For my third and final peak for this trip I chose Mount Wambek. The shortest of the three in terms of distance, it is the perfect peak to pick before sitting for 7 hours on the long drive home. Glenn turned into the Starr King Road and dropped me off where the plow stops 130m before the actual trailhead. Later on, I would meet him at the winter trailhead to pick me up.

I started on Starr King Trail early just after 7AM with a lovely yellow glow rising behind the Presidential range in the distance. I started in microspikes on the well trod snow path and noticed the  consistent ramp that kept ascending through a lovely hardwood forest. Lower down there wasn't many views but through the trees I could see glimpses of distant mountains. It didn't look like anyone had hiked Waumbek the day before on Monday, so for the third day in a row I was the first one on the trail and breaking the trail. Both Cabot and Waumbek's trails were in much better condition than Moriah's with less post holes and more even trail paths. Waumbek's trails was the best marked of the three which came in handy at the higher elevations.

The trail is essentially a long ramp all the way to the top of Starr King with out any break or reprieve. I fell into a sustainable 'all day pace' and kept my feet moving and my heart pumping. I had dropped some of my weight from usual - no snowshoes, less food and less liquid which allowed me to move a bit quicker than the last two days. After a hairpin turn, you rise up to what feels like should be the summit, but it's actually the summit of Starr King. Here there is a beautiful view of the Presidential range and a brick fireplace that is the only remains left from a old cabin. The trail continues to the right side of the fireplace where it descends down into a col. The alpine scrub dumped snow on me so I pulled my hood up to avoid getting soaked. Here the snow drifts erased the trail and I was twisting my neck side to side trying to find any faint trace. Up high, I found some new friends on the trail. The snowshoe hare population were abundant in alpine zone on Waumbek and seemed to always be travelling along the human footpaths. I never saw any of the furry creatures, but their tracks made my day much easier. Between the hare tracks and the yellow tree blazes, I was able to find my way to Waumbek's summit a short distance away after ascending one last incline. 

I checked online this time and saw that Waumbek's summit is marked with a large rock cairn. I couldn't find one with the deep snow depth, but found two junction signs that marked the summit. I took swig of water and a few selfies and left. There are no views from this summit. I re-traced my tracks down and up again back to Starr King and then began the descent down the ramp. Not too far down I found another solo female hiker who stopped me and asked me a whole bunch of questions. She had figured out by my track that the hiker ahead was a female, and made many inquiries about my hiking training and the number of breaks I took. She was impressed I had never stopped until I reached the summit and she had had been trying to match my footprints all up from the the trailhead. I found it entertaining on the way down to see her footprints right on top of mine - see photo below. She was working on her 48 and was on #29. I later saw a lone solo male hiker. The weather today was above freezing and all of us had light layers on. I was happy that on the way back down we were on the shaded side of the mountain which allowed my microspikes to scamper along down the path without balling up. The Gray Jays and Chickadees sang as I hiked on my way down. Today's hike felt like spring is around the corner! Big thanks to Glenn for coming down with me and being my shuttle driver to the trailheads. Fingers crossed my next trip down he will be able to hike with me.

Date: March 11th, 2025
Distance:11.39km
Time: 3 hours, 23 minutes
Elevation: 878m or 2880ft

Peak #103 of 115

After reading a trip report from another hiker from 2 days before, I wasn't sure whether or not to keep Mount Cabot as my objective for day 2. The hiker hadn't had any issues hiking but the road conditions into the trailhead on York Pond Road had been the issue. The description called the road a 'sheet of ice'. We eventually made the decision to check it out as it had snowed overnight and we did bring our 4WD truck with us. We went for it and it paid off. Glenn had to drive the road twice though to drop me off and pick me up. It was sheer ice under some sticky snow.

Starting around 9AM, I was the first on the trail again. The trail was supposed to be hard packed but today was also coated with an inch or so of new snow. I brought my snowshoes with me just in case the depth became too much to manage in microspikes but I decided that spikes seemed to work for the conditions. The trail starts out flat and then as it goes up the Bunnel Notch trail it follows this lovely ravine with a brook that ramps up very gradually. The about 4 km the trail ascends up this ramp until the hardwood trees fade to conifers and you find yourself at the Kilkenny ridge junction sign.

There wasn't any more snow here so I kept going on in microspikes. After this junction, the trail is flat and even descends a bit before turning up and making some switchbacks towards the final approach. The alpine firs become more and more closed in the closer you reach the summit. I had put my hood up so I didn't get constantly showered with snow and I swapped out my mitts as the first pair became we with sweat and snowmelt. I also  added a Gore-tex shell jacket to keep me protected from snow and wind.

I eventually reached a wooden sign pointing towards an outhouse and the cabin. The cabin near Cabot's summit used to be used when they had a fire tower up there. I am happy they have left it as it's a great refuge in the winter. It was here that I lost the trail...I could see very faint paths and trusted my gut to keep following it. The trail goes behind the cabin and up and every 10 meters or so I had to stop and look for clues to where it goes. I went by what may have been two summit cairns as they look like pyramids but there was so much snow and ice coverage I had no idea if there were rocks underneath them. I had made the mistake of forgetting to look online at what the marker is on the summit of Cabot. In the ADKs most summits have a sign or marker but in New Hampshire many summits don't have anything. I kept following the faint trail falling off the snow spine a couple times until I found a sign post and no hints of trails past it. This must be it! I took some photos and double checked my GPS watch and it the summit was 0 meters away. Yippeee! I then looked at my All Trails App which showed the summit behind me possibly at those cairns? Regardless I was happy and headed back down to the cabin for a drink and snack break. I had made it up in 3 hours. The clouded summit hadn't offered many views but I didn't care - I have been to many treed clouded summits before.

My pack was covered in snow from hitting branches and so after a quick break to re-fuel I headed down. About 10 minutes down the soft ramp a couple was coming up and soon after a solo male hiker. I was flying down the trail as my microspikes slid slightly and my knees liked the grade of the slope. It was less than an hour and I was back at the junction. All morning I had been looking for fresh animal track in the newly fallen snow. There wasn't much to see...until the way back! There is a family of otters that live in the creek along the Bunnell Notch trail and it looked like they were having a ball sliding around on the new snow. I also saw snowshoe hare tracks, squirrel and vole. I kept going down the ravine and hopped over about 12 open water crossings before the sun started shining and the snow started to really soften. Luckily I finished before it my spikes started balling. When I returned to the road, there were some melted parts and it looked like a plow and sander had been through. I met Glenn in the hiker parking lot and we went and checked out the Fish Hatchery on the way out. Very cool!

​Date: March 10th, 2025
Distance: 15.55km
Time: 5 hours, 10 minutes
Elevation: 932m or 3057 ft

​Peak #102 of 115

Ever since I returned from my October 2024 trip from the White Mountains I have been wanting to return. I had hit the big milestone of hitting 100 peaks of my NE111 (115) list and it was beginning to feel close to finishing. All of my remaining peaks are in New Hampshire, and so I know I will become a 115er in the Whites! Unfortunately it wasn't until March of 2025 that I was able to return, after the re-election of Trump and brewing trade war between Canada and the United States. The 7 hour drive to Gorham was a bit different this time - my car had been having some issues so my husband and I opted to take his truck. A much more comfortable ride but the gas mileage might not have have made up for it! We travelled down on our anniversary and it felt right to be back surrounded by mountains as 17 years prior we had gotten married in the Canadian Rockies. Unfortunately due to a foot injury that he is going to get surgery on he was not able to hike on this trip leaving 3 days and 3 peaks of hiking to me solo!

On Sunday March 9th 2025, Glenn dropped me off at the Carter-Moriah trailhead just before 8AM. As I was jumping out of a the truck, a local resident began yelling at us citing we were blocking his property (which appeared to be an empty lot with a fire hydrant in front of the opening). We explained that we weren't parking there for the day, I was getting dropped off, and Glenn was just turning around in the cul-de-sac but he didn't seem to care. He had obviously had run-ins with hikers in the past and was overreacting to a harmless situation. It didn't feel good to start off the hike like this and I was shocked at how this man and his dog were acting. We had never even been to this trailhead before and there were no signs to say hikers couldn't be dropped off!

I put on my microspikes and quickly headed up the hard packed icy trail. The first 637 feet go straight up before a short break in the terrain before ramping up again. The thaw that had happened a few days before was quite evident in the trail as there were thousands of footprints and snowshoe prints frozen in the snow. Yesterday's winds had blown snow over the trail the higher you went, and the thousands of deep post holes became booby traps. About half way up I became uncomfortable....worried that as a solo hiker and first person on the trail I might fall into a post hole and injury myself. I decided to change into snowshoes to allow a bit more of a safety net with the wider platform.

There are a couple of open look outs on the way up and I could see some nice views of Mount Madison of the Presidential range. There were a couple places that the trail had become erased due to the wind scouring and I had to look around to find it. It wasn't long before I found it again and was back on track. The climbing raised quickly on this hike and seeming to include lots of ups and downs and rolls. The temperature was below freezing which helped me control my temperature I got closer and closer to the summit.

At one point I saw a faint junction, or what I thought might be two directions to travel too. I chose the one that looked more well used and glad I did as it as the spur trail to Moriah's summit. I made it out to the rocky perch and drank in views of the Carters and Presi's. There were clouds building over the Presi's but still beautiful to look at. I had never visited the Whites in winter so the views were quite spectacular. I took some video and photos off the summit and some selfies with the summit marker. I had the summit to myself!

The wind was blowing hard so it didn't take much convincing to get off the open summit and back down into the trees. I texted Glenn and started to go down to find a sheltered spot to have a break. I looked at my watch and had climbed 3400 feet to get to this summit! I passed a couple of guys and a dog heading to the summit in running shoes and ankle socks (brrrr!) and found a place I could eat and drink. I put my hood up while on break and when I re-started again had to duck under a arm-sized branch hanging perpendicular across the trail. With my hood still down I didn't see a spikey branch that was poking out of it and stabbed my scalp with it's sharp spike. I didn't damage myself badly but there was some blood!

On the descent I ran into 20 people in small groups. 16 were women and 4 were men. I was stopped by one group of experienced women in particular who had all sorts of questions for me. One had done the 115 in winter, and so we swapped stories. I love seeing women on the trail!

The rest of the way down was quite treacherous. There were thousands of post holes and uneven ground to negotiate which took quite a lot of concentration.  I took my snowshoes off to find skinnier foot placements and I am not sure if that was a good idea or not because I did fall into 2 post holes. A mess of a trail but we got it done!

Distance: 14.3km
Time: 5 hours 22 minutes
Elevation: 1102m or 3615ft

Peak #101 out of 115

Sunday October 27th: We woke up at 5:30AM and packed up our lean-to at Moose Brook State Campground. We ate a quick breakfast and made instant coffee to go and hit the road. We drove from Gorham over to the Zealand-Hale access road, lucky to find the gate still open. We knew it closed for winter, but was unsure of when that could be. We drove in to the Hale Brook Trailhead and set off of the trail at 7AM. 

The trail walks up a nice ramp through deciduous forest before entering the coniferous forest and walking up a few switchbacks. It was here something was different. We saw hoar frost on the ground, and noticed that the seeps of wet areas were now frozen. Bits of styrofoam-like snow were covering the ground but not enough to make it white. We could see in the distance some peaks that looked more snow covered. We continued up the alpine scrub making sure our foot placements were on rock, not ice and quickly made it up to the summit area. A large pile of rocks creates a summit cairn here but no views from the summit proper. The summit area  is large and looks like it might have been home to a fire tower back in the day. I was very excited as this was summit #100 of the 115!

We made it up in 1.5. hours and had the summit to ourselves. The temperatures today were much colder than previous days: around freezing with a windchill. We donned another layer for the descent and made our way down. We passed several parties on the descent: solo hikers, young families, an older couple. It was great to see so many people out hiking. We arrived back at the parking lot before 10AM and could then start the long 5.5 hour drive home. 

Hike Stats:
Distance: 7km
Time: 2 hrs, 50 mins
Elevation: 692m or 2270ft

NE 111 (115): #100

Saturday October 26th, 2024: We woke up early at Moose Brook State Campground and saw the sunrise light the sky up between the trees. The red sky 'sailor's warning' was true on this day as gale force winds were forecasted later on. We chose to hop over the State line to Maine and hike Old Speck Mountain, my last in Maine.

We drove over from Gorham and started hiking after 8AM, but we weren't the first on the trails that morning. We chose to take the Appalachian trail up as it was already raining and the forecasted winds were urging us to get up and down as quickly as possible. We climbed well manicured trail winding through the forest (with less leaves than yesterday), and followed a nice brook up the trail. Rain drizzled down on us and we donned our gore-tex rain coats. The temperatures were cold enough that we didn't mind wearing the gore-tex layer.  We finally got up to a ridge and could feel the full force of the wind from the windward side and added gloves and rain pants to our outfit. We were in a cloud and there were no views in any direction.  We continued over a series of bumps and false summit areas until we found the fire tower and got to the summit proper. At this point were were still in a cloud, it was hailing, and the gale force winds had begun. There was no views and the wind gusts made going up the fire tower downright scary. I went up about 1/3 of the way and came back down. We didn't linger long so after a few photos and videos we returned down the same way. We had passed a few solo and duo hikers along the way but on the way back down, we passed a few larger parties - one group of 6 women and 2 parties of what look like ill prepared college kids. We didn't stop for lunch until we were back on the leeward side, about halfway back down to the car. I had my first thermos of tea on this hike which is a sure sign winter is coming. On the descent we got a couple views as sun peaked through the clouds and we could see some wind vanes in the distance. We also got a couple of views of the peak we just climbed. We got down to the parking lot around 2PM, happy to have checked off my last Maine 4000 footer. 

Hike stats:
Distance: 11.87km
Elevation: 946m or 3200ft
Time: 5hrs 13mins

Maine: 14/14
NE 111 (115): #99

Friday October 25th, 2024: The plan to get down to New Hampshire came together very quickly. I applied for my one paid day off per year and got approved so I quickly booked some campsites and got my plan in place. We drove 4 hours to Magog, Quebec for the night and stayed at Parc D'Estrie, a trailer park that was thankfully still open on October 24th. We spent the night camped on a grassy lawn and woke up to frost covering the tents and car. We threw our gear in the back of the car, grabbed a coffee just after 6AM and drove until 9AM to the Rocky Branch trailhead for Isolation. The Glen Boulder would have been my preferred way but the parking lot is under construction.

We left just after 9AM and it didn't take long to encounter our first challenge. Leaves! The trees were bare of leaves and were over ankle deep. This created treacherous trail conditions as you couldn't see what was below your feet as you stepped. I had just sprained my ankle 4 weeks before, and so I took most steps cautiously. In addition to the 2km of deep leaves, the trail ascends steadily. After an hour or 3km of hiking, we had ascended 1600ft from the parking lot. The trail levels off  and even goes down slightly but the terrain changes to boulder hopping all the way down to the river. Luckily today the mud and water were easily avoidable. The first of 5 river crossings happens around the 6km mark and the trail weaves its way on each side of the river with more boulder hopping on each side. The river was low, and so crossings were easy. The trail hand rails the river and is a gradual ramp. After the 5th crossing the trail moves away from the river and turns into a curve towards the summit. Staying in the forest, you pass by campsite, and two junctions before the summit trail begins. 

The summit is wide open, with excellent views of the Presidential range. We had a clear day and shared the summit with a few others. We took a lunch break here, enjoyed the sun, no wind, and took many photos. The summit is 11.5km in and 3200ft of ascent. The return trip took the route in reverse hopping back and forth on thousands of boulders barely any faster than we came up. We had dry feet when we returned, something that people complain about with this route up. A great day to be out in the mountains, especially on a bald summit. Glad to have this one checked off!

Hike Stats:
Distance: 22.7km
Time: 7 hours 50 mins
Elevation: 3800ft

​NE 111 (115): #98

With over an inch of rain in the forecast starting early afternoon, we set our alarms for 6AM and got on the road early. Hiking by 8AM, we started up route #6 on the Sugarbush Ski Resort Hiking map. We deviated from the route once to short cut the route up Organ Grinder, but then got back on #6 to the top of Lincoln Peak. The route up was a steady 2300ft climb. There was some construction going on up there but we found our way to the observation deck and the Long Trail easily. The wind chill temperatures at this elevation were near freezing so we didn't linger long and started off on the Long Trail towards Abraham's bald summit. We passed by some blowdown, a few muddy sections and over one downed tree. We passed by Little Abe at 3900 feet before reaching Mount Abraham proper. When we arrived, there were 4 others there already - all of us being blasted by the wind. The views were spectacular in all directions and there was a rock ring constructed on the summit to protect from the wind. We donned some more clothing and gloves and took a few photos before quickly retreating back to the same trail we came in on. Back in the trees we added more layers as the ridge was still frigid and we weren't generating enough heat now that we were travelling on the ridge. We got back to the Lincoln chair and passed  quickly through an open area back onto the Long Trail ridge. The trail here becomes easier as it moves towards the CastleRock chair and we were able to pick up the pace a bit. Still exposed to the wind we didn't stop until we got to the top of the chair. 

Here Glenn decided his foot (which is slated for foot surgery) had enough of the uneven terrain and decided he we would descent the ski hill while I continued on the Long Trail over to Mount Ellen. I skidaddled onto the Long Trail ascending over a few bumps to Cutt's Peak where I double checked my position on my GPS watch and then continued on to Ellen. The trail has a couple of muddy spots to skirt but for the most part is an easy walk. Ellen's summit is treed and close to the top of another part of Sugarbush ski hill. I thought about descending that Sugarbush North ski hill rather than turning back the way I came and get Glenn to come pick me up. I couldn't find any information about hiking on that portion of the ski hill online and saw that everyone who was out hiking on the day returning the way we came so I followed suit. The trail out to Ellen was not difficult, so it only took about 40 minutes to re-trace my steps before I was back at the top of the Castle Rock chair texting Glenn at the bottom. I descended the Troll Road run to the base with the top third being a bit loose an steep and then bottom 2/3rds being a beautiful fall walk with colours in all directions. An hour later I met up with Glenn and the bottom who was listening to a live band at the base and a crowd at the village enjoying a crisp fall day. 

Luckily I had beaten the rain and was able to get back to the car and start the 5 hour drive home north before it hit. We decided to forego camping for another night due to the rain but there is something so magical about Vermont's scenery, vibe and hiking I wish we could have stayed longer. Vermont is done!

Hike Stats:
Distance: 17.82km
Time: 5 hours 27 mins
Elevation gain: 1158m or 3808ft

Vermont: 5/5
Northeast 115er count: #96 and #97 out of 115
​October 13th, 2024

​I rolled my ankle on a hike in September and had been still feeling the effects a couple weeks later. Glenn has a foot slated for surgery so when I was thinking about what 115ers I had left to do, I selected two hikes with ski hill approaches to reduce the amount of time hiking on uneven terrain. 

We drove the 6 hours Saturday morning via the southern Adirondacks to Killiington Ski resort in Vermont. The drive down was spectacular as the fall colours were on display despite being slightly past peak. The resort was busy, complete with hikers, mountain bikers, and leaf peeping gondola riders. We set off around 2pm, and followed the "E" trail up. This route up winds it's way up using forested trails, ski hill runs, and ski hill roads. The very well marked trail mixes steep climbs with traverses to catch your breath. Closer to the top, you pass under the gondola and head up the staired walkway which brings you to the top of the gondola and summit hut. When we arrived, we couldn't believe the hoards of people. The crowds were out in full force leaf peeping in all directions. The sunny day made the conditions pleasant - we hiked the last short trail to the summit, only to find about 50 others there at the same time. We took a few summit photos - well actually we got a random stranger to take some photos and enjoyed the views of the Adirondack in the distance.

We scampered down the summit trail back to the gondola and walked back down the stairs and decided to take a the "C" route back down. This route was a great descent as it followed all ski hill roads and was only steep for one short distance. The mountain bike trails that merge with hiking trails are well marked and I give kudos to Killington for their well managed property. Before we knew it we were back at the base and finished the hike. We headed driving north to Chittenden State Park campground for the night, arriving with just enough light to spare to set up our tent.

Hike Stats:
Distance: 7.83km
Time: 2 hours, 27 mins
Ascent: 541m or 1773ft

Hiked October 12th, 2024. Peak #95/115

Day 1: Sunday August 4th, 2024 Paint Pots to Helmet Falls

We woke up happy to be camping at Marble Canyon Campground in Kootenay National Park. There had been so much uncertainty with the wildfire situation in summer of 2024 that we weren't sure if we would have to cancel the trip entirely. After arriving by plane to Calgary August 3rd, we drove out to Kootenay to car camp before our planned Rockwall reservation began. With the time change we were up early, and was able to start on the trail a full hour earlier than we had scheduled at 8AM. We crossed the bridge over the Vermillion River and passed by the iron rich paint pots before leaving what most tourists visit on this trail. We headed up through forested trail and through an old avalanche path full of fireweed. We began shouting "Day-O" and "Yee Yee You" to ward off any grizzlies that might be in the area. 

We passed by a junction and then continued on the forested trail until it opened up to a silty blue mountain creek where there was a bridge crossing. Upon further investigation, a campsite called Helmet-Ochre with a few tent pads and an outhouse are also found here. Looking at our GPS units and watches, we had almost travelled half the anticipated 15km distance to our campsite for the night at Helmet Falls. When we took a snack break at the campsite, Glenn realized that his bear spray was missing. He had slung it through the chest strap of his backpack and on a previous water break it has slid off the strap. He and our group member Marc walked back 10 minutes onto the trail to find it and then returned empty handed. As they were gone, I realized my sunglasses were missing off my head on top of my hat. Uncharacteristically, we had both lost important items in the first 6.6km. When Glenn returned empty handed, we decided to walk quickly back onto the trail and walk 30 mins tops back to see if we could retrieve both lost items. My sunglasses were worth $300, and I wear them everyday for work and they are essential to me for preventing migraines. At a blistering pace, we walked back and met up with a couple about 13 minutes into our walk back who had the bear spray in their hands and returned it to us. They had also picked up my sunglasses and put them on a stump another 15 minutes back. Off Glenn and I went practically running down the trail looking at every stump  compared to the other shielding the glasses on our walk by. We asked two other groups if they had seen them but they hadn't. We turned around defeated, and on our way back found them on the stump and realized why we had missed them in the first place. All in all we had delayed the group's progress by 2 hours, something unanticipated but on this day we had lots of wiggle room to fit it in having started an hour early, having stable weather, and anticipating an early afternoon campsite arrival. If I had a firm deadline on that day (ie to meet a shuttle bus, etc)  I might have had to leave the items behind. In the backcountry mistakes can be deadly, and it isn't something I make a habit of doing. All in all we paid the price for our mistakes by adding an extra 8km to our original 15km hike distance.

Continuing on from Helmet-Ochre, the trail ascends through the forest and follows a creek to a wobbly suspension bridge. It's best to cross one at a time here, Not long after the crossing the trail passes through more forest and a junction to Goodsir Pass. We passed some fresh bear scat on the trail and arrived at the Helmet Creek Warden cabin which is the sign that you have made it to the Helmet Falls campground. We could barely see the falls in the distance due to the smokey skies here. We arrived at 3PM to find that we were the second group to arrive. There must have been close to 20 campsites here to chose from. We set up camp and finally had our lunch and figured out where the dining area was located complete with bear-proof food lockers. We ate our freeze dried meals around 6PM and turned in early to bed. Our bodies were subconsciously still on Ontario time. Overnight showers came with some lightning in the distance. Although it made everything wet, the smoke in the skies disappeared!

​Day 2: Monday August 5th Helmet Falls to Tumbling Creek

Wake up time was around 6:20AM. We weren't the first hikers up and gone but we were one of the first. The tent flies were wet along with the ground and vegetation. Conversation with other campers at breakfast surrounded the overnight distant storm and if we had seen the lightning or heard the light rain. Conversations ceased when we realized the smokey haze was gone and we had a clear view of the 1100 foot Helmet falls in the distance. Wow what a view! We oooed and awed over the falls.  After packing up, we were the first group to head out onto the trail that morning headed towards Tumbling Creek. The first 500m of trail is in bushy alder which completely soaked Glenn's feet. We took the side trail to the base of Helmet Falls (now that we could see it) and bumped into a family of marmots whistling in a rock pile at the base of the falls. After taking a few photos, we returned on the same trail we had come in on adding 1km to our total for the day (a worthwhile detour). On the way out the group met a territorial ptarmigan who launched an attack at us as we scuttled by her. She was a legit 'angry bird'.

Back on the main trail, we followed the switchbacking dirt path up to a couple of more viewpoints of Helmet falls until we climbed out of that drainage and into another one along Rockwall Peak. The trail was bordered by an abundance of wildflowers and once headed downhill, the trail was easy to pound out another mile. We hit a silty lake and took a lunch break at the bridge here. Almost immediately after the lake you cross another rickety bridge over a creek and enter another forested uphill section cresting another hill into a wide open alpine valley. To our right almost the entire day were tall rock faces that invited me to wonder if anyone had climbed or traversed their ridges. As we entered the valley, trees became very sparse and alpine flowers bloomed. We ran into a single woman and her dog on the trail and found out she was a national park bear biologist. We had a good chat with her and identified the names of the the wildflowers we were curious about. She told us what the bears were eating and asked us to take her photo and vice versa. We continued further and passed a ranger cabin in the distance and passed another junction before entering into a section of forest that looked like an avalanche had ripped through it before descending down to Tumbling Creek campground. 

What we didn't know about this campground is that there are an A and B section to this site. Both areas are side by side with tent platforms and their separate kitchen areas and storage lockers. We set up camp in the sun and were able to dry out our tent from the night before despite being surrounded by several biting flies (sand flies?) and horse flies. A quick change of clothes to our long pants and long sleeve hooded shirts solved the problem. The Tumbling creek is silty, so we found a side creek that was clear to filter water from. We took a walk through the B campsite and down to a bridge across the creek where there was a tight canyon and thundering rapid to check out. We wandered back to our site and set up camp and had a little rest. We met at 5:30PM for dinner, and minutes after our last bite that the dark clouds rolled in and we had to retreat to our tents for a 90 minute long intense thunderstorm. The entire time we were on the Rockwall there were several groups of trail runners out trying to run this trail in a day. We met one female solo runner fairly late in the day at Tumbling and I wonder where she was when that intense storm hit as she wasn't moving quickly when we saw her. The trail runners all run in the same direction from Floe to Paint Pots as it it less elevation but has less views. It was 14.5km to Helmet Campground, and I was doubtful she had made it that far.

Day 3: Tuesday August 6th Tumbling Creek to Floe Lake

Day 3 was to be our biggest challenge physically: a 19km hike with 4000 feet of ascent over two passes and 3500' of descent. We were on the trail again early and crossed to the other side of the creek passing a lingering snow patch left over from winter. We climbed the winding trail up to the tall glaciated spires above. The trail climbs to some excellent viewpoints of the glaciers and peaks before crossing a pass and descending a steep loose gravel trail in the drainage towards the Numa campsite. After the steep descent you cross a creek and enter into an alder tunnel. In the morning the tunnel was shaded and wet but in the afternoon I assume it would be very hot. It is also excellent bear habit so we were constantly yelling out to make any furry creatures aware of our presence. After the tunnel section, you pass through a huge blueberry section of trail before finally reaching a dead end. Turn right and within a minute you are in Numa campsite. We chose to stop at the tables and benches for lunch here, 8km into our day. 

To be honest, Numa was my least favourite looking campsite and I was glad we were moving on from it. The campsite were surrounded by tall bushes and the views were minimal. We crossed the bridge kept going straight through onto a gradual ramp through forest sometimes sandwiched between two creeks. We kept walking up the ramps catching glimpses of some falls in the distance. We passed by two more falls (one up close and one from a distance) that were bursting at the seems from the rain over the past 2 nights. The vegetation and ground was quite moist - a good sign after the dry season the west was having. The trail climbs up towards Numa Pass through the forest in shade switching back and forth for quite some time. It finally starts to level off as the trees thin out and we took a long break after a long ascent. Once above the treeline, a stunning view of peaks appear at your back and as you climb the scree slope, Numa peak towers over you on the left. Once in the scree saddle a minute after you have drank in the view of the valley behind you see what is ahead of you...Floe! 

Descending down into to Floe Lake is pure joy with a long bench of trail to follow that is flagged but more alpine flowers, view points of Floe Lake and a lovely dirt ramp of trail through forest down to the campsite. "The" campsite at Floe next to the lake was taken, so we had to settle for one away from the lake. We set up camp and aired our wet tent and walked back to the lake to spend our time there. One of our group members went swimming but others including myself dipped our feet in which felt great after a long 7.5 hour day in boots. After eating by the lake, the sun set behind the high walls of the peaks and so we made our way up to the tents to rest our tired bodies. A nasty long thunderstorm rolled in the middle of the night and lasted for 2 hours. The thunder cracked across the sky and it sounded like it hit and echoed off the walls across the lake. I counted the number of seconds between lightning strikes and thunder and it varied between 4 and 11 seconds. Trying to sleep at this highest elevation camp at 6600', was almost impossible. The storm ended with a large amount of heavy rain until it sounded different on the fly of the tent. I turned on my headlamp to find pea-sized hail showering the tent. Luckily the Durston Xmid 2 was up for the challenge but the rain that followed created a river under our tent caused by a less-than-deal designed tent pad that caused slight moisture to creep up through the tent floor.

Day 4: Wednesday August 7th Floe Lake Campsite to Floe Trailhead

Breakfast in the morning of Day 4 was a surprise treat. The calm waters of Floe Lake created perfect reflections of the surrounding forest and mountains and was quite picturesque. We ate breakfast on the shores of the lake where we had eaten dinner the night before and took several photos of the stunning views in front of us. We tore down the wet tent one last time and packed up to hike the 10.5km downhill out to the highway. The trail drops quite quickly steeply and enters an old burn zone where there are charred logs to crawl over and under and lot of fireweed growing all around. As we descended the temperature rose from the cool morning we woke up to at Floe. Several parties we crossed paths with were going up to Floe - some for the day and some overnight. The consensus through the conversations is that we were lucky to have scored a campsite at Floe and had a reservation to do a preferred itinerary of the entire Rockwall trail. Thanks to Deb for getting us a reservation. I felt grateful for being able to complete this spectacular trail and even more grateful that the weather and wildfire situation cooperated to allow us to experience this. Highly recommended!

Hike Grand Totals:
Distance: ~60km
Elevation gain:~8500 ft

Deb and I got dropped off at the Livermore Road Trailhead and headed down the trail around 7:30AM. For the first 5.7km or so, the trail is a double track road that connects the local xc ski trail network but in the summertime is used by hikers, mountain bikers and trail running events like the Jigger Johnson 100 mile Ultra.  The Livermore road hike is easy making some gradual ascent in shaded forest bliss. The temperature was still cool so we kept our pace high on this section. Finally getting to the trail, we followed a forested path for a short distance before started to ascend the slide slab and rock drainage up North Tripyramid. This slide is well known, and I was excited to tackle it as scrambles are up my alley. It didn't take long to catch up to another group of 4 climbing the slide on this sunny day. We passed them at the crux of the route, on a section that required some foot jamming and looking around for hand holds. It was apparent that Deb and I were more comfortable with these rock moves than the party we passed. Instead of rushing them, we overtook them - something I was happy about as I didn't want loose rock pummelling down towards me on this slide if they were above us. I wasn't wearing a helmet or any other rock gear so we were happy to be higher up. The slide is a mix of slab and at the upper section very loose rock including the ball bearing scree that can cause you to slip quite easily. We took our time and paid attention to our foot placements. The vistas of the ski hill and Osceolas were outstanding on this day and we soaked them up anytime we could. I realized I had forgot my phone in the car so we only had one camera to capture our hike memories.

At the top of the slide, the trail exits on the left into the forest again where in a matter of a minutes you hit the summit proper - a rocky outcropping. We drank some water here (drinking on the slide was almost impossible) and met up with a female hiker who had come up from another trail and wanted to hike down to the slide to see the view. There are no real views or lookouts off the actual summit. We took off on the ridge trail towards Middle Tripyramid and descended a few hundred feet before climbing back up. Just before the Middle Summit, we met up with a local male hiker who was on his way down. On the summit proper, we spoke to a hiker from Boston who also called us crazy for ascending the slide! 

We took a quick summit shot and headed over to South Tripyramid. Here we sat down on the summit to have lunch and to send a Garmin inReach message to my husband to coordinate a pick up time after forgetting my phone in the car. Sidebar: I got a U.S. cell phone plan and love it! Not too far of the South Tripyramind summit a rocky slide with lots of loose rock descends steeply for 1000ft. We intently paid attention to every footstep. Today I was using my husband's hiking poles which I needed for balance and jumping down off big rocks. On the slide, we got hammered by UV rays from the sun. Finally at the bottom, we entered the shaded forest and marched out the lovely dirt ramp all the way back to the Livermore Road. As we walked out, we were passed by several mountain biking parties. Deb and I were chatting and not paying attention to our footing on this easy terrain where she tripped and fell forward scraped a few body parts but wasn't injured seriously. We met up with Glenn who walked in to meet us. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this hike - the slides were so much fun! I wouldn't want to to it on a icy day but today (Friday July 19th, 2024) was perfect!

Hike Stats:
Distance: 17.75km
Elevation: 930m
Time: 6hrs, 13mins
NE115er list: Peak #93 and #94