At 600’ it looked like things might burn off, but that was not to be.
The Dog Mt. Loop - the not so easy way 12-27-12
The Dog Mt. Loop - the not so easy way 12-27-12
Buzzed up the Augspurger Tr. mostly just to see conditions after the Christmas snow dump.
At 600’ it looked like things might burn off, but that was not to be. At 1700’ the snowshoes went on. A newly snapped tree crossing the trail Morning was going nicely with the shoes. At around 2000’ I came to the first of 2 snow slides. Crossing Second slide was a few turns up the trail. Looking back after crossing After reaching the Dog - Aug. Tr. jct., I went down to the first switchback and made the decision to just do the Dog Loop. The ridge trail had several deep snowdrifts, but it wasn’t too difficult to stay near the trail. After reaching the 2 switchbacks that lead to the traverse I considered going direct, but the trail corridor had become discernible. Came around the corner to the traverse with high hopes…
At 600’ it looked like things might burn off, but that was not to be. At 1700’ the snowshoes went on. A newly snapped tree crossing the trail Morning was going nicely with the shoes. At around 2000’ I came to the first of 2 snow slides. Crossing Second slide was a few turns up the trail. Looking back after crossing After reaching the Dog - Aug. Tr. jct., I went down to the first switchback and made the decision to just do the Dog Loop. The ridge trail had several deep snowdrifts, but it wasn’t too difficult to stay near the trail. After reaching the 2 switchbacks that lead to the traverse I considered going direct, but the trail corridor had become discernible. Came around the corner to the traverse with high hopes…
Last edited by Jack on December 29th, 2012, 9:31 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the hard way 12-27-12
…while walking into a near to total whiteout. Gps was useful on the ridge. Now it was a necessity.
being aware of the drop-offs below the trail, I decided to traverse up near or under the ridgeline trees when possible.
After getting through some vine maple under the trees and huge snow drifts out in the open, I found my way back to the trail just before it breaks into the open, headed for the Dog Jct.
There I stayed above the trail again, but came to what I imagined was the buried junction sign. I decided to steer clear of the rock wall trail due to more steep drop-offs.
My chosen route was northeast above the rock. This was my view in that direction. Drat!
At this point summiting was an afterthought and I skirted at about 100’ below it. I was amazed at how seeing just anything made me smile.
This is what I became used to seeing, along with the gps and map.
Once I saw a few trees, I felt it was safe to go direct down a snow route I had done before. Wished I'd had the track.
Looking back up
It was sweet seeing the barely visible windswept trail edge leading off to Puppy Pt.
Went down the trail a bit and jumped off direct, bypassing the Puppy switchback. As I was coming down, I saw two hikers traversing up the trail, barely being able to make them out. I advised them to be careful from a distance, but then I realized they didn’t have snowshoes and were postholing 2 ft. They turned around. Seems I can kill a hike as fast as I can kill a thread. Damn! 
The bench at the 2000’ junction
Went down the middle trail, where there was 6 - 8” of snow at the 1400’ plateau
A beautiful and welcome sight.
Long day for a short hike, but fun just the same!
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the hard way 12-27-12
Great TR! Make sure this gets submitted for the 2014 PH calendar.
"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
― E.B. White
― E.B. White
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the hard way 12-27-12
Peabody wrote:Great TR! Make sure this gets submitted for the 2014 PH calendar.
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the hard way 12-27-12
Yowsa! Good thing you're handy with a map/gps! That, and I suppose, that you know those hills like the back of your hand, huh? Having not made it over to them yet, I have a hard time imagining staying on track.
But I think my favorite was...
I liked that one, too.Jack wrote:Peabody wrote:Great TR! Make sure this gets submitted for the 2014 PH calendar.
But I think my favorite was...Karl
Back on the trail, again...
Back on the trail, again...
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the hard way 12-27-12
Yeah Karl, this was the most snow I’ve seen up there. Waist deep in places with snowshoes. Glad I got an early start. Better than ice, though. Took my ice ax, just in case.kepPNW wrote:Yowsa! Good thing you're handy with a map/gps! That, and I suppose, that you know those hills like the back of your hand, huh? Having not made it over to them yet, I have a hard time imagining staying on track.
I liked that one, too.
That picture was a pleasant surprise to me, later. I sure don’t remember anything resembling the sun.
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the not so easy way 12-27-12
Hat's off to you on your navigation. I'm with kepPNW, that is one sweet image.
have you mapped your GPS track?
have you mapped your GPS track?
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the not so easy way 12-27-12
Here’s the track, mcds. BTW, I was hoping to summit Defiance a 10th time this year, thanks to you, but this last storm took care of that. Thanks for all the hard work.mcds wrote:have you mapped your GPS track?
Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the not so easy way 12-27-12
Wow Jack, the views were spectacular on your hike er, I mean, what a Winter Wonderland Whiteout. Definitely not-so-easy. I bet during the worst low-visibility moments the hiking was rather surreal.
Definitely not-so-easy. I bet during the worst low-visibility moments the hiking was rather surreal.Re: The Dog Mt. Loop - the not so easy way 12-27-12
I could not agree more, Crus. At it's worst, I was using my poles out front to see if any surprises were out there.Crusak wrote:Definitely not-so-easy. I bet during the worst low-visibility moments the hiking was rather surreal.