[at-l] Newfound Gap unpassable 3/9

[athiker@plantnet.com (Peter H. Fornof)]

I've done a few winter trips in the Smokies and encountered the same
problem. We had a lot of snow, but the seeps made the trail very hazardous.
We were hiking from Newfound Gap to Siler Bald Shelter. We used instep
crampons as well as our Leki's and that did the trick.

I got my instep crampons from REI. They work like a charm.

Broknspoke
----- Original Message -----
From: "manzana" <guillermo_manzana@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: local.at-l
To: <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 6:21 AM
Subject: [at-l] Newfound Gap unpassable 3/9


> I attempted to climb from Newfound Gap to Icewater Spring shelter
> Saturday. I -along with about 13 other folks- found it impossible
> without crampons. There was no snow on the ground but somehow a frozen
> creek had formed in the trail with ice as smooth as glass. Climbing up
> an incline of slippery ice with a 40# pack gets aggravating pretty fast.
> After we negotiated 2 30 foot stretches and congratulated ourselves for
> traversing them, we were greeted with a 100 yard stretch at the next
> turn. Wisely, we did not attempt it. If you are thru-hiking in March,
> bring those crampons!
>
> la manzana in NC
>
>
>
> --
>
>  - Posted via http://forums.backcountry.net
>
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