Did not feel like driving today but it's supposed to rain for the next few days so decided to get in a good one. Also it's sunny, 50's, and much less wind - shirt sleeve hiking! Plan was to do Catherine which we passed up the other day because of an icy Dynamite Brook Rd. This morning we got to the top of the small hill but the road beyond was covered with ice and snow and we turned back. Drove back the short distance to Myrick Pond Road to do Tunk ( the easiest route up for Kelley) . The road had no snow or ice but the trail head is on a small road that branches off from the main road. This road was soft and very rutted but no ice. You park by some large boulders and walk a further 15 minutes up this road ( where the road was so soft we sank into it) to reach the trail head.
Kelley found water twice before we reached the trail.
The first part of the trail was only muddy but as we rose we encountered a surprising amount of snow
There is a place on the trail ( steep with large boulders) that Kelley cannot manage and we used to do a large bushwhack to get around it until I discovered a small trail that bypasses it. The only use had been by a moose. The deep snow had a crust that mostly supported us but not the moose.
Our first view after coming out of the trees onto the open ledge
The trail is open for awhile offering beautiful views
and then swings back into the woods (where we found more snow and the worst of the ice) until it reemerges onto open ledge.
We followed the trail to where it drops down toward the ponds
We then turned back the way we had come
Looking north from the other side of the ridge you can see a wind farm in the distance
Almost back to the car Kelley found one last tiny pool- a bit fuzzy as she is in mid-shake
I was a little nervous about turning around at our muddy parking spot but managed it without getting stuck. It had been a very nice hike which Kelley also seemed to enjoy. She needed no help with any of it. 2 1/2 hours
Hi John Shawn here it was a perfert day you & kelley got in at tunk really nice pics we did the southridge of Cadillac got hot after the wind dropped my next hike up tunk will be this I never knew about it til u mentioned it to us last week happyhiking
ReplyDeleteThanks Shawn. This is the easiest way up for Kelley. You want the first road to the right after you come off 182 onto Myrick Pond Rd. The first time I tried to find it I drove a long ways with the road getting very narrow before I found a place to turn around and then some locals clued me in.
ReplyDeleteCadillac can have a lot of weather variation in one hike- length and elevation change.