Sometimes we don’t make the summits we plan for, and that’s okay. At least that is what I tell myself, and I have heard the same from others. Plans are dependent on external factors that are beyond our control, such as weather, illness, injury, or lack of preparation (hopefully not this one), among other things. On Sunday, Huiyeng and I set out to bag the Tripyramids. It had snowed substantially the Friday before, and we knew we’d likely need snowshoes.
We had opted to do the Sabbaday Brook Trail, which is gorgeous, as opposed to the Pine Bend Brook Trail, which was shorter but steeper. We were among the few who chose that trail on that day, and while the trail was broken heading out to the touristy falls, the further we went out, the less broken the trail was. As we continued the hike, you could see where someone before had decided to turn around, and the snow became thicker.
Maybe three miles into the trail, we saw a guy coming back. I asked him how it was, and he said that at the base of the mountain, trail was no longer broken. He was very apologetic, saying he sorry he couldn’t break the trail, because he had plans to ski with friends that afternoon. We pressed on and finally came to the part of the trail where he had turned around.
We hadn’t even really started the ascent up the mountain, and we couldn’t even find the trail at first. It took a bit of wandering around and looking at All Trails to figure out where the trail continued, but eventually Huiyeng found the blaze, so we trudged forward.
This was my first experience breaking trail, and let me tell you, it was not a lot of fun. It was hard. I’d take a couple of steps on top of the snow, and then my snowshoe would sink, kerplunk! I’d take a step forward with the other foot and pull my lodged snowshoe out of the snow and then repeat. And this wasn’t even on the ascent. They work would only get harder, so we made the decision to turn around and call it a hike for the day without reaching our goal. I was disappointed for sure, but sometimes things just don’t go as you had anticipated, and you know what? That’s okay.
The hike, despite not summitting, was incredibly beautiful. Fresh snow layered everything in a blanket of winter white, and it was quiet. So quiet. We say four people in total: a couple at the falls, a woman walking her dog without snowshoes, and the guy who was meeting his friends for skiing. The trail follows the Sabbaday Brook, which was partially frozen, but small openings in the ice revealed flowing water underneath. It was pristine and peaceful.
Further up the trail we saw moose prints coming out of the woods and heading down to the water. We saw a few sets of those up toward the mountain. On the way back there were more! Fresh moose prints and several spots of moose skat, steaming and stinky, lol! We did not see actual moose though, and while part of me was disappointed, the other part breathed a sigh of relief. Moose are majestic but can also be dangerous. In any case, I felt blessed to see their tracks and to tread lightly in their realm.
