W3: IO: Johns Brook Loj (ADK winter peaks)

Hey, everybody, I'm going to renew an old tradition of mine, which is a MLK ADK trip over the four-day weekend. I'm not really a bucket list kind of person, but I'd really like to complete my winter 46 before I die. I'm currently at 23 of 46 for winter credit.

Anyway, I have a good scheme for MLK day weekend 2024, one that will give people lots of peaks to summit, potentially, while also not being stupidly committing. We'll drive up on Friday, 1/12, probably in a rationalized car from Grosvenor. This could involve a rented mini-van, which has worked well in the past. We'll park at the Garden TH in Keene Valley, probably after a meal. We'll meet Evan there and hike into the John Brook Loj, where we'll make a deep winter camp for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday, we'll have two full days to work on peaks, the easily available ones are Lower Wolfjaw, Upper Wolfjaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, and Big Slide. Those accessed with more difficulty might include Basin, Sawteeth, Haystack, and even Marcy. There should really be a lot for us to work on. I'd expect folks to divide up and do different things. Honestly, for me, any progress is acceptable. I'll probably go for UWJ, Armstrong, and Gothics first (I already have LWJ and Big Slide).

Sunday morning, we'd strike, walk out, hit the Noonmark, and drive home.

Notionally, this will involve three nights in the ADK backcountry, but you'll note that the camp is just three miles from the TH, so if someone has trouble, the safety route is cake. I reserve the right, in case of extremely cold temps, to opt for a hotel, though of course we'll try to avoid that. My record is -15*F and I'm not sure I'm trying to beat that.

I've set this to W3 and IO. Here's what I mean by that. You can expect that conditions will call for snowshoes and crampons as your main tools for getting around, mainly snowshoes. As a 46er and a skier, I have pretty strong opinions on that topic, so if you're thinking you're going to try to walk around all weekend in crampons, I'd just as soon you go on your own trip. Mountaineering snowshoes are really what you should be using. I will also be quite fussy about the gear you're bringing--it should be rated to the expected temps. I'll want your winter bona fides to be in place and I'll ask to see a gear list.

This will also be a little more expeditionary style than DC UL often does. We'll probably be reliant on white gas stoves, which need to be rationalized, etc. There will be snow shovels, etc.

I've set the number of people to six, but I think that could rise to eight, depending on the driving arrangements.

Reach out if you want to chat about it.

U-Turn, 571-225-6763