Harvey Road

It didn't start out as a solo. It was early March in 1998. There had been a lot of snow that season but in the last 10 days a front had come through. NCP had fallen before the frontal passage and brutal cold had followed. All that snow was locked in, beneath an tough crusty layer.

* * * *

Rand was my regular ski partner and we had been watching the weather, hoping for some new snow, so we could get back into the woods. The plan was for a two or three night overnight in the Siamese. Made to order...early in the week, a low came across the southern tier of the US, turned north off the coast and headed towards Nor'easter land. The call was for A LOT of snow, starting to fall Friday morning.

* * * *

By Wednesday I was ready to go. The plan was for me to head towards the mountains Thursday afternoon, stay over at Rand's that night and head out after enough snow had fallen to make that bulletproof crust skiable. Thursday morning Rand called. He'd been out snowboarding at Gore with some riders on Wednesday and he was sore. He said be couldn't make it the trip. DAMN IT. I was so ready to get out, and so frustrated. I did everything I could to convince him to change his mind. But his mind was made up.

* * * *

The truth is...I was pissed. First of all...SNOWBOARDING? Come on. Second...with this funkiness between us...I had no place to stay, without spending some serious cash. Looked like I wasn't skiing at all that weekend. To have that much snow falling on the Siamese without being there.....arg. But an idea was forming... what if ...what if I go solo? I get up at 4am. Drive the 5 hours. If it starts to snow around daybreak ...there could be enough snow down by the time I arrive, to head out. And I was really jazzed to try out my new Moss Outland - a bomber one man winter tent. Looked like my first solo camping trip of any kind was going to be a winter trip.

* * * *

Actually that first part worked like a dream. It started to snow around 8am. I was near Exit 13 on the Northway. And it started at a pretty good clip. When I got up to Garnet Hill there were 3-4 inches on the ground. Now in the winter, there really is no legitimate trailhead near the Old Farm Road on 13th lake. People headed into the backcountry tend to park at the Garnet Hill Ski Shop...something that is really not fair to the owners of GHL. Basically you're using their parking and not spending anything with them. That year I'd bought a GHL seasons pass ($75), which I'd leave on the dashboard. A quasi-parking permit as I abandoned it, to head into the woods.

* * * *

So.... if you've ever done any solo winter camping you know... you're carrying a BIG pack. Not QUITE ready to head out, I dragged my monster load into the ski shop to get some cocoa and collect myself. I got some interesting looks from people. I'll never forget one guy asking me if I was headed out overnight. Hard to imagine what you'd do with a pack like that on a day ski. I told him "no I just like skiing with a pack." What a smart ass.

* * * *

Eventually I headed out onto the GHL trail system towards the Siamese. Appropriately enough the GH trail called "Wilderness" is the trail that leads to the trail head. It's groomed until you get to state land. That day it was groomed with 4 inches of fairly dense powder on top. Easy, nice skiing even with a huge pack.


I was excited and anxious. I was quietly talking to myself the whole way out to the trail head. I mean...I HAD all THE GEAR. I knew I could survive. But I was alone...I just kept imaging the newspaper article detailing my demise. I know that's not exactly a rational thought process, but if you've ever done a winter solo...well maybe it's just me. I cruised through the farm clearing and it was really starting to come down. I made the turn towards Puffer Pond, and I remember thinking there must be 5-6 inches of new snow on the ground already. The storm was starting to wind up. The NWS had called for 18+ inches. And those kinds of numbers NEVER account for elevation. I knew we were going to get a lot.

* * * *

There's a different sort of skiing you do when you are ski camping vs regular day trips into the BC. You want to stay in control to an even higher degree. You don't want to fall or sweat too much. Staying dry is one of the keys to being safe and happy. There's a pretty decent size hill when you head West on the Puffer Pond trail... down about 200' toward lake level. I was talking myself through my wedge turns, trying to control my load down the hill. About halfway down...I realized something was wrong. My right binding bail had popped open and I was losing my ski. While I continued to plunge down the hill, I was maintaining balance on my left ski. But I knew it was going to end ugly if I didn't stop. I did what I had to...I crashed as safely as I could. Getting out of my pack and up wasn't easy. When I did get up...I was soaked. So much for maintaining composure and staying dry. I was glad no one had seen my crash. I walked back uphill to retrieve my other ski.

* * * *

Across the short flats at the south end of the lake...and then up the steep hill that parallels the Hour Pond outlet. That first uphill pitch is probably 150' of vertical. I did it with a combination of side-step and side-step traverse. It was just too steep and my pack was too heavy to herringbone. When I got up to the top, I was soaked with sweat. I pulled out my pack towel and wiped down my face and neck. I knew the only thing to do at this point was to keep my towel dry....ski hard the rest of the day to stay warm...set up camp, dry off and then put on dry longjohns. I skied up along the outlet, up and across the bridge over it. I made it to the junction of the Hour Pond and Puffer Pond Trails. I stopped for "lunch." I had a cliff bar, drank a quarter nalgene of water and took a leak. "Pee should be clear...keep your pee clear." That was my mantra. Well hydrated winter campers stay warmer. I'd been skiing over 2 hours and I was halfway to Hour Pond from the trailhead. Hmm..that gets me in after 3pm if I push on...that's a pretty late arrival time for winter camping.

* * * *

The second part of the ski to Hour always seems to take longer than the map would indicate. You climb up and around the flanks of the hills on the southwest corner of 13th lake. Down to your left, in and out of the trees is the Hour Pond outlet. Eventually you start to descend through some pretty thick stuff. If it's your first time out that way you get the feeling you are heading down to the pond. But no. You come to an impressive beaver dam and swamp. I skied across the beaver dam...and the wind was HOWLING. Left at the end of the dam, up and down over the boulders on the shoulder of Beaver Hill and on to Hour Pond. As I came to Hour, it was 3:45 pm and I knew I had to get my tent set up. I kept thinking...do I really want to cross this pond?

Logic would say that, for the most part....it had been pretty cold in the last week. I should be ok. Go ahead, cross the pond, stay away from the outlet. Taking the long way around would burn most of the remaining light. And I was using a new tent that I'd never setup, except in the back yard. I compromised by making an arc across...but I stayed WAY off the outlet, where the ice would be thinner. I kept looking back in my tracks to look for tell-tale gray that would indicate water coming up through the ice. Many times, especially with a large weight of snow on top ...water can be forced up through the ice. In these situations it's unlikely that you'd ever go through, but it can be disconcerting to end up ankle deep in water when your skiing on a pond. Solo.

* * * *

I was psyched to try my tent. I'd read a review that said it was quiet in a 75 mph wind. I wanted to put it to the test. I got the tent up. I spent most of the remaining light trying to rig some kind tarp for a front porch that would allow me to melt snow. The Outland has a minimal vestibule.


I did boil some water and top off two water bottles. But I completely ignored my plans for dinner. I just couldn't eat. I stuffed down another cliff bar. And sipped tea. I had nothing to read, but I did have a waterproof notebook from EMS and I took some notes about the day. I came across that book recently and it inspired me to put all of this down.

* * * *

Mummy bags are supposed to be the best thing for staying warm. But when you winter camp in cold below 10 degrees, you've got to sleep with a bunch of items to keep them warm. Your boots and your water ... can't freeze. I've got a mummy with an extra large foot compartment to make room for all that stuff. It's not exactly relaxing unless you can get in just the right position. I tried to sleep but it was only 6:30. I wasn't feeling tired. In the wind...my tent was ultra silent. But my cheese job "front porch" was making an incredible racket. I knew I should take it down and just use it to cover my gear. I didn't. That was a mistake. ALL NIGHT I had recurring dreams that my tent was being ripped to shreds. I'd wake up and realize that the tent was fine and my tarp was taking a beating. Every time I woke, I'd bang the snow off the tent and try to get back to sleep.

* * * *

In the morning, it was around 5 below, mostly clear, and still really windy. There was at least 30" of new snow. With such a small tent...I dressed outside of the tent. I had to put my skis on as it was the only way to move around in the new snow. Even with skis, I was sinking in up to mid-thigh. I stamped out area around the tent so I could operate.


My toes were frozen. I knew that if I took the time to make tea and breakfast they would be in serious trouble. I had an idea. The next 3/4 of a mile of my route was a bushwack along the base of Bullhead over to the Puffer Pond trail. I'd never done it in winter and the last thing you want to do in 30" of snow, with a huge pack, is go in the wrong direction. Or backtrack. I decided to ski over towards the swamps near the trail without my pack. This would get me warm, and break that part of the trail without the weight of my pack. And I could enjoy some easy skiing back to my tent in my own tracks when I returned to grab my pack.

It was a good move. I got warm quickly and really enjoyed the effort getting over there. I came to the stream, and I was pretty sure I knew exactly where I was. I turned around and skied back. I packed up. And again I barely ate ANYTHING. 1 oatmeal and 1 cocoa. I took the picture above, and booked.

* * * *

When I got back to the end of my tracks, I proceed downstream. I came to a confluence that was tricky. I had to sidestep down into the creek bed, straddle some open water, and shift my weight to the other side. Then...pull my other foot across, pull myself up and sidestep up and out of the small drainage. With a pack. In deep snow. One thing is for sure ...you don't want to get your skis wet when it zero degrees out. Crossing the main stream was much easier as it was flat, grassy and much slower running water, with thicker ice. Once on the other side I continued toward the trail. The first time through, I assumed it was a spot I was familiar with right on the Puffer Pond trail. Certainly the map showed it to be so. But it wasn't. I went southwest. This was one of those situations where the trail was all around me, almost encircling me. I'd have to cross it even if I was 25 degrees off on my compass heading. I plowed ahead through the deep snow, working very hard. As I pressed on a scary thought occurred to me. With this much snow, it was possible that I could cross the trail without realizing it. The amount of snow that had fallen would cover any previous tracks, especially with the amount of wind we'd had overnight. And when the snow is that deep a lot of the witch hobble and ground cover was hidden, making every lane through the trees look like a trail. I stopped, panting, to get my bearings and try to think clearly. I looked up. And around. There it was. A blue trail marker. I was on the trail. Not sure if I stopped in that spot because I sensed something, or I was just lucky. Either way - I'll take it.

* * * *

It was probably 11:30 when I found the Puffer Pond trail. I began the slog along the old road. This was the least exciting part of my route. My mind wandered. I thought about skiers coming through in the days ahead. Someone was going be working hard breaking trail and my tracks would join the trail coming out of nowhere. I'd love to hear that conversation.

* * * *

Somewhere around the height-of-land between the 13th Lake and Kings Flow drainages, I left the trail headed for a low shoulder on the flanks of Puffer Mountain. I'd done this bushwack before, once in the summer and once in the winter. If you get it right, you can't go wrong. It was close to 2pm. Eventually I found a nice campsite on a perch high above Twin Ponds. Behind me was a cliff face. In front of me...through thin hardwoods, were the Ponds, with Buck Meadow, Pine and Hayden mountains in the distance. I set up camp.


Now...feeling pretty confident, I brought out the food I'd been ignoring. Oatmeal, cocoa and some kinda EMS creamed chicken. I ate, drank tea and had some cognac I had in a flask. After dinner, there was still some light. I put on all my layers. With only a buttbag and a piece of ensolite foam, I skied down to the ponds and skied along the eastern shore of the upper pond. I found a big boulder and sat up against it to get out of the wind. I pulled out my flask, and watched the wind whip up snow tornados and push them across the upper pond. It was one of the most memorable moments I've ever had in the backcountry. Writing it down now for the first time, 10 years later, I can still remember it vividly.

* * * *

That night it was even colder...down to 15 below. But the wind had died down. I was warm, content and I slept much more soundly than the night before. I was up before dawn making cocoa and oatmeal. I packed up and headed down to the upper pond in my tracks from the previous evening. From here, I really felt I couldn't get lost. I went down along the eastern side of the upper and lower ponds carefully avoiding the current in the stream that connects both bodies of water. When I got to the outlet of the bottom pond I turned and snapped my last photo of Puffer Mountain and Twin Ponds.


The ski down the outlet is fun. There's no route finding at all. You're loosing about 300 feet of elevation through wide open hardwoods, and here and there you can pick up parts of a hunter's path. The snow was starting to settle and in spots I was linking turns. To a nut like me, linking turns with 50 lbs on your back is fun.

* * * *

I got to Buck Meadow before lunch time. I crossed the swamp without incident. It's probably not more than a few feet deep in it's deepest part and most of it is very shallow. There's an "official" hunters camp there with a woodpile, and tent spot and a place to hang a kill. My plan was to hang out and spend the night. It was barely noon and I wanted to keep skiing. I kept thinking about the duck special at Garnet Hill. So good. I never unpacked. By 12:30 I was back in the woods, following a route I knew well.

At 2:45 I came to the height-of-land between the East Branch and 13th Lake drainages. From there you can see Highwinds, the Barton's garnet mine, Durant, Gore and Pete Gay. I floated down to the main trunk trail that goes between Garnet Hill and 11th Mountain. From here, I was surprised that it had been packed out by skiers. I "flew" the last 2 miles back to the trail head, up to Garnet Hill and back to my car. I dumped my load, warmed up the car, drove up to the Lodge and ordered a beer and the duck. My first solo was one of the great experiences of my life.