Dix and Hough

Apr 27, 2013

Debbie, Patrick, and I drove down to Keene Farm yesterday evening and spent a quiet night with only a few other hikers in the cabin. Awoke at 05:00, had our breakfast and got to the trailhead at Round Pond for 06:30. We hiked quickly along the frozen bare ground with small patches of snow and ice here and there. At about 2500 feet we put on spikes for traction along the snow spine. The day was partly cloudy and warming as we went so we stopped a few times to shed layers and have a bite to eat. After quite a while on the trail we arrived at the base of the Dix slide. It was still covered in ice and snow but easily ascended to the trail cut-off. The sun shining on the rock caused several small ice avalanches which whoosed down the stream in the middle as we were climbing. Once back in the woods, the trail got very steep and the snow also started to get very deep. It was supportive though so we remained in spikes and kick stepped all the way to the summit, arriving on the top of Dix at about 11:00. Had a quick lunch and enjoyed the fantastic views, but did not stay too long as the breeze was chilly and there was still a long way to go today. Climbed up the Beckhorn and dropped down to the herd path to Hough where we started following some faint tracks. Lost the trail at one point and then I fell through the snow up to my waist. As I tried to extricate myself, I punched through another layer and was now up to my neck. As I still had not hit bottom, Pat and Deb helped pull me out, and then I switched to snowshoes. Descended all the way down to the col without any more difficulty and began the climb up Hough. Lost the trail a few times on the way up here, but just kept going in the general direction of up, finally finding ourselves on the summit. There was less wind here, plus it was a lot warmer in the day now so we spent a little more time here having second lunch. Nevertheless, we were only half way done as we still had to get back in time for beer so we did not dawdle too long. The way back to Dix took less time since we did not have to do any route finding, even though the elevation gain was significantly higher. It was a relief to finally break above the tree line and out of the scratchy branches onto the Beckhorn again though. Another short break up here, then out of the snowshoes for a rapid heel plunging descent down to Dix slide. The water was now rushing in a wide sheet over the rock in the center, so I walked straight down in the middle of it, the spikes keeping my boots just above the flow. Now we just had a long and flat walk ahead of us. The going was difficult as the patchy snow was no longer supportive, meaning your boot kept breaking through when you least expected it. There was not enough snow here to use snowshoes as there were long stretches of rocks and bare ground. Ditched the spikes and just bare booted it the rest of the way taking careful steps over any of the icy patches. Stopped for another couple of breaks, finally getting back to Round Pond after a twelve hour day. The beers at the Baxter Mountain Tavern never tasted so good.

Taking a break along the trail. Does not look like a day for snowshoes.