BOTHERATION POND & BROOK xc skiing
Siamese Ponds Wilderness . April 8, 2024 - SKICLIPSE!!! Started out from Barton Mines Rd (2100'), lunch at Botheration Pond, got past Botheration Brook bridge & returned, totality at The Vly. 8-12" firm snow (skis sunk in 1-2"), very light breakable crust before noon but the sun... Temp mid-40s to low 50s, mostly sunny. 7.3 miles, 512' el gain/loss, 4.7 hours. Elevations between 2000' & 2200'. Very good skiing. The parking area was not plowed. There were some old ski tracks on the Raymond Brook Trail, the Halfway Brook Trail was untracked - the latter was the better choice for eclipse viewing. The bridge next to the road had caved in but it was easy to bypass it. Some wet spots were also easy to get past. At a half-mile, Halfway Brook was crossed on a beaver dam - it is good that skis don't get iced up when temps are well above freezing. Short side-trip to The Vly - decided that was where we wanted to be at ~3 pm. Climb up to the junction of the...