I had already packed away most of my winter gear when my friend John suggested that we could get in another winter hike, barely 'under the wire' as long as we finished by 6:45pm on March 20, the astronomical start of Spring. So we decided to do WCS (Wittenberg/Cornell/Slide), which we've done many times in the past.
We thought about doing the loop from Woodland Valley, making the short road walk on Rt 47 and bypassing Giant Ledge on the way back to Woodland Valley. However, watching very closely the weather forecasts from various sources it seemed pretty certain that a snowstorm was arriving later on Friday, so we decided simply to do WCS and then finish at the trailhead on Rt 47, which made for an extremely easy and quick hike out via the City Slicker Trail, as I call it. Our main objective at this point in the season was to avoid an arduous drive home.
Watching the forecasts also gave me another idea, the possibility that we might be able to camp on top of Slide because of the much lighter winds ahead of the snow-producing front. We'd long thought abut this but never had done it. We figured if the wind could be heard howling ferociously as we approached Slide, we'd simply camp in one of the numerous flat, sheltered areas between Cornell and Slide.
Trails were well packed and we thought very briefly about wearing only microspikes and not taking snowshoes, but it turned out we were extremely happy to have the snowshoes for a very tough stretch on the lee side of Slide where we would have been postholing up to our thighs for well over a mile. And they also came in handy at our campsite, as well.
The hike up to W, C and S was relatively easy with only one somewhat tough obstacle, but deeper-than-usual snowpack and numerous blowdowns reduced overhead clearance which meant some annoying crawling and thrashing through branches. It was worse for John because he's 6'3" tall!
We were super happy that the wind co-operated and we were able to camp at the top of Slide! The only little surprise after all the exhaustive weather forecast checking is that the temperature was a bit colder than forecast. It was 15°F when we arrived at the top of Slide, 7°F by dinner time and 4°F by the time we turned in for the night. Although I did no thermometer checks after that, we agreed it probably hit 0°F at some point. However, with the arrival of the front, it was 12°F when we awoke Friday morning.
A quite frozen Ashokan Reservoir as seen from the top of Wittenberg.
John shows off his matching jacket and boots atop Wittenberg.
John at the V-Notch. Normally this is an interesting little obstacle, but due to the deep snow pack we could walk right up to the top.
Me, looking down the V-notch.
John crawling under another annoying blowdown.
View of Slide from Cornell.
John taking the last few steps to the top of Slide.
Hey, it's still winter!
Our campsite atop Slide… something we'd thought about for a long time.
John brought only fly and groundsheet for his Copper Spur, so he had to construct a small windwall for the gaps at the edges. Good thing 'cause it got pretty cold.
Here I am enjoying some of the red wine John brought.
What happens to wine at 4°F… like a thick grape Slurpee.
Looking like the Michelin Man, ready for bed!
On the way down from Slide, an easy 1:15 hike, but the predicted front was arriving.
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