With the weather looking good, and a bit disappointed with the views from Clinton last weekend, I took a day off from work.
Cardigan's been on the radar for a while, and seemed a good choice for a mid-week hike. Wanted something relatively mild since I needed to work Thursday.
So I got up early (again! is this becoming a habit??) and headed for Cardigan Lodge ....
The road to Cardigan Lodge involves a number of twists and turns. Following google maps directions was pretty straightforward, except it referenced 'Plumer Hill Rd'. If there's a sign , I missed it. Good news is I was on the correct road and a good Samaritan helped with directions :)
Passing thru Alexandria conjured images of The Village ... but only briefly. It looked pretty cheerful and quite lovely.
Shem Valley Rd was well plowed and easily passable , but a little claustrophobic when I met a plow truck coming from the lodge. It is NOT wide road :O !
The day was shaping up to be absolutely stunning as I parked at the lodge. And no other visitors in sight. Surprising. I expected to to see quite a few people. Maybe the skiers were holding off for Thursday's storm.
I chatted with the caretaker at the lodge for a bit, getting some idea of the conditions. I planned the classic Manning-Mowglis-Clark route. Started to bare boot, but decided to put on the snowshoes partly for the better footing and partly to help keep the trail better for the skiers. There are quite a few ski trails and the main trails look like they get more ski than hike usage right now.
That was certainly true at elevation. The Manning trail ascends at a satisfying rate, enough to get the blood pumping, but not overwhelming at all. Pretty gentle, then a fairly short steep section and one minor lift around a ledge. Then it opens out at a large cairn with a nice view of Cardigan & Firescrew.
And here, my hike took a wrong turn. Literally. I had been following a beaten path. Not familiar with the Manning trail, I did not realize that whoever I was following had left the proper trail. Eventually I reached a point where the path became confused; I'm guessing the other person was casting about for the trail. I did too for a while.
Trail description sounded like I was in the right place. Map looked right. GPS looked right. So I thought perhaps I'd just missed the trail due to a blowdown or something. Hmmm. Early in the day, beautiful out, feeling good, only 1/4 mile from summit. So I decided to whack for it. This turned out to take a LOT longer than expected. I'm not a very fast hiker, but an hour to cover 1/4 mile is slow even for me. Looking back now, and with some more info, I can see where I (and my "guide") got off trail. It's clear now that the decision to whack was wrong; but it seemed reasonable at the time. Famous last words - fortunately not. Anyway, I'm actually kind of anxious to go back and try it the right way :)
But the wrong trail was not without its reward :
Finally getting back on trail on the summit of Firescrew was a relief. I did NOT want to go back the way I had come, so I was hoping that I didnt have the same sort of problem and could just continue on the planned route.
And the effort to reach the top of Firescrew was not wasted:
There were some snowshoe and ski tracks, enough to be a little confusing, but there were also cairns and a sign, and the open ridge made it clear where to go anyway. Mowglis had tracks and was easy to follow. Not too many drifts. But bera in mind that was before Thursdays storm.
Cardigan summit was windy but not terribly cold. But being behind schedule I could not linger. Amazingly, the rocks were almost completely free of snow and ice. I barebooted over the summit and partway down the west side looking for the Clark trail. No cairns after the junction sign. Presumably, the trail uses markings on the ledges - on this side, covered with snow. Sigh.
These were steeper than I wanted to try, especially not being certain that any route I chose would not end at some unpassable point and force me back up. So I cast around for a bit, and did find some tracks heading down a gentler route, that looked in the right direction. I could see the Warden's cabin ... so I knew worst case I'd do some woods whacking once off the ledges. That would be much better than dead-ending on some ledge.
The route turned out to be a good one, though, bringing me out just above the cabin, where I picked up the Clark Trail. I shortly reached PJ Ledge, where ski tracks suddenly became numerous. The Clark and Alexandria Ski trail ( no hiking! plus, it's steep) meet just below the ledge. Note - on the AMC map it looks like the trails diverge right at the ledge. Really the junction is a little below the ledge.
Took a few minutes on the ledge to enjoy the view and check in with TLV via cell; I was now still a couple miles in the woods and behind schedule. But smooth sailing from this point forward, the Clark , Holt-Clark Cutoff, Holt and Manning trails from the cabin to the lodge are well blazed and well traveled.
This hike turned out to be MUCH more strenuous than expected. Off trail I ran into spruce traps, ice and deep drifts. The trails are easy to follow below the ridge line, but on the ridge can be difficult as they are not very well blazed on the trees (even where there are trees). Cairns are not always evident, and in some areas the trail markings are on ledge and therefore not visible in snow. Please note I'm not advocating that the croo go wild with paint or cairns. Nor is this a complaint. Just a comment that the trails at elevation may be difficult to follow ... and getting off-trail can make an early afternoon finish shade toward evening ;)