Sat, Oct 17 2009 - Pocaterra Ridge (View Original Event Details)
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We had a day loaded with adventure! Starting in drizzle and snow on the ground (as well as ummming over whether to put on icers, then whether or not to put on snowshoes) we finally made it to our lunch spot at the base of the ridge after a couple of hours and only about 2.5km. Most were so hungry that taking photos was not possible until the bodies were fueled up again. We admired the window on Mount Tyrwhitt and watched two hikers - the only other people we saw all day - make their way up the peak to the NE of Tyrwhitt. A photo session was in order before gaining the high point on the ridge, and on the first summit it was nothing but "oh wow"s. We saw the perfectly blue sky around Highwood Junction, but above us were just fast-moving dark clouds. A small cornice had started to form, and getting down from the first summit was the toughest portion .... or so we thought at that time. Three more peaks were in order, but somewhere between three and four we lost any sign of a trail. All of a sudden we were in a forest, with nothing but an animal track, then nothing but our trusty GPSs. And getting down was an adventure to say the least. Snow between those slippery brushes made for a lot of quick bum rides on the initial descent. Within the first few minutes four of us were down. Charlie stood the longest, but he was down too before we were half-way down the ridge. Thanks to Malcolm's ambitious backpack training and speediness, we ended up near a steep drop, so realized that we were about 200m off course. No big deal one thinks, but climbing over trees, clinging to branches, and sliding over moss, that equates to about an hour. Never mind the crew that kept chanting "we want meat". Once we reached a boggy area, we knew we'd be close to the creek that we'd have to cross, but we had no idea how crossable it would be. By then noone cared about getting wet feet, and after 8-1/4 hours of slogging through snow, drizzle, and wind, an 'anonymous' hiker dropped to kiss the pavement of Highway 40 (ewww!). Charlie provided the encore by wringing out about a litre of water (sweat?) out of his socks (ewww there too!).
Thank you to a fantastic group for being game for all of this, as well as for all the humour we encountered along the way.
Start time: 10:10am
Finish time: 6:30pm