On-the-fly revisions and what's really important

Zander and Brett on Panther
Although he's scared of snow, Brett loves winter camping
Zander, to our relief, survived his first winter trip

I realized this past weekend that Brett and I have observed a tradition of going winter camping nearly every year since 2000. We missed a few years during college, but have otherwise made sure to set aside at least one weekend to turn off our cell phones, ignore our email, and get up into the mountains for a couple days.

Some times we've gone with other friends, some times we've been joined by various girlfriends, sometimes it's just been the two of us. The uniting thread through all the trips has been the Adirondack High Peaks, and a goal of obtaining one or several summits. We both know those mountains well, and, for a long time, they were easily accessible as Saratoga provided a good jumping off point. And, I've been a 46er since 2001, but would like to complete my winter round one of these decades.

I found my way into a few spruce traps
Extricating myself was ... challenging
By day's end, I must admit, I was rather frustrated

This year, we were joined by one of Brett's brothers, Zander, and set off with the goal of climbing three trailless peaks: Santinoni, Panther, and Couchscraga. It was the first time that we'd planned to climb trailless mountains, and reports on the conditions of the herd paths varied from, "impassable," to "cake." I was a little concerned that we might not be able to climb all three peaks -- and thus delay my tortoise-like progress toward that 46-W. But, to date, Brett and I had always managed to achieve our objectives.

It snowed a fair amount the day before we got to the woods, and we broke trail on the way to the lean-to. That meant, of course, that the herd path would be snowed in, and we'd have to break trail on the way uphill while navigating the trackless woods. But, it didn't seem like an insurmountable challenge, and besides, I'd climbed the Santinoni range twice in the summer.

As it came to pass, we lost the route fairly early in our climb, while hiding from a driving snow under our hoods. We pressed uphill, figuring that we knew we were on Panther's flank, exactly where we wanted to be. As it turned out, that wasn't quite right. After five hours of pushing through alpine vegetation and deep snow, and becoming ensnared in Spruce traps, we came out onto a promontory north and east of Panther's peak, overlooking the old MacIntye Iron Works and Bradley Pond. We were supposed to be further to the south and had, apparently, climbed the wrong ridge extending down from the mountain. We could also see the summit above us -- the first of day's three objectives.

But, it was already late, and it was going to take a lot more bushwhacking to reach the top. From there, we'd have the option of backtracking back through the brush, or breaking a second trail down. Zander called uncle, and we beat a retreat.

On the way up hill.
Zander's face said, "Why is this so fucking hard?!"
Brett's face says, "Nothing like my little brother's misery!"

In past years, I think I would have been disappointed not to have fulfilled the weekend's objectives. I might have thought that seven hours is an awfully long time to sit in the car and not reach the top of a single mountain. But I found that I wasn't bothered: We'd had a great walk through the woods. We shared laughs, conquered some adversity, stayed (mostly) warm, coached Zander through his first winter camping experience, and enjoyed meals seasoned with a powerful spice that can only be found deep in the woods on cold nights edged with driving snow and howling wind: hunger and sheer gratitude for a warm meal.

Most importantly, we'd left our cell phones in the car and told our friends and families not to bother trying to reach us. I came home feeling at peace with a lot of things, and I was thankful for having had the time away, brief though it may have been. Maybe we'll reach the summit next time.