Blue Mountain, Nov. 7

[adkayaker]

First quarter of the trail and hike had a small dusting of snow on the trees and rocks, with a rather muddy and wet but not icy trail. The next quarter had increasing ice on bare rocks in spots and maybe an inch of snow, which prompted me to put on Microspikes. The third quarter of the trail, the steepest on rock surfaces was ice covered or crusty snow in spots. After a couple of minor slips with the Microspikes, I decided to use my Black Diamond crampons. Perhaps not really required but being the only one on the mountain, chose to be cautious. The final quarter stretch becomes more level and was more snow than ice so switched back to Microspikes. About 5 inches of snow on the summit. Beautiful views from the tower. These are three of my favorite photos from the summit.

http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/8381/blue0002.jpg

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5978/blue17.jpg