Marcy, Gray, Skylight 3/20/11

[Pine Marten]

Two of us did this hike. The route followed the Van Hovenberg trail to Marcy summit, continued over to Gray, down to Lake Tear, and then to Skylight. The return trip to the Loj was via Lake Arnold. The trail to Marcy summit was excellent, well packed and smooth. There was a little ice near the summit. The down side of Marcy toward Gray was very icy from the thawing and freezing of the prior days. The use of Microspikes was dicey. Crampons would have been much better. The trail up Gray and down to Lake Tear was hard and smooth with no ice, nor was there any ice on the Skylight trail. The entire trip out via Feldspar Brook and Lake Arnold trails to Avalanche Camp was also smooth and well packed as were the trails to Marcy Dam and the Loj. The snow everywhere was extremely solid.