Mt. Major

[Ridgewalker]

I'm planning to do a kickoff hike for the season at Mt. Major. I last heared the trails were packed down in February. Since it's spring I figured conditions might of changed. Has anyone been out to Major recently? Thanks for the help.

 

[carole]

Has anyone been out to Major recently?

When were you planning on going? As of today there is still a good amount of snowpack on the trails but with the forecasted rain for Saturday that can change fast. Depending on the trail(s) you want to take some ground is bare on the southern side and the trails already have areas with streams of water flowing under the snowpack this will increase with the new rain. Most don’t use snowshoes on the trails so there is lots of postholes due to the soften snow. I used snowshoes today because I usually am off the beaten track.

Since I am there often I can update the conditions when you plan on going.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I plan to be hiking in mid April about April 27. I don't know any of the trails, that well. I have old copies of the AMC guidebook from the seventies and I assumed their has been changes to the trails. I'll heed your advice about hiking from the south side. I haven't don hiking during this month before. Thanks for your help.

 

[carole]

Post again when you're heading there and I'll let you know what the trails are looking like then.

 

[sardog1]

Just a general heads-up for nonwinter hikers --

Mt. Major gets a lot of use and not enough trail maintenance to keep up with the crowds. As a result, some sections of the trails are eroding badly and exposing plenty of rocks. Not ledges -- rocks. (You will find some small ledgy sections at the top, part of what makes the hike worth doing.) During the melt and/or any rainfall runoff, some trails can get pretty wet as well.

Barring any shocking surprise later this month, there is no chance you'll see any ice or snow as late as April 27. The summit is only ~1850 feet above sea level.