A few inches new powder; Some telephone wire
Took a beautiful early spring Thursday off to hike with Hiker Ed, J&J, Steve and Dan up Mount Garfield. Parked at Five Corners and followed the southern end of the road loop to the summer trailhead. In the AM, this was bare-bootable. From the TH to past crossing #3, we wore microspikes, and then snowshoes to the top. Crossings were all pretty easy, with some snow bridges remaining solid. A handful of open areas were scattered along the trail but all were easily bypassed.
Junction Garfield/Garfield Ridge; Franconia Ridge
The higher we got, the deeper the snow got. Probably up to 6" of new snow, which was powdery in the shade and sticky in the sun. While we knocked much of if off the branches on the way up, plenty was left to melt into drips on the way down. Many pauses to bang the sticky snow off our snowshoes. As you can see from the shot of the junction sign, there is still 4-5' of snow up high. No trouble following the GRT to the summit.
Twins with Adams, Jefferson and Washington; The Bonds
There was almost zero wind until the very top and then it was blowing 10-15. We found refuge below the tower in the sun with a wonderful view towards the Bonds. It was one of those days where we talked about waiting for the sunset. Visibility was excellent, with a slight haze on the horizon. Despite the haze, we could spot the Uncanoonucs 85 miles to the south (and 5 miles north of my house.)
In hindsight, I should not have taken my snowshoes off at the trail head for the road walk back to route 3...
All photos
Maybe John has a few photos to add as well...
Tim
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