by TeresaGergen » Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:30 am
Dennis, thanks for the kind words. Talk about feeling humbled -- I naively pooh-poohed the northeastern peaks before, never having been there, and thinking, well, how hard can it be when they all have trails to the top? Frissel's shoulder was a brief intro to what is meant by a "trail" in the NE, and when I did Katahdin the next day by the Chimney Pond/Saddle trails and combined it with Hamlin, descending the Hamlin Ridge trail, I spent the day looking like a tourist (I move poorly with my leg) and repeatedly assuring people I was ok, and the evening wrapping my ankle in ice and wondering if I'd really finish this list after all. Adding Hamlin made it a long day for me. I thought the "trails" were very much like our rockiest alpine Class 2 terrain, with Class 3 spots thrown in throughout (especially on Hamlin's ridge). The emphasis on the "do the rock walk" mentality out there, preserving your alpine tundra by making the trails go over the rockiest possible terrain, was definitely a surprise, and was a good test for me. Here we walk all over our tundra - but we have a tiny fraction of the people doing that over a relatively huge amount of ground, compared to out there. And we have very large herds of heavy elk trampling it anyway. The crowds of people on the trails were also a surprise. I can't remember the last time I ran into someone on a 10er or 11er here, unless it's on the CDT or in a national park.
Marcy's final slabs were pretty fun. Shuffling on slabs is a lot easier than placing a compromised ankle on a rounded rock, and is easier on a compromised knee and atrophied quad than taking big steps up and down over rocks. But 350 times does sound like torture :-)
Anyway, I have a new respect for our eastern climbers here, and a new understanding of your peak lists. Anyone who bushwhacks for a summit out there is one tough climber.