Seward Range trailhead.
At around 2pm Friday the 28th of November I shouldered my winter overnight pack and signed-in. 2 people were doing Seymour and their snowshoe tracks were filling in with new snow. I wore boots covered in rubber overshoes (Tingleys) but carried snowshoes on the outside of my pack. It was getting dark when I met the Seymour hikers who wondered where I was going. It was almost headlamp time when I saw the Blueberry lean-to in the gloom, 2h30 minutes from the parking lot. My first job was to gather firewood, which was easier than anticipated in the dark. In fact, it was beautiful to wander around in the dark with the headlamp reflecting off the swirling snowflakes. I carried and dragged to the lean-to decent-sized logs (dead, down and not rotten due to being a few inches off the ground) plus what looked like a lot of smaller branches and sticks. I processed it all, sorting the sticks into 3 piles (small, medium and large), wrapping them in a tent footprint to keep-the falling snow off and then I spent a half-hour sawing the logs. The wood was for the next night, after the climb of Seward.
Next up were the camp chores of getting and boiling water, setting up my little camp, sliding into my booties and down pants and eating my home-dried mac and cheese. I wasn’t expecting my friends to arrive until after 10 so I went to bed and fell asleep listening to Beethoven piano sonatas. I was awake when I heard them come in and the LT became a beehive of activity until 11:30 when we were all ensconced in our bags ready for a wintery nap.
Next morning at 8:45 we were on our way to Seward and maybe Donaldson and Emmons. I had my doubts about D and E but kept them to myself. I had written to my friend Nathalie saying Seward from the north would probably be monumentally hard given the current conditions. And I was right! Lower down the trail was a mess of running muddy water, rocks and roots. However there were enough snowy sections to merit wearing snowshoes. Higher up the the trail is crazy steep and the snow was 2-3 feet deep and totally unconsolidated. The trail just keeps on going straight up! It took 5 fit hikers, regularly alternating the lead, 5h30m to cover 3 miles from the LT to the summit. I’ve gone down the north side several times but only up it once, 20 years ago when the entire trail was a river of blue ice. I have often said I would never go up it in winter, especially if not broken out. Never say never. Up high progress was very difficult, but it was very beautiful in the late autumn light and it was also a very hostile world. The tree branches were caked in snow that could have been sprayed on out of a can and the sky behind the intricate patterns was a deep blue. Overhead the clouds were whipping by and it was quite cold up. The first winter cold always seems to feel colder than January’s cold. At that point in time it was obvious no one was going beyond Seward.
The descent was a lot quicker (2h30m) but hard on the knees and quads. Back at the Lean-to I was cold. After I changed into all of my down clothing I went for a brisk walk in the snow until I warmed up. In winter, when I stop and my skin is all wet I lose core temperature really fast so I move quickly, while still generating some heat, to change into dry base layers and down pants, puffy and coat. After that it was time for the campfire and wine, laughing and joking until at 8 we were all in bed.
In the morning I decided it would be better for my fitness progression to not do Seymour and the other members of the group decided to hike out too. It was a beautiful walk out with light snowfall and the wind roaring in the treetops.