17 Days in the Snow

[Tipi Walter]

Okay boys, I just returned from my February trip into the Citico Creek wilderness of East Tennessee and was lucky enough to get five separate snowstorms during the 17 days I was out.

For all trip pics go here---

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backp...s-in-the-Snow/

17 DAYS
IN THE
SNOW

TRIP 172
February 7-23 2016

HIGHLIGHTS
** 17 DAYS IN THE FEBRUARY SNOW

** I (AND PATMAN) DON'T SEE ANY BACKPACKERS IN 17 DAYS

** A RETURN TO BRUSH MOUNTAIN FOR TRAILWORK

** BLIZZARD ON BRUSH MT

** SECOND BLIZZARD ON BRUSH MT IN BUG HOLLOW GAP

** 16 INCHES OF SNOW ON BRUSH MT

** SNOWSTORM ZERO DAY IN BUG HOLLOW

** 5F MORNING ON DAY 5

** THE SECOND FAILURE OF KAHTOOLA MICROSPIKES

** NEGOTIATING THE SOUTH FORK DEATH ROCK

** PATMAN CAMPS WITH ME AT THE CHIMNEY ON ROCKY FLATS FOR A COLD 8F NIGHT

** A COLD TOUGH CLIMB UP CROWDER BRANCH

** A ZERO IN A HIGH CROWDER RAINSTORM

** 4TH SNOWSTORM ON DAY 10

** 5TH SNOWSTORM AT PINE RIDGE JUNCTION

** MY DEEPEST SNOW ON DAY 12 AT 14 INCHES

** DEEP SNOW ON BOB MOUNTAIN

** 58 HOUR RAIN ON BOB AND FLATS MOUNTAIN


TRAILS
Entrance at Beech Gap into Citico Wilderness
Fodderstack Ridge
Trail 149
**Barrel Gap**
Trail 149
Brush Mt
**Brush Mt Gap Camp**
Brush Mt
**Bug Hollow Gap (2)**
Brush Mt
South Fork Crossing and South Fork Trail
**Donner Camps**
South Fork
Warden Fields
Rocky Flats
**Ed Abbey Camp**
Rocky Flats
**Chimney Camp**
Rocky Flats
Doublecamp Roadwalk
Crowder Branch
**Crowder Horse Camp (2)**
Crowder Branch
Fodderstack Ridge South
**Oglala Camp at Pine Ridge Jct**
Fodderstack Ridge South
**Glenn Gap**
Fodderstack Ridge South
BMT Connector
Trail 149
**Cold Gap**
54A South
Bob Mountain
**South Col Camps (3)**
54A South
Cold Gap
Fodderstack Ridge
Beech Gap
Skyway Roadwalk
Flats Mt Trail
**Camp Hope**
Flats Mt Trail
Skyway Roadwalk to Turkey Creek Overlook and Restrooms and OUT



All winter backpacking trips need to begin with the boots, in my case greasing down my Zamberlans.



On Day 1 of the trip I get shuttled to Beech Gap and enter the Citico wilderness with a 90 lb pack including this Voile XLM snow shovel shown at my first night's campsite.



On Day 2 I leave Trail 149 and hook onto the Brush Mt trail, the most rugged and remote trail in the Citico and by the morning of Day 3 I'm caught in the second snowstorm of the trip. The Hilleberg Keron tent is excellent.



I leave a snowed in camp on Day 3 and negotiate the difficult to follow Brush Mt trail up and over Satan's Teat, a tough hill full of blowdowns.



Since the temps are around 15F and the snow is dry I use the Kahtoola microspikes to good effect. They don't work in deep wet snow but are excellent otherwise.



On Day 5 I leave a good camp below Satan's Teat and climb Ike Peak where I find this blowdown to cut with my folding saw.



Blowdown is cut as I continue down the Brush Mt trail.

[Tipi Walter]

The Brush Mt trail takes me down to South Fork Citico trail and a cold creek crossing in bare feet with crocs and then the South Fork trail squirts me out here on the Beehouse roadwalk to Warden Fields. I keep my microspikes on my sternum strap in case of encountering ice. My Arcteryx proshell rain jacket saved my butt on this trip.



South Fork trail links me into Warden Fields and the Rocky Flats trail where I meet my backpacking buddy Patman pulling a weekend trip in the cold. We link up and hike to the chimney on Rocky Flats and set up our separate tents for a very cold night at around 8F.



On the morning of Day 8 it is very cold at 8F and Patman dresses out in his Western Mountaineering Lynx down bag to stay warm before packing up camp and leaving.



Patman is packed and ready to finish the Rocky Flats trail and out and I leave one hour later behind him. Check out his Mt Hardwear Nilas down mittens. I also have the same pair and they will keep your hands warm at 0F.



Patman takes off home and I finish Rocky Flats trail to Crowder Branch trail where I snag my old OR rainpants on a blowdown snag. Oops.



Later in camp I use my needle and dental floss for a full repair.



Crowder Branch trail is a tough climb and it puts me on Fodderstack Ridge to the Pine Ridge trail jct where I set up camp and get hit by my 5th snowstorm of the trip.

[Tipi Walter]

While caught in my 5th snowstorm on the ridge a little piglet comes up to talk and has no fear so I take several pics of the little guy. He's frisky and then his Mom comes down the trail a'huffin' and a'puffin' so I back away and return to camp.



On Day 11 I leave my Pine Ridge camp and climb up to Big Fodderstack Mt and around these pretty rocks. The trail was blocked in many places by snowdowns and snow loaded brush.



As I climb higher towards Bob Mt I reach tough trail conditions with over a foot of snow.



I reach Bob Mt at 5,300 feet and have to pull 2 zero days here in all day butt cold rainstorms.



A couple zero days in the rain on Bob Mt.



On Day 16 I leave Bob Mt and pull a 6 mile roadwalk to Flats Mt where I spend my last night as shown above on the top of the Flats. On Day 17 I pull a long 5 or 6 mile roadwalk to my shuttle evac point and the trip ends.

[kibs]

Hello" Mountain Man" TIIPI;

Talk about a true adventure. This reminds me of the Klondike camps we did in Michigan while in Boy Scouts.
One outing, we had sub-zero temps (-10F) and fought to keep our food and everything from freezing! We had frozen eggs you could bounce like rubber balls! Of course we didn't carry all our gear--used Sledges to haul into back country.
Thanks for sharing!

kibs

[Casey & Gina]

Thanks for sharing, looks like a fun time. How are the Zamberlan's working for you? I ordered a couple pairs for us but they ended up being too large, so now they'll be sent back and I'll try another size.

Also what camera do you use for these trips? Looks to produce great pictures!

[TNhiker]

in picture 136 of the album----there's a sign nailed to the tree...

what is that sign for?

[rocketsocks]

Walter, In your highlights ya say

**My Second failure of katoolah micro spikes

...guess I missed it, what happens there?

[Casey & Gina]

in picture 136 of the album----there's a sign nailed to the tree...

what is that sign for?

[TNhiker]

yeah.....thats the picture....

whats that sign all about?

dont think i saw it when i was in that area.....

[Ashepabst]

perhaps they're proud of their tree chopping and wanted to leave their calling card?

[Tipi Walter]

Hello" Mountain Man" TIIPI;

Talk about a true adventure. This reminds me of the Klondike camps we did in Michigan while in Boy Scouts.
One outing, we had sub-zero temps (-10F) and fought to keep our food and everything from freezing! We had frozen eggs you could bounce like rubber balls! Of course we didn't carry all our gear--used Sledges to haul into back country.
Thanks for sharing!

kibs

Thanks for the trip memories. I often had frozen raw eggs on previous trips but they thaw out okay once in the frying pan.

Thanks for sharing, looks like a fun time. How are the Zamberlan's working for you? I ordered a couple pairs for us but they ended up being too large, so now they'll be sent back and I'll try another size.

Also what camera do you use for these trips? Looks to produce great pictures!

My camera is a Panasonic Lumix LX7. I really like the Zamberlan boots and ordered the same size that fits me with Asolos and the Z's fit very well. After two hard trips I have no complaints. In fact, they offer all the advantages of the Sorel type packboots without the clunkiness as anyone who has backpacked in Sorels knows. My feet and socks stayed dry the entire trip because the Z's don't leak water (up to the ankle cuff) no matter how wet they get.

in picture 136 of the album----there's a sign nailed to the tree...

what is that sign for?

I saw this sign for the first time last year and it's a memorial thing I guess of someone who loved the area, perhaps a horseback rider as I imagine the "view clearcut" was done by perhaps his friends or horseback riders?

Walter, In your highlights ya say

**My Second failure of katoolah micro spikes

...guess I missed it, what happens there?

The microspikes fail miserably in deep WET snow whereby each one picks up a 5 lb glob of snow underneath and you end up walking on big round clumps with terrible traction, i.e. no traction. I took a nasty 5-point fall coming down Brush Mt in the things as the below pic demonstrates. My left boot slipped off the left middle rock and I tumbled all the way down to the right in the picture. Elbows and teakettles. 'Twern't the first time clogged up spikes threw me to the ground.

In wet snow, take them off and use just your boots.

[egilbe]

We wondered how you was making out in the deepfreeze and snow cycle. Sounds like an adventure of a lifetime :-)

Wet snow will stick to metal spikes. Some more expensive crampons have anti-spalling plates that prevent wet, sticky snow from sticking. I keep meaning to make some out of sheet plastic for my Hillsounds, but it hasnt been enough of a problem to motivate me. Up here, its been the Winter that wasnt.

[Joe Shug]

Wow, looks like a great trip. Thanks for sharing.

[Kaptainkriz]

Outstanding good time, I love piglet!!

[TNhiker]

I saw this sign for the first time last year and it's a memorial thing I guess of someone who loved the area

ok.......makes sense now with the dates...

ive seen more memorials in that general area than i have seen anywhere else...

there's one on whigg meadow--metal cross with a sorta laminated picture----just to the backside of the meadow.........was up there at that campsite up top and went in woods and saw it........and weirdly, the person who the memorial is for---his friends were staying down at the campsite right at the gate............

[Sheriff Cougar]

Love your posts and photos. Thanks for sharing.

[Abner]

Thank you for these amazing trip photos.

[Tipi Walter]

ok.......makes sense now with the dates...

ive seen more memorials in that general area than i have seen anywhere else...

there's one on whigg meadow--metal cross with a sorta laminated picture----just to the backside of the meadow.........was up there at that campsite up top and went in woods and saw it........and weirdly, the person who the memorial is for---his friends were staying down at the campsite right at the gate............

Yes, I've seen the Whigg memorial as below---

[MockingJay]

Thanks for sharing, Tipi. Curious what was your pack weight on this trip?

[MockingJay]

Thanks for sharing, Tipi. Curious what was your pack weight on this trip?

Nevermind...just scrolled through the photos again and saw you had a 90# pack!!! You are the man!