T
Tom
Guest
John and I left the Mt. Clinton Rd. parking lot at 8:00 AM, planning to do a winter tune-up hike up Pierce and then see how far we could get on the ridge to Ike before our turn-around time. Fortunately, weather, trail conditions, and our knees got us to the summit of Pierce by 10:30 and to the summit of Ike at 11:55, much better time than we expected. We were back down to the car at 2:50.
Trail conditions: Several inches of snow and ice at the bottom, increasing to a couple of feet by around 4,000 feet, and on the ridge to Ike a mix of loose drifts up to 3 feet, frozen crust, and wind-swept, ice-covered granite. The trail was very well packed up to the Mizpah cutoff, then packed in a narrow trough, one boot wide, with frozen sides most of the way to the Pierce summit turnoff. The ridge was generally packed, but sometimes drifted over. Temps were well below freezing all day, with a brisk wind on top.
Equipment: We wore microspikes all day. They helped with icy rocks on the lower trails and were essential on the iced-over ledges on the way to Eisenhower. Also poles all the way. Crampons would have been good at some places on the ridge and show shoes at others.
Comments: We leap-frogged with a group of 4 MBA students all the way up to Pierce and met two backpackers who had overnighted at the Nauman tent site. Tracks indicated quite a bit of traffic on the trails. All in all a great cold-weather hike.
Trail conditions: Several inches of snow and ice at the bottom, increasing to a couple of feet by around 4,000 feet, and on the ridge to Ike a mix of loose drifts up to 3 feet, frozen crust, and wind-swept, ice-covered granite. The trail was very well packed up to the Mizpah cutoff, then packed in a narrow trough, one boot wide, with frozen sides most of the way to the Pierce summit turnoff. The ridge was generally packed, but sometimes drifted over. Temps were well below freezing all day, with a brisk wind on top.
Equipment: We wore microspikes all day. They helped with icy rocks on the lower trails and were essential on the iced-over ledges on the way to Eisenhower. Also poles all the way. Crampons would have been good at some places on the ridge and show shoes at others.
Comments: We leap-frogged with a group of 4 MBA students all the way up to Pierce and met two backpackers who had overnighted at the Nauman tent site. Tracks indicated quite a bit of traffic on the trails. All in all a great cold-weather hike.
