[at-l] Sages Ravine backpack trip report

[m_factor at hotmail.com (Mara Factor)]

Happy New Year!

It?s been over two months since my last trip report.  For the most part, 
I?ve been quite the homebody.  I still have not yet started looking for a 
job and have watched more TV in the last couple of months than probably in 
the previous few years.  I?ve also spent more time sick with colds in the 
last month than healthy.

So, while I haven?t done any major trips and still have none planned, here?s 
a trip report from my first backpack since I?ve been back home.

Mara

http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor



Friday, January 2 to Saturday, January 3, 2004

My friend Skeeter proposed a post-New Year?s backpack.  I hadn?t been hiking 
in months but the miles were short and this area wouldn?t be too difficult 
for my now, out of shape, body. I hoped this hike would help to chase the 
last remnants of my cold off rather than sink me back into it.

Having been assured that the ground had been bare, Skeeter and I left our 
crampons at home.  The morning snowfall left about an inch of snow on the 
ground but with rising temperatures, I wasn?t expecting that to be a 
problem.

We were following the Laurel Loop route as suggested in a recent Appalachian 
Trailway News article by Cosmo Catalano.  It incorporated portions of the 
Appalachian Trail, the South Taconic Trail, as well as some connector 
trails.

Due to our late starting time, we reversed the direction in order to give 
ourselves more options for camping during the first day in case we needed to 
stop early given the sunsets at this time of year.  We soon regretted 
leaving our crampons at home.  Both the road and the trail leading up Mt. 
Everett were sheets of ice.  Picking our way along was slow, tedious, and 
involved a lot of slipping, sliding, and careful flat-footing.  I took a 
slow motion flop at one point and contributed one unintentional ?snow angel? 
to the few that a day hiker ahead of us had already made.

We stopped for a bite to eat at the shelter near the summit and admired the 
view over the Housatonic Valley.  The sky was completely overcast but the 
light under the clouds was an eerie, orange/brown color. The ice was still a 
challenge leading down Everett and made for the longest .7 mile I?ve done in 
a long time but it was better than the ascent.  Thankfully, that was the 
last of the bad ice.  From there on, we only found occasional patches to 
contend with.

We stopped for the night at the Laurel Ridge campsite and headed for the 
group area tent platforms.  We cleared the snow off the platforms and set up 
our tents on the wet wood.  Our timing was perfect.  It was still dusk when 
we got there and gave us enough time to set up our tents and start our 
dinners before it got too dark.  We were lucky, however.  The moon was high 
overhead in the early evening and through thin clouds, often cast usable 
light on our camp.

Skeeter?s new stove had him cooking and eating in no time flat.  I was 
heating more water than usual for dinner and a hot drink so my meal took a 
bit more time.  That worked out great as I had forgotten my spoon and had to 
wait for Skeeter to finish with his before eating anyway.

By the time I finished dinner, Skeeter was already settled in for the long 
winter?s night.  I took a bit longer but it was still only 7:30 or so when I 
finally got settled in.  We talked a bit more and then I read for a while 
before going to sleep shortly after 8:00.

We were both surprised to be awakened at 10:00pm with the arrival of two 
more people setting up a tent on the last of the three tent platforms.  We 
would find out in the morning that this father and son team had apparently 
come through Sage?s Ravine in the dark.  They had also gotten quite wet for 
their troubles, too.

The rain we were expecting the next day came at 5:00am.  We slept until it 
was light and then went through our morning routine, somewhat slowed by the 
wet conditions and condensation created by the saturated air and fog.  
Thankfully, it had stopped raining by the time we started hiking.

Crossing Sage?s Ravine was a bit dicey.  I stopped to put plastic bags, err, 
vapor barrier liners, on my feet in case I slipped and ended up planting a 
foot in the stream.  Skeeter, with waterproof footwear, found a wet place to 
cross.  He was then able to stabilize the far end of a log that I was able 
to use to get across without getting my feet wet.  One of these years, I?m 
going to get myself some good cold weather (but not winter) footwear for 
hiking.  My Limmer?s are now too short to wear and my Sorrels and plastic 
boots are both too warm for these transitional season hikes.

While it had been raining that morning, it hadn?t rained enough to 
completely wipe out the snow and ice in the Ravine.  That left ice pillars 
on the rocks and a sugar coating of snow on the forest floor.  I found 
myself in awe of the simple beauty nature can provide.

Our route had us turning onto an unmarked trail down an old road.  We passed 
an AMC cabin without even seeing it though we did see the woodpile.  It 
wasn?t long before we hit the road.

I hadn?t slept well.  I think I must have wrenched my back on one of the 
slips I took on the first day.  And my knees were now playing the price of a 
few months of inactivity.  I decided to bail out of the hike when we got to 
the road.  With the fog obscuring all possible views on the trail ahead, and 
some drizzle threatening to turn into heavier rain, Skeeter also decided to 
bail.

We started walking the few miles back to the cars.  Just as Skeeter realized 
he had dropped his gloves, a car approached.  We decided to hitch knowing 
Skeeter could drive his car back for the gloves.  The driver stopped, agreed 
to give us a ride, and then asked if we might have dropped some gloves.  
They weren?t that far back so he brought us back so Skeeter could pick them 
up and save himself a trip.

We were soon warming our cars up and warming ourselves up.

I think both of us were glad we bailed.  It didn?t take long for heavy rains 
to catch up with us as he drove back to New York and I drove back to Boston.

On Sunday, I realized it had been years since I had been quite that stiff 
and sore.  It reminds me that I really need to get out more and stay in 
shape.  Thankfully, my cold is either better, or certainly not any worse 
than when I started.  Hopefully, I truly have it kicked for the New Year.

_________________________________________________________________
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