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Trip Planning with Another Kevin

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    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      At the risk of embarrassing Another Kevin, he has a range of knowledge which is incredibly useful in trip planning. That list would include trail area history, compass use, orienteering, and all season hiking just about anywhere in New York State, to name just four.

      First questions for AK: Are there any water sources on the Escarpment trail in the Catskills? Is there water at the two shelters in the Windham Blackhead range? What are those shelters called? Is it pretty much guaranteed that there will be enough snow on the ground to use as a water source the last weekend of March? Do I really need to bring snowshoes then? Am I required by some regulation I don't know about to bring snowshoes?

      He really doesn't have anything else to do, so feel free to ask him questions, too. ;)
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      1azarus wrote:

      At the risk of embarrassing Another Kevin, he has a range of knowledge which is incredibly useful in trip planning. That list would include trail area history, compass use, orienteering, and all season hiking just about anywhere in New York State, to name just four.

      First questions for AK: Are there any water sources on the Escarpment trail in the Catskills? Is there water at the two shelters in the Windham Blackhead range? What are those shelters called? Is it pretty much guaranteed that there will be enough snow on the ground to use as a water source the last weekend of March? Do I really need to bring snowshoes then? Am I required by some regulation I don't know about to bring snowshoes?

      He really doesn't have anything else to do, so feel free to ask him questions, too. ;)


      The Escarpment itself is bone dry. In fact, 'Arizona Mountain' is so named because of its paucity of water.

      Water plan:

      Spruce Creek through North-South Lake runs year round, and Ashley Brook in Mary's Glen usually does, so you can tank up before going up to North Point.

      There's a reliable spring in Dutcher's Notch east of the Escarpment, with some pretty decent stealth campsites nearby. (Once you're out of the campground - roughly, past North Point - anywhere that's more that 200 feet from a trail or water source is fair game for camping. Even above 3500 feet is legal until March 21, although open fires - including wood stoves - are forbidden up there year-round.) From Dutcher's Notch to past Blackhead, there are no reliable water sources.

      The Batavia Kill lean-to is right on the Batavia Kill. The stream looks kind of skanky but the water is ok with treatment. The Batavia Kill side trail is easy, you'll just motor down it, and it'll be a relief to have something that easy after the 1100 foot drop down the north side of Blackhead. (Did I tell you not to do that without crampons if it's icy?) If you descend Blackhead by the easier trail to the west, there's a good piped spring right off the Black Dome Range trail.

      If you're going to use the Batavia Kill lean-to, try to set up on the right-hand side as you're going in. The roof on the left-hand side leaks. The duct tape on the underside does nothing to seal the leak but at least marks where the water will fall. The place smells like a hamster cage so you might want to avoid it. When I camped there in October, there was a hellacious thunderstorm just about to start - I got under the roof about thirty seconds before the heavens opened. Any port in a storm.

      The Escarpment trail continues around over Acra Point, Burnt Knob and Windham High Peak, without any more reliable water sources. The water source for the Elm Ridge leanto is a piped spring a little bit to the south on the Elm Ridge access trail, or the stream that it feeds. If you're going to do the loop around to Thomas Cole and Black Dome, this trail is your exit route anyway. The Black Dome range is waterless, also. The aforementioned spring on the red side trail north of the col between Black Dome and Blackhead is the place to tank up.

      In March, I'd imagine that either you'll have enough snow to melt, or else the springs and streams that I mentioned will be running. It's nearly impossible to tell which it'll be in any given year. I'm thinking of going up to Blackhead on Saturday. If I do, I'll tell you what the snow conditions are then.

      Whether you need snowshoes depends of course on snow conditions. In March, you'll definitely need at least microspikes. Snowshoes have been pretty much a given this winter for the last couple of months. A couple of weeks ago, Blackhead had a 5-6 foot snowpack, says a friend of mine. The thaw we had this past week probably compacted it down to a couple of feet. When I was out a week and a half ago (considerably farther north, but at low elevation), I'd have been postholing thigh-deep without snowshoes. Here's a trekking pole down someone else's posthole to past the second joint, to show what I mean. (The guy was obviously hoping that snowshoers would have compacted the trail enough that he could get away with going barebooted. He was wrong.

      [IMG:http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2805/12578756293_8a7564317f.jpg]
      Posthole by ke9tv, on Flickr

      I don't think it has the force of a regulation, but DEC asks that hikers use snowshoes or skis whenever the snow is deeper than eight inches on the trails, to avoid compacting the trails into skating rinks.

      You've probably noticed that I'm here and on the other site only intermittently - life can be like that. If I'm not around, http://catskillmountaineer.com/ has forums that are also good places to ask.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      why would i ask anywhere but here? first of all, you don't laugh at me when every other question i have is stupid. second of all, you know everything.

      ...I knew you would have the answers, and I thank you for it.
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      i'm starting to think around 10 miles to first nite at that dutcher notch water source, then around 10 miles to the elm ridge water source for nite 2, then around 11 1/2 miles (including a 3.8 mile roadwalk) back to dutcher notch for the third night, then out on the fourth day... I would prefer to hike farther than dutcher notch for that last night -- how close can i get to north/south lake and still camp without registration? seems like a really sweet loop hike!!!
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Re:Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      The campground is closed until Memorial Day, so nobody will bother you if you camp out of sight. Dont tell Gator I said this. ;) Resist the temptation to camp in Badman's Cave - that's asking for a ticket.

      The Rock Shelter trail is a shortcut back to Schutt Road, cuts a few miles off the return trip. There is also a legal primitive campsite off the Escarpment Trail south of the lakes. Look for a yellow CAMP HERE disk.

      The campground boundary is just below the North Point overlook. It's in a different shade of green on the NYNJTC map.

      Don't miss the view back to the lakes from Sunset Rocks. It's just a half mile or so on the yellow side trail north of the Mountain House site. It is nearly the same view as in Thomas Cole's time.

      Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Re:Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      The campground is closed until Memorial Day, so nobody will bother you if you camp out of sight. Dont tell Gator I said this. ;) Resist the temptation to camp in Badman's Cave - that's asking for a ticket.

      The Rock Shelter trail is a shortcut back to Schutt Road, cuts a few miles off the return trip. There is also a legal primitive campsite off the Escarpment Trail south of the lakes. Look for a yellow CAMP HERE disk.

      The campground boundary is just below the North Point overlook. It's in a different shade of green on the NYNJTC map.

      Don't miss the view back to the lakes from Sunset Rocks. It's just a half mile or so on the yellow side trail north of the Mountain House site. It is nearly the same view as in Thomas Cole's time.

      Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
      I love Thomas Cole's work, and all of the artist from the Hudson River School of Art. I wonder if those rocks are still there, I bet they are.

      http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/a-view-of-the-two-lakes-and-mountain-house-catskill-mountains-morning/EwEdL_BjaJ-KYg?projectId=art-project

    • Re:Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      rocksNsocks wrote:

      I love Thomas Cole's work, and all of the artist from the Hudson River School of Art. I wonder if those rocks are still there, I bet they are.

      http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/a-view-of-the-two-lakes-and-mountain-house-catskill-mountains-morning/EwEdL_BjaJ-KYg?projectId=art-project


      That's exactly the picture that I wanted to post! But I didn't want to try to browse for it on my phone, while sitting at a restaurant table awaiting my wife's return from the convenience. And that's the view I was recommending to 1azarus. You can't see the Mountain House site from there any more, because the Escarpment is now grown to trees, but the rocks and the lakes are still there, with Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top rising beyond. (Plateau Mountain, on the Devil's Path, appears on the horizon to the right of Round Top, and Hunter Mountain is just out of frame to the right.)

      [IMG:http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6081/6076732261_2c35c79d23.jpg]
      Sunset Rocks by ke9tv, on Flickr

      And I'm pretty sure that on one visit to the Mountain House site, I was standing right where he stood, because at my feet appeared:

      [IMG:http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6194/6076728363_8b3989ff3b.jpg]
      Thomas Cole's hand in the rock? by ke9tv, on Flickr

      At some point, in warmer weather so we can see the old graffiti, I'd be happy to take a group from here on a tour of the viewpoints of some of the Hudson River School paintings. (Most of Cole's paintings of the area seem to be from actual locations. The other artists' are considerably more idealized, but fragments are identifiable.) The difficulties range from an easy 3/4-mile stroll for Kaaterskill Falls

      [IMG:http://www.catskillinterpretivecenter.org/gallery/Cole/KaaterskillFalls.jpg]

      to quite a strenuous bushwhack (there was a trail up there in Cole's time, but isn't today) for Round Top:

      [IMG:http://www.catskillmountaineer.com/images/history/Cole-sunrise-over-the-hudson-03.jpg]

      That ledge is scary to stand on!
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      Hey, 1azarus. A friend-of-a-friend was up on Blackhead today. He reports that the Escarpment Trail down the north side has about a 24-30 inch pack of hard snow and ice, and that he was using ice axe and crampons all the way up. I've canceled my trip for tomorrow, since I couldn't get the stuff together on short notice. (I was hoping for snowshoe or microspike conditions.) A pity, because the guy I was planning to go with is a mountaineering teacher, and this would have been a golden opportunity for a refresher course. I haven't done ice-axe-and-crampons winter mountaineering in over 30 years!

      (I've gone and ordered the stuff, so that if opportunity knocks again I'll have it.)

      Just a data point for your forthcoming trip.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      I'm continuing to keep an eye on Escarpment conditions for you. Here's a report from my friend's trip to Blackhead on Saturday. They were using poles most of the way but broke out ice axes for the steep parts. Jon reports he needed full crampons because there were 2-3 feet of hard-packed snow and ice on the trail.

      plus.google.com/photos/+JonSte…lbums/5986775872310225841

      Check out the photo captions for his notes.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      good morning, AK!!! ... so, the forecast for next weekend looks like the same forecast we had for our harriman trip -- only difference seems to be the length of the day and the depth of the snow!!!

      you hearing anything about snow on that ridge? bring the snow shoes... bring the microspikes.., bring the real winter gear. right?

      i am sort of looking forward to my first attempt to melt snow using a wood burning stove.

      sort of.

      happy spring!
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      so, the trip is finally, like... now! I plan on leaving saturday morning, afternoon or sunday morning -- depending on just how miserable the weather is, and finishing the loop wednesday morning. i couldn't resist buying a new pair of northern lites elite snowshoes to shave a pound or so off the weight of my MSRs... It appears as though they will be necessary.

      would you guys remind me how to avoid hyperthermia?
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Re:Re: Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      1azarus wrote:

      so, the trip is finally, like... now! I plan on leaving saturday morning, afternoon or sunday morning -- depending on just how miserable the weather is, and finishing the loop wednesday morning. i couldn't resist buying a new pair of northern lites elite snowshoes to shave a pound or so off the weight of my MSRs... It appears as though they will be necessary.

      would you guys remind me how to avoid hyperthermia?


      If you move fast and generate lots of heat from sweating it keeps you warm. Just make sure to keep moving.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      You meant hypothermia? Stupid spellcheck?

      I like Mountain Mike's advice: (copied and pasted from another thread)

      1) Insulate yourself from the ground. I use a full length full length closed cell foam pad & my 3/4 Thermarest for winter.

      2) Pitch yur tent where it's sheltered from wind. Avoid low spots where cool air can pool. Also look up for any branches that could break with snow, ice & wind.

      3) Go to bed warm. Eat/drink something warm before get in your sleeping bag. A cup of hot cocoa or some warm jello is great.Do a few jumping jacks. Also keep a candy bar/snacks handy if you wake up cold during the night to give your body some fuel. Change into a dry base layer for sleeping. Add clothes depending on your bag.

      4) Take a hot water bottle to bed with you. Fill a nalgene with water & wrap in a sock or extra clothes.

      5) If your sleeping bag doesn't have a decent draft tube around the neck improvise one. Keep the air you warmed inside your sleeping bag from rushing out everytime you move around. Consider a liner or bivy to boost the rating of your sleeping bag. Even a cheap emergency bivy can make a difference.

      6) Keep your head warm. Wear a hat/balaclave, etc. a scarf that goes over your nose & moth help, but don't breath into your sleeping bag. The moisture will degrade the insulation.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Re:Re: Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      hey rasty and traffic jam... funny thing is i think i like to hike alone largely because i can hike at the speed that works for keeping just right warm. that's hard to do with others.

      sometimes i feel like a lizard.

      i really most worry when its raining and in the thirties or forties -- like what is predicted this weekend. that can make the speed thing get harder to maintain. i call that "a race against hypothermia." oh -- and i am guilty of misspelling hypothermia all by myself -- can't blame spell check this time. i may even have misspelled misspelled... three times!
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      1azarus wrote:

      hey rasty and traffic jam... funny thing is i think i like to hike alone largely because i can hike at the speed that works for keeping just right warm. that's hard to do with others.

      sometimes i feel like a lizard.

      i really most worry when its raining and in the thirties or forties -- like what is predicted this weekend. that can make the speed thing get harder to maintain. i call that "a race against hypothermia." oh -- and i am guilty of misspelling hypothermia all by myself -- can't blame spell check this time. i may even have misspelled misspelled... three times!


      I think it's all about heart rate. When I go too fast (around 3 mph) my heart rate is too high and I sweat too much. I've never done serious heart rate training but it's really interesting.

      Rather, I've never done ANY heart rate training (wore a monitor a few times). When you're already as slow as you can possibly be, there's no point.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Re:Re: Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      1azarus wrote:

      hey rasty and traffic jam... funny thing is i think i like to hike alone largely because i can hike at the speed that works for keeping just right warm. that's hard to do with others.

      sometimes i feel like a lizard.

      i really most worry when its raining and in the thirties or forties -- like what is predicted this weekend. that can make the speed thing get harder to maintain. i call that "a race against hypothermia." oh -- and i am guilty of misspelling hypothermia all by myself -- can't blame spell check this time. i may even have misspelled misspelled... three times!


      Thank goodness there aren't any spelling or grammar nazi's around here. Have fun this weekend.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      1azarus wrote:

      so, the trip is finally, like... now! I plan on leaving saturday morning, afternoon or sunday morning -- depending on just how miserable the weather is, and finishing the loop wednesday morning. i couldn't resist buying a new pair of northern lites elite snowshoes to shave a pound or so off the weight of my MSRs... It appears as though they will be necessary.

      would you guys remind me how to avoid hyperthermia?


      The last couple of weeks, there have been above-freezing temps during the day and occasional rain. The snow on the trails is going to be pretty thoroughly compacted. Given the warmish temps that they're forecasting, I'd expect to find slushy ice underfoot. The last time that I heard from friends going to the peaks was 2-3 weeks ago, and they reported that they did the whole trip on crampons, didn't break out the snowshoes at all. There were still a couple or three feet of hard-packed stuff. It hasn't snowed since.

      https://plus.google.com/photos/116272893441429981618/albums/5988854535400566913 is Jon's trip report, posted 11 March. You can see how firm the show is. And you can see that on that trip, everyone was wearing full crampons (and some of them have ice axes out in a few of the pictures).

      I hear you on the 'race against hypothermia.' I don't know how you stay warm in wet weather with the tiny amount of stuff you carry. For me, the big thing is wind - because in nasty enough near-freezing weather, you're going to get wet (but wool and fleece are pretty warm when they're wet). I use my Frogg Toggs rain suit as a wind shell when it's nasty.

      For what it's worth, they had a lot better weather than when I did that peak in December. They had weather like
      [IMG:https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VGfwCxSyyqs/Uxyvpqs44WI/AAAAAAAAbYI/VJoxmYiZ3sc/w892-h595-no/DSC_6695.JPG]

      When I did it, it was freezing rain (but no snow on the ground) and looked like:
      [IMG:https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qTdQfCvbUcY/UsGqF39e8pI/AAAAAAAAZYU/C0NalmQmgtI/w397-h595-no/DSC_5028.JPG]
      All the seemingly bare rock was filmed with black ice.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      ...so my wife was going to go with her sister to the Red Lion Inn in the Berkshires while I was away... her sister bailed on her, and ... I'm wimping out and going to go with her. trip postponed for two weeks. sure, laugh at me! that means those new show shoes stay, well... new. should be a different world in two weeks!!! at the very least, i'll have a full moon. no hiking in the rain, and lots of bonus relationship points. how good is that?

      thanks for all the info, AK. I can't wait for the trip.
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      Hi 1azarus. This is about the fourth attempt to send you a message. The various web sites are acting up tonight, and I've mislaid your email.

      I was up close to the Catskill escarpment (but below it, on the Helderberg escarpment at about 1100 feet) on March 29. I put up a set of pictures. Trail conditions down there ranged from clear but very muddy (on a grassy hillside), to about a foot of slush (on a steep north-facing hillside), to about six inches of hard ice with running water (on an old woods road in the bottom of a ravine, where a seasonal spring spilled over onto the road).

      Stuff is melting fast, but even fast melting takes a while. I wasn't out this weekend, but I got a good look at the escarpment from the far side of the river as I was going to New York City and back for a family gathering. It looked as if the snow line was 1500 feet or so. Obviously, there will be patches of stuff lower down. I still have a few in my back yard, down in the Mohawk valley.

      My friend Jon made a trip up into the peaks on April 3 with his brother-in-law and a third guy that I don't know. They did Twin, but I expect that the conditions on Black Dome and Blackhead would be similar. Jon reported that there was hard-packed snow and ice, snowshoes not required. They only broke through in a couple of spots, in a deep notch where there was about a two-foot snowpack.

      You can see in his photo set that there was a lot of ice. There are also photo captions from which you can glean a lot of information. The toughest spots on Blackhead and Black Dome are about comparable to the toughest spots on Twin. There is a nice series of images showing Chris and Jimmy working their way through a spot I recognized. Jon didn't get a wide shot, but I recognized the spot. It's the same one that's in my picture from September:
      [IMG:https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3767/9764802355_0bc472276d_z.jpg]
      The slab that they're on is the one angling up and to the right from where the two hikers in blue are standing. (Download the original size to see the detail.)

      Blackhead and Black Dome both have some spots of comparable difficulty. If I were going in the next couple of weeks, I'd take crampons. Mightn't need them, but when you need them you NEED them.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      ahhh. and good morning to you!!! well, you know me well enough to predict my plan, based on your help. given another few days of warmish weather -- snowshoes... no. microspikes... yes. crampons? ... no. i can always back away from something stupid -- i don't really have a fixed schedule or path.

      AK, as ever, thank you sooooo much for your kind help. you are my favorite engineer!!!!!
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      So ... how'd it go? With all the warm weather, I suspect that there was a lot less snow than even when Jon and his friends were up in the peaks a week before. I trust that you managed not to fall off the Palenville overlook, Newman's Ledge, or North Point, and came back with lots of great pictures that you're going to show us.... uhm, you ARE going to show us pictures, right?
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      hello all. i am back, and it was another adventure... started out at Schutt road as AK suggested. muddy, wet trail circling around south and north lake. I had some relatively minor surgery about 6 weeks ago, and had a bad cold for three weeks but was desperate to get out, so I promised myself to take it easy. So... when I got just past north lake and it started to rain I figured camping was a great idea, even though i'd only hiked about 2 hours! I spent a lot of time under my hammock tarp, and used esbit to cook dinner instead of using my wood stove. I was chomping at the bit to get going by around 5 am, so I broke camp before dawn and started walking north on the Escarpment Trail. Still no ice or snow... and made it to Artist's Rock in time for a spectacular sunrise -- clear sky with clouds below -- i promise to post pictures... for that point north the snow and ice became deeper and deeper. I had to break out my microspikes by the time i got to the whatever whatever cave, and soon after i had to use my snowshoes! I did discover the hard way what AK must already have known -- there is a steepness at which snowshoes become a liability. No harm done, fortunately. Anyway, by the time I passed North Mountain and Stoppel Point it became painfully clear that I was not feeling strong enough to snowshoe for the hours i would need to in order to finish my circuit -- so it was plan B time! I took the Colgate Lake Trail, stopped along the way to take a long mid day nap, and made camp near Colgate Lake. The trail was a sloppy mess, by the way... oh, and I was wearing the lightest pair of trail runners, gore tex socks and a midweight wool sock which worked absolutely perfectly! At day break i started an 8 mile road walk back to my car. for the first seven miles only 4 cars passed me, and two of them were while i was "answering the call of nature involving white paper" behind a tree. Nothing like making every part of the trip into an adventure. About a mile before my car i did get a ride, then drove over to the Kaaterskill falls trail head. Nice short walk to the falls base, and, with all the rain and snow melt, the falls were spectacular. I was hanging out, trying to imitate a responsible normal person, when two older guys walked up. They seemed to know there way around, so i asked them "if someone were foolish enough to want to walk to the top of the falls, where would the old trail be?" they said, well, they were going there! so, i asked if they'd mind if i followed, which i did. a bit icy, but not too bad. Being anywhere near the edge at the top was terrifying for me... anyway, after a while, my new friends told me they were continuing on to Artist's Rock, and I was on my own to find my way back down. After a few curses, I headed off, without incident, to my car, a drive home, and dinner guests. Mostly, the outing seems to have gotten me back into some semblance of shape, and i will be building on that so i can be ready for the next adventure, which i think will be the sunapee monadnock trail. how early in the spring/summer can i do that without dying of bugs?
      kick out the jams, bunny rabbit!

    • Trip Planning with Another Kevin

      Do you at least have heel lifts (televators) on your snowshoes? They make a big difference going up steep hills. Otherwise, in addition to the effort of snowshoeing, you also kill your calf muscles trying to maintain your toeholds. A lot of the time in the local parks, I'll pull up my heel lifts even for piddly 600-foot elevation gains.

      And yes indeed, once the stuff gets scrambly enough, and the snow is hard-packed enough, snowshoes become a liability. I really don't think that the Escarpment can be done safely in winter without ice axe and crampons. And you hit just the time of year when you can travel safely only early in the day, because (as you no doubt discovered) by afternoon the ice is slushy and unsound.

      I know exactly the spots where the snowshoes started becoming more a hindrance than a help. Right above Badman Cave there's a scramble up a narrow gully:
      [IMG:https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6201/6076736819_c59f505734.jpg]
      Above Badman Cave by ke9tv, on Flickr

      And then right below North Point there's a spot where in summer you have to work a 4-inch ledge diagonally up and do a mantel move at the top. How the hell did you manage that one on snowshoes? Did you whack around it? (I understand there is a way, but I've never looked for it.) Or was the crack full enough with packed snow that you were able to just sashay up and ignore the rock climb entirely?
      [IMG:https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6086/6079455491_927f7ef269.jpg]
      Rock scramble below North Point by ke9tv, on Flickr

      Good decision, bailing out. While Arizona Mountain is pretty easy, all three of the Blackheads are harder than Stoppel Point, and if you weren't geared for (or feeling up to) the snow conditions, you could have been in serious trouble.

      At least you got some of the Escarpment's wonderful views. Artist Rock is a lovely vantage point. I like Newman's Ledge, too, but I'd imagine that with snow, you were paying a lot more attention to your climbing than photography, or even enjoying the sight.

      Glad you're home safe!
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.