Armstrong (1-27-08)

[TMax]

Trail Conditions: Hiked up via the Beaver Meadow trail. Beaver Meadow Falls was AWESOME! Lots of thick deep blue ice with water running behind it. The trail up the side of the falls is steep and a little sloppy. The ladder was partly buried and took careful negotiation. Above that the trail was in good shape. There was a couple of inches of new powder on top of the packed trail. Perfect snowshoe conditions. Even on the steep sections of trail, the shoes never failed to bite. The section of trail that sidehills around Armstrong was a little scary. The ladders were partly buried and navigating the narrow trail led to lots of tiny snowslides off the edge. From the Gothics/Armstrong junction, had to break trail through 12-18 inch deep windblown snow. In spots where it wasn't too blown in, there were nasty postholes. Some blowdown along the route that made butt-sliding back down a little risky!

Special Equipment: Used snowshoes all day. Poles were extremely helpful.

Comments: Lesson learned - Solo hiking in winter is not the time to check out a new trail.