERY ICY on the last half-mile up to Tripyramid; not for the faint of heart or foot. From what I can tell, that ice will be there for at least another week.
Special Required Equipment: Barebooted the whole way, although trekking poles were sorely missed on the last half-mile of ice.
Comments: This has got to be one of the best trails in the Whites. Twenty-two, count 'em, twenty-two brook crossings, and none difficult. After many years of hiking, I have deduced that when the AMC says a trail is "steep and rough," to the experienced hiker that means "wilder, less-travelled, and more beautiful." Highly recommended.Submitted by: Matthew

Trail: Loop over Tripyramids from Waterville ValleyDate Hiked: 5-26-02
Conditions: Went over peaks S to N. Perfect conditions up South Peak, then some icy patches over to North Peak. Came down Pine Bend Brook Tral to Scaur Ridge Trail. That section was very icy and a bit steep, so it was uncomfortable coming down in trail runners with a full pack. I kept thinking what the write-up in "Appalacia" would have said about that if I cracked something ;-). Good warbler action
.Special Required Equipment: Instep crampons and poles would have helped a bunch.
Submitted by:likeswhitesnow”