Pete’s Backcountry Report – Matt and I headed up Bryant to the Cabin yesterday. The water bars down low were definitely tricky to get around. Once up higher it looked like mid-winter conditions. While the water bars were still open they were much easier to navigate across. As we got closer to Bryant Cabin we noticed that the trees were coated with some ice. On our way up we took a look at JJ’s, while it looked really nice we were unsure of what we would find underneath, but thought that we would give it a shot.
We stopped at the Cabin to be sure that it was ready to be rented, then headed onto Gardiner’s Lane. A warning to those heading that way that there is a large birch tree across the trail just below JJ’s, which you can get around by going to the right.
We made our first turns down JJ’s and to our surprise that ice layer that we noticed earlier, in the trees produced a crust layer that we were not breaking through. There was 6-8” on top of this crust. While we felt a little rusty, the skiing was great. Once back on Bryant we were able to cruise down, jumping over most of the water bars. Not bad for a first day in the backcountry.