March 21, 2009
It's the first hike of "spring". Spring is in quotes because although the calendar states it is spring, there is still plenty of snow in the mountains and in town for that matter. Today I had trouble deciding what to hike. Ed Hawkins was leading a hike to Isolation. Conditions were ideal to get this potentially difficult peak, but it was also a perfect day to be above treeline and hike either the Presies or Franconia Ridge. After much debate, I decided on Isolation. Seven of us met at the Rocky Branch trailhead: Ed, Jim Towle, Bill, Jeff Cutter, Bob (a.k.a Wolfgang), Jay, and myself. I hadn't hiked with Jay before. She was a 2005 Appalachian Trail thru hiker with the trailname "Spitfire".
We hit the trail a few minutes after 8:00 a.m. We carried our snowshoes today just in case, but all we needed was microspikes. The trail was extremely well packed. Up we went to the height of the land. The Engine Hill bushwhack was so well broken out that it seemed like a trail. Then up to the Davis Path where we took a break.
Jay and Ed
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Front to back: Bob, Jim, and Jeff
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Nearing the summit
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Jim took a picture of me on the summit.
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Our group on the summit
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Lunchtime
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I stitched together a panoramic photo of Eisenhower, Monroe, and Washington.
For a larger version click here.
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We took a nice long break at the summit. It was such a gorgeous day, unlike when I was here back on January 1st when we had to fight for after foot of the last 100 feet as the wind blew us around like ragdolls. I had my eyes on Washington. I wasn't about to abandon my group, but if I had cleared it with Ed at the start of the hike I think I would have hiked up to Washington from here. It was that nice of a day. We returned over the same route getting back about 3:40 p.m.
This will be my last trip to the Whites for a while. Next week I am on call at work and then I head south to complete the Appalachian Trail. Current Grid count is at 223.
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