Snuck in a quick trip up Isolation before the rain/ice mess set in this afternoon. We arrived at the Rocky Branch parking lot at 8am to find it surprisingly full of cars with no people in sight. As we worked our way up the trail, we finally pieced together that we weren't the only ones with the idea to sneak in a hike before the thaw. All told, there were about 20 people on the trail today. We went up Rocky Branch, took the Engine Hill bushwhack to the Isolation Trail, then followed the corner-cutting bushwhack to the Davis Path and finally made the summit. This route was broken out as a well-packed snowshoe highway. A few people have bare-booted the summer route instead of using the Engine Hill bushwhack. There were a few awkward blowdowns to deal with on the Isolation Trail and the Davis Path, but nothing impassable or really annoying. No views today because of the snow-eating fog that hid everything.
Special Equipment: This might be irrelevant due to the rain/ice/snow that is blanketing the area tonight, but as of this afternoon, traction was not necessary. We saw some others bare-booting the whole trip, but we switched to snowshoes at the start of the Engine Hill bushwhack. The snowshoes were not strictly necessary but increased efficiency on the upper trail sections where the snowpack was less consolidated than below Engine Hill Col.
Special Equipment: This might be irrelevant due to the rain/ice/snow that is blanketing the area tonight, but as of this afternoon, traction was not necessary. We saw some others bare-booting the whole trip, but we switched to snowshoes at the start of the Engine Hill bushwhack. The snowshoes were not strictly necessary but increased efficiency on the upper trail sections where the snowpack was less consolidated than below Engine Hill Col.
