[at-l] Scott Mason [was: what i did today]

[Art Cloutman]

After I sent my last email to AT-L I read the 
latest article about Scott in the local paper. 
He did indeed summit Mt. Washington then followed 
the AT across Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams and then 
to Mt. Madison.  I imagine because of the heavy 
snow he fell behind in time so decided to take 
what he thought was a short cut down the Madison 
Gulf Trail.  I made the same mistake when caught 
in a heavy storm.  I figured since it would be a 
shorter hike down through Madison Gulf and I 
would avoid the summit of Mt. Madison that I 
should make pretty good time back to Pinkham 
Notch.  The problem is during a heavy rain or 
snow melt the Madison Gulf Trail becomes a water 
fall.  Once you start down it is just about 
impossible to go back up.  And you could end up 
on the wrong side of any stream that was no 
longer possible to cross.  He would have to find 
another way up.  Maybe he knew that and tried the 
Buttress Trail which leaves Mt. Madison at the 
same juncture as Madison Gulf Trail but stays 
higher on the mountain.  Both trails lead to the 
Great Gulf Trail.  The Great Gulf would be very 
heavy with snow this time of year.  And it would 
not be packed down much because few hikers would 
have been in this area this early in the hiker 
season.  He did have snow shoes and crampons.  So 
he should have been able to walk on the snow and 
ice more easily.  But walking with either of 
those devices is a lot slower than walking on 
bare ground without snowshoes or crampons. 
Whatever is exact route, Scott was resourceful.




>Art C. wrote:
>>  ... None of the many articles that I have read have mentioned his
>>  specific hiking plan. 
>
>Here's a synopsis about what he did:
>He planned a 17-mile hike along the Appalachian 
>Trail, to the summits of Mount Washington and 
>Mount Madison and planned to complete the hike 
>in one day. [so...up from Pinkham, over to 
>Madison, and then down
>which trail?  Or would 17 miles be a RT to 
>Madison and back to Pinkham?--maybe that's it.]
>
>He told rescuers that he ran into waist-high 
>snow that made walking extremely difficult. 
>Figuring he would not be able to make the entire 
>trek in one day, Mason diverted from his planned 
>path and took what he thought would be a much 
>shorter loop back to the lodge. (He decided 
>against retracing his path because the steep 
>inclines he had descended on his way out would 
>be much tougher on the return trip.)  Mason then 
>came upon a drainage brook, which in the 
>summertime is easily manageable, but because of 
>the snow melt run-off, had become impassable. 
>The brook cut off the shorter loop, giving Mason 
>no other option but to return the way he had set 
>out.
>
>He managed by relying on his training and his 
>preparation -- even though he planned to return 
>within a day, he had packed food and tools.
>
>If I were his Mom, I'd be proud of his 
>abilities.  Suffering from the scare, but proud.
>
>~~ eArThworm
>Visit my website at http://booksforhikers.com
>"Better to be lost in the woods than in a maze of cubiclesŠ"
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-- 

Life is Good!!!
Art Cloutman