Dec 11 or 12th Adk Conditions

[shadowcat]

Getting ready to head up sunday to the daks - not sure where we'll go yet we often don't know until we get there or change our minds along the way.
But....... did it end up snowing much up there today? it was supposed to snow here (albany) and all it did was rain and drizzle. if we only do something like wright or algonquin will i just need crampons or snowshoes? my partner was thinking about doing one of the "passes" staying down lower but i don't think there's going to be enough snow yet to make it fun vs just wet. any input on this?

also: am i the only one who gets all geared up the night before? i mean i have my coffee ready, my bkfast ready to heat up, my clothes picked out and my backpack almost done. i just can't function good enought in the morning and the few times i've tried packing in the morning i always forget something?
just curious

 

[Warren]

I pull the pack and dump whatever gear/food I plan on taking on some weeknight before the trip. I'll go over and inspect things and what not for wear and tear. I'll pack everything out a night or two before. If the trip is more complex than just a backpack (car clothes, cooler) I'll throw that it the car the night before. After work on Friday, I dump my city bag in my apt. and grab the pack and boots go into the car and scoot.

Since I get off from work on Fridays at 2 and have a long drive in most cases friday is my launch & drive day.

If I leave in the morning, I have the usual around house coffee and breakfast in most cases. The key for me is that everything is in the pack, the boots have the gaiters and socks stuffed into the overboots that I use as a boot bag.

 

[shadowcat]

weather

well i wasn't able to gleen any info prior to heading up but sunday actually turned out to be a great day. there was like no wind whatso ever. the sun peeked thru a bit but mostly cloudy but it wasn't at all cold. i wasnt' sure what to expect with the rain the last couple days and a few reports of very wet conditions. there was a good base of snow and with the dampness/cold it was quite hard packed. we got up there late and ended up doing roostercomb/snow. wasn't wet at all - used crampons for tracktion then switched to snowshoes for snow since no one else had broke trail. didn't mean this to end up a trip report. but i read that a couple folks changed their hiking plans on pitchoff cuz they thought it would be too wet. it was actually a very nice day and pretty the way the snow covered everything; albeit not so great for the trees.