West Rim Trail - PA Grand Canyon 3/4 - 3 /6/05

“Fri
Mar 4 Partly Cloudy
27°/14° 20%
27 °F

Sat
Mar 5 Few Snow Showers
26°/14° 30%
26 °F

Sun
Mar 6 Few Snow Showers
28°/16° 30%
28 °F


I wish Friday would hurry up and get here...
last edited: 3/02/05 10:54:38 AM”

“ENS - you taking crampons and snowshoes ??”

“I don't think crampons will be needed. I'm not sure if I will take them or not yet. I probably won't take them.”

“Overnight we had an additional 6 inches of snow. I drove down to the trailhead at Blackwell this morning. The canoe access lot is plowed and parking is available there. I walked over to the cliff took a look at the sidehill its snow covered, deep heavy snow maybe 12-14 inches going up the hillside,no ice. It looks like a go to me, with the snowshoes you will be fine. I would hug close to the hillside until you reach Jerrys Run, the snow should be deep enough over the rocks that the ice underneath will be no problem. The temps are in the 20's with a moderate wind, blowing the snow out of the trees. I would expect this recent snowfall to linger until your arrival on Friday.

Gus”

“Route 414 is snow covered and cindered from Morris to Blackwell, expect the same all the way down to Waterville. Your best access is to take US 15 to the Morris-Liberty Exit, left onto 414 to Morris, left at the crossroads onto Main Street, then right onto 414 at Broughtons Garage to Blackwell. There is no fuel between Liberty and Wellsboro, so if your on fumes top off before you go to the canyon. The West Rim Road is not plowed, snowmobiles and ATV's only. I talked to a local snowmobiler that was on top this morning, says there is maybe 12 inches of snow on the ridge.

Gus
last edited: 3/02/05 3:34:04 PM”

“There is a lot on Colton Road off Route 6 below Ansonia Gulf, opposite the DCNR maintenance buildings. This is at the northern terminus. I am not sure how much further Colton Road is plowed from there, you may not be able to get up to the State Park except by snowmobile. Another option is to park at Chucks another mile and a half away. You can take a drive by the lot before going over to Chucks for your permit and then make your decision there. I have left vehicles at both places and never worried about them being tampered with. Remind me to tell you about the old railroad grade behind chucks as a shortcut.
Gus”

“once again thanks Gus - you habve been a champion with all the recon you have done for us. I hope we get to meet you during this trip. Thank you very much.”

“we should be at pine creek around 3pm.
e-mail me your cell# and we will call you to see if we can get together for some grub before we head in.
how's the firewood situation up there ?
And yet again, thanks for all the info and recon you did.”

“God, I can't believe no one picked up on that...

Ok, I've now see-sawed toward getting a pair of snowshoes for this one. Must continue to evaluate options...”

“Its only money, you'll make more later. enjoy the snowshoes now!”

“they're alot of fun Mr. P”

“I just wanted to let you all know that you all suck because you can go and I can't.
damn doctor. tried to call again to get another appointment..no such luck whahhhhhh”

“just call the doctor up and say "screw you guys, I'm going hiking"”

“There is one of those big buildings with patients in Wellsboro. Maybe Gemini could schedule a visit with a local doc then be out the door and on trail.......

Just a thought
Gus”

“I'll tell you what: I'll get the snowshoes, and you blow off the doctor, and we both go to the trip happy.

Whadayasay?”

“gemini, leave it to me, I'll broker this one for you... you got yourself a deal Mr. P.

see you at 4 friday gemini :)”

“REI has the Denali Classics on clearance for $94”

“crazypace, check your email. Without trucking a cord in for you, I would say you should find ample firewood without much digging in the hemlock stands. You may get lucky and find a collection or two already there. There are lots of sites there, I would not expect a problem finding enough for a camp fire.

Gus”

“I'm counting on you guys to stomp it down for me.”

“I went hiking in the DWG back in January and we had three guys with snow shoes and the trail was nicely packed down with two guys.”

“Ok, gear check - Anyone think we need an ax? I know someone is going to bring a saw, so that might be all we need... I'll at least bring it along in my car and if we think we need it, I'll find room enough in my pack.”

“Cool. i have a small folding saw as well . I will bring it if I can find it.”

“in 48 hours we should all be in camp on Pine Creek.”

“sure!! would be nice, but I have to get my thyroid meds or I blow up like a balloon. heeheehee. I have one left. My own fault, I should've called the doc weeks ago.

Punishment can be so harsh.”

“Fri
Mar 4 Partly Cloudy
30°/18° 10%
30 °F

Sat
Mar 5 AM Clouds / PM Sun
31°/15° 20%
31 °F

Sun
Mar 6 Few Snow Showers
30°/27° 30%
30 °F”

“Gem, dont worry, we'll bring a pin and deflate you throughout the day.”

“cold, dang cold. 15 degrees, windy, no new snow, the stuff already here is blowing and drifting. mid 30's high tomorrow. Dress warm, and do not forget your shades, the skies are clear blue and the sun is bright.

see you tomorrow.

Gus”

“hopefully the views will be clear with good visibility - especially Sunday - that's when we hit the best views.

Fri
Mar 4 Partly Cloudy
30°/15° 10%
30 °F

Sat
Mar 5 Mostly Cloudy
32°/17° 10%
32 °F

Sun
Mar 6 Few Snow Showers
30°/23° 30%
30 °F”

“start at your house
bla bla bla 1-4

5: Merge onto US-1 S (Portions toll). 24.9 miles Map

6: Take the PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE exit. 0.3 miles Map

7: Merge onto PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE W/I-276 W toward I-76/HARRISBURG/I-476/ALLENTOWN/WEST EXITS 27 - 1/NORTH EXITS 31 - 39 (Portions toll). 25.1 miles Map

8: PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE W/I-276 W becomes I-76 W/PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE W (Portions toll). 78.6 miles Map

9: Merge onto I-283 N via EXIT 247 toward HARRISBURG/HERSHEY. 3.9 miles Map

10: I-283 N becomes I-83 N/US-322 W. 3.0 miles Map

11: Merge onto I-81 S via EXIT 51A on the LEFT toward CARLISLE/LEWISTOWN. 4.8 miles Map

12: Take the US-11 N/US-15 N exit- EXIT 65- toward MARYSVILLE/ENOLA. <0.1 miles Map

13: Take the ramp toward US-11 S/ENOLA/US-15 S. 0.2 miles Map

14: Merge onto US-11 S/US-15 S/N ENOLA RD toward ENOLA. 0.8 miles Map

15: Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto VALLEY ST. 1.1 miles Map

16: Turn LEFT onto N ENOLA DR. 0.1 miles Map

17: End at N Enola Dr & College Hill Rd, Enola, PA 17025 US

it's 140 miles from your place to the PNR, but doing it this way will save you 225 round trip miles, but will make your total commute about 1 hour longer.

See ya tomorrow
last edited: 3/03/05 4:41:06 PM”

“PNR does not stand for Park n' Ride - It stands for Point of No Return - MuuuHahahahahahahaha

Jk It stands for Park and Ride..

I kill me hahah :-|


-
last edited: 3/03/05 7:39:48 PM”

“Confirmed Definites:
EarthNsky
Crazypace
PhantomSoul
icarus
jackstraw

Maybes:
jmitch
RichB”

“There better be some serious snow up there, because I just bought me a pair of Denali Ascents -- I got the last pair at EMS.

And with the 20% closeout, I picked up the 8" extensions (I'm a pretty big guy) as well, though I don't think I'll be needing the extensions this weekend.

Now I'm really stoked. Who's ready?”

“word up yo!”

“Hey, just so I'm clear. we're gonna park the vehicles at the north terminus and not colton state park right? that means the long miles on sunday (which I do not fear, cause I'm a manly man)
last edited: 3/03/05 8:07:13 PM”

“I'm not going to make the WRT trip. I hope to be on the BFT trip next month so I'll catch up with you guys then. I'll be looking forward to reading the trip report next week. I don't think you will have a problem finding serious snow though. In the foothills of the Poconos it was knee deep at the Pinchot trail.”

“that is correct - plus, if we did that, then we would miss out on the ultra sweet vistas all along the rim after Colton State Park.”

“Ok then. North end or bust !!”

“Can't wait to meet up with you all! Hope you can make it Gemini. I hope we park at the Northern Terminus. I dont mind the extra Miles, for I too Am a Manly man!! I've gone over my stuff an fell I,m prepped. A big Yo! to EnS and everyone else doing such a great job in planning. I am totally stoked!!”

“Party on Wayne! Party on Garth!”

“Pennsy's not making the trip unfortunately, but I'd like to say a big thanks to him for all the info, logistics and maps he provided!! Thanks Pennsy, mucho appreciated.

I'm loading up on carbs tonight, eating a shist load of pasta. Bring it on!”

“FYI - beer is a carb and should not be overlooked.”

“speaking of beer - anyone packing spirits of anykind?”

“Indeed. "wild spirts" the drink of the outdoors, surely you heard of it.”

“See ya'll tomorrow, last minute preps”

“Turkey and Tea? I've got so much 101 Wild Turkey; I've gotta start using it up...”

“have a blast guys. Hoist a few down for me.”

“we'll miss ya Bruce - hope to see ya next time. Thanks again for all the help.

-

weekend forecast”

“The wind has died down tonight, its crisp, cold and a clear night. No accumulating snow expected overnight and into tomorrow. The road conditions improved today, there has been drifting in the open places. No problems. Crazypace, send me a page before you guys leave the outfitters and I will meet you for any last minute questions, and chow.

The welcome mat is out, Welcome to Canyon Country.

Gus”

“yeah, it looks like the forecast keeps improving for the weekend. We have have sunny weather and daytime temps in the 30s.”

“bummer you can't make it Rich.. Looking forward to seeing you on the BFT.”