When we arrived at the Woodland Valley campground the temperature was a cool 45 degrees with sprinkles and a complete overcast sky. The Wittenberg Cornell Slide trail was marked with red markings between two campsites, then a bridge over Woodland Creek and going almost straight up to begin, and the winds began to howl...
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| Evan and Lucy crossing the bridge |
The steepness didn't last for long as we approached the top of the first escarpment where the landscape plateaued for a pleasant change from the steep start. This area of the forest was captivating, as large growth pines and hardwoods were scattered with waterfalls and small creeks flowing through the landscape. The winds remained howling overhead through the tree tops as the drizzle of rain suddenly turned to snow and pelting hail.
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| Notice the drop to the right. We are at the top of the first escarpment. |
The trail changed from steady ascents to flattening grades, which were heavily pooled with flowing water, creating streams running the contours of the path until we reached the intersection of Tonisgah trail, approximately two and a half miles from where we started. At this junction the trail followed an old cart road, which made for easier hiking until we approached the steep chutes leading up to the summit.
With the steep northeastern slopes still packed with ice and snow in areas, it warranted slow, methodical climbing up the three major chutes until we reached the fairly flat summit. The higher we climbed the more the wind was forcing itself through the trees, as it pelted us with frozen pellets of moisture and snow.
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| The summit was in a cloud when we arrived |
We quickly found shelter from the winds, pitched our tent and hunkered down inside for the night.
The winds were whipping the tent walls, pushing them, shrinking the space inside as we stayed warm inside our mummy bags.
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| Our resting spot until morning |
In the early morning hours, as I opened my eyes from a less than restful slumber, the tent was illuminating from the skies above while the winds continued to shake the tent.
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| Waking up to a dusting of snow |
At first glimpse, outside the tent, we noticed a small dusting of snow blanketed the ground and the sky was glowing towards the eastern horizon, with stars still visible in the dark western direction.
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| First glimpse of the celestial heater |
This was the first sunrise, in our quest, that the temperature was bearable and made it enjoyable to observe the sky's colorful show, as the sun peeped over the mountains in the eastern horizon, its rays reflected off the few wispy clouds floating in the sky, creating a unique display for this morning's sunrise. Each morning's sunrise is like a fingerprint, unique, never to be witnessed again.
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| Evan watching the sun's display |
It wasn't until we started these sunrise hikes that I noticed the steady quickness from the sun's first appearance on the horizon until it seems fully suspended above, so before we knew it, and after many pictures, the celestial heater was warming us as it's rays were illuminating the summits across the land before us, in a soft orange hue, from east to west.
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| Looking to the southwest with the sun's rays kissing the eastern side of the mountains |
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| Is it a morning angel? |
We returned to our tent and proceeded to break down camp, packing everything into our backpacks for the icy descent, which now had a thin covering of snow.
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| One of the cool rock formations on the upper elevations. |
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| Lucy had troubles on some of the steep chutes |
After descending the upper elevations through the ice and snow covered rocky chutes, the remainder of the hike was pleasant under clear skies and cooling winds.
Evan definitely chose a great overnight hike for our April sunrise and the weather cooperated for this time of year. It was nice to have different scenery than we are used to in the White and Green mountains. I'm looking forward to what he plans for May!
Evan's blog: Evanhikes
Our GPS track: Day 1
Day 2
