On Friday Dave Maddox and I loaded up his truck and took off for the Gulf Hagas area. We got there around 7:00 pm and grabbed one of the campsites along the side of the road just after you pass the Katahdin Iron Works. We set up Dave’s tent, made a fire and some coffee, and hit the rack early so we could get a good head start the next morning.
We got up around 5:00 am on Sunday and were on the trail a little after 7:00. It was fairly cold and we hit snow almost immediately. The trail goes uphill fairly steady at that point for a couple of miles and we were taking it easy as the snow obscured the footing just enough to make it dangerous. I was taken out of that area by ambulance once and have no desire to do it again!
Our goal was to get to the Cloud Pond lean-to, which is about an 11.3 mile hike; however, after the first couple of miles I was thinking that it wasn’t going to be possible given our slow pace. When we hit the Chairback Gap boulder scramble I knew we wouldn’t make it to Cloud Pond. The slide is steep and was covered in just enough snow to make it slippery and dangerous. We took it easy going up and Dave still managed a pretty nasty slip about 1/4 of the way up. 
Boulder Scramble up Chairback
It took us a little under four hours to get the 4.3 miles to Chairback Gap. It was about 11:00 am by that point and if we were going to go another seven hours we’d be on the trail way after dark. Since we were having a hard time seeing the blaze marks with all the snow we decided to set up camp at Chairback and just climb to the top of Columbus and see what it looked like up there.
Dave on top of Columbus
It’s a small hike and little boulder scramble to get to the top of Columbus. There isn’t a whole lot in the way of a view, but we did get a few pictures while were up there.
After we got back from the top we got some wood together and got a fire going and just sat back and enjoyed the evening. I’d forgotten how quiet it gets in the back country. It’s so peaceful up there when the conditions are right…
We turned in around 7:00 as it was starting to get cold. I had my mp3 player with me with some podcasts on it and I listened to that for awhile before I fell asleep. I usually like to write in my journal, but I forgot it this trip!!! 
Me and Dave
We got up Sunday morning around 5:00. Dave had basically frozen his ass off all night even with his –20 sleeping bag. I was a little chilly if I didn’t have my –15 bag zipped up properly, but for the most part I felt fine. Bonnie is often disgusted at how warm I stay when I’m sleeping. Anyway, I think part of Dave’s problem had to do with the fact that we were sleeping on a platform in the lean-to and that cold air was circulating underneath us all night long.
Lean-to – this is where we slept
A couple of notes about the trip:
1. Bring my freakin’ journal next time!
2. The little butane stove doesn’t work for shit in cold weather. The next time I go on a cold weather trip make sure to bring the good camp fuel heater. The butane stove would eventually heat the water up, but it took a long time and the flame never really got what I would consider to be hot.
3. Dave wants to look for a better sleeping mat. He thinks part of the problem of being cold was the fact that the sleeping mat wasn’t adequate.
4. Get new gaiters. The ones I have are old and no longer adequate.
5. Need new cold weather gloves. Also, when hiking in the winter bring a pair of lightweight liners next time, so as not to have my warm gloves all wet and sweaty when I really need them.
6. Have a set of warm dry clothes in the vehicle for the trip home. Driving home with wet pants and boots sucks major ass.
7. Get a new filter for my water filter. Also, evaluate how long the pump filter will work in cold weather before it freezes up. Will probably have to melt ice and snow in order to get water in the deep snow. I’ve done this in the past and it works well.
8. Cell phone coverage in the back country continues to be a problem. I was able to text Bonnie a few times, but for the most time there was no signal on my phone. Dave’s worked a little better, but he went a good bit of the time with no signal as well. Instead of becoming dependent on cell phone communication it makes sense to be better prepared to do a self rescue if needed. Also, an extra day or two of food in the field is a good idea.
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