Cliff and Redfield, 5/18/08
There is still a lot of snow through the Lake Arnold pass, but it is being flattened by Mt Colden hikers. I dryly passed through the flooded Opalescent River area by staying on the west side. The log bridges were not moved around as badly as they were last year, but detour is needed in a couple of places where the main trail is flooded. ADK is advising people not to use this route, so be aware of recent rain activity before trying it.
Once out of the valley (where I fell through a waist-deep drift), the path to Cliff is clear and dry, surprisingly with summer-like conditions and very little winter blowdown. The clearing work last year really made a difference!
The path to Redfield is snow-covered when it isn't flooded by the raging waters of Uphill Brook. Lots of caving-in when walking on the snow spine, with water underneath. Above 4000 feet, it is all snow (except dry right at the summit--how nice!) and I wished I had snowshoes, especially when descending.
There is still a lot of snow through the Lake Arnold pass, but it is being flattened by Mt Colden hikers. I dryly passed through the flooded Opalescent River area by staying on the west side. The log bridges were not moved around as badly as they were last year, but detour is needed in a couple of places where the main trail is flooded. ADK is advising people not to use this route, so be aware of recent rain activity before trying it.
Once out of the valley (where I fell through a waist-deep drift), the path to Cliff is clear and dry, surprisingly with summer-like conditions and very little winter blowdown. The clearing work last year really made a difference!
The path to Redfield is snow-covered when it isn't flooded by the raging waters of Uphill Brook. Lots of caving-in when walking on the snow spine, with water underneath. Above 4000 feet, it is all snow (except dry right at the summit--how nice!) and I wished I had snowshoes, especially when descending.
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