Skookumchuck in the snow?
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Kevin Rooney
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I've done the "Skook" many times, but have always ascended it first. It only gets a fraction of the traffic that OBP, or even Greenleaf get, so keep that in mind.
Personally, doing a winter descent of the Skook is something I wouldn't do. It's too far to backtrack if the trail became lost. For me, it's an escape route.
Great trail to hike UP in winter though. Good chance of seeing a moose in the area above the white birches, for those of us who don't have the skills of forestnome.
Personally, doing a winter descent of the Skook is something I wouldn't do. It's too far to backtrack if the trail became lost. For me, it's an escape route.
Great trail to hike UP in winter though. Good chance of seeing a moose in the area above the white birches, for those of us who don't have the skills of forestnome.
una_dogger
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Its a fairly wide corridor much of the way. Just below treeline the trail does a little southward jog (to the left) at the base of a large ledgy area. That would be the one place I would keep a close eye on. Great trail in the snow! Or no snow. Have a great hike and hope this helps.
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Great Trail in Snow
I would wait until there is a lot of snow. There are places that seem magical, sort of storybook-like if there is a lot of snow. If you are breaking trail, it can be endless.
Never done it without snow. I never had an issue finding my way.
I would wait until there is a lot of snow. There are places that seem magical, sort of storybook-like if there is a lot of snow. If you are breaking trail, it can be endless.
Never done it without snow. I never had an issue finding my way.
NewHampshire
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Done it with and without snow on the ground. Like miehoff had no problems. Bit of a long slog if your breaking trail alone, but otherwise a pretty nice trail.
Brian
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Kevin Rooney
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Not to put too fine a point on this, but as I understood Metacomet's question - he's planning on descending it, not ascending it.
You may recall the death of a woman who, along with her husband, hunkered down at the junction of the Skook and the Garfield Ridge Trail several years ago for two or three days, after being caught in a storm. The point being - finding the upper part of the Skook when it isn't broken out is not a sure thing.
For the above reason, and my own experience with it - unless I was certain it was broken-out, I personally would not use it as a descent route, especially if I was solo, which I assume Metacomet will be. It's just too long to backtrack over N. Lafayette and then Lafayette, or even worse - back to Garfield.
And, as always - YMMV. To each his own. Choose your own path. Blah, blah, blah.
You may recall the death of a woman who, along with her husband, hunkered down at the junction of the Skook and the Garfield Ridge Trail several years ago for two or three days, after being caught in a storm. The point being - finding the upper part of the Skook when it isn't broken out is not a sure thing.
For the above reason, and my own experience with it - unless I was certain it was broken-out, I personally would not use it as a descent route, especially if I was solo, which I assume Metacomet will be. It's just too long to backtrack over N. Lafayette and then Lafayette, or even worse - back to Garfield.
And, as always - YMMV. To each his own. Choose your own path. Blah, blah, blah.
BF
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Kevin is correct. Finding the upper part of the Skook could be difficult to find in poor visibility. There is a sign on the AT (Garfield Ridge Trail) marking the start of the trail, but it is above tree line and from the sign to the beginning of the trail, at tree line, can be obscured. Although, it is a short distance; only about a hundred feet. After tree line it’s a fairly easy corridor and grade to follow. If you cannot find the trail it’s a .8 mile backtrack to the Lafayette summit. 
Before you start your hike I would swing over to the Skook trail head and take a look at the trail to see what kind of activity it has had. It’s not a sure thing, (A broken in trail head doesn’t necessarily mean the trail is broken all the way up), but just a gauge to help make your decision for your descent.
If you own a GPS I can provide a route for the Skook trail. Have a great hike.
Before you start your hike I would swing over to the Skook trail head and take a look at the trail to see what kind of activity it has had. It’s not a sure thing, (A broken in trail head doesn’t necessarily mean the trail is broken all the way up), but just a gauge to help make your decision for your descent.
If you own a GPS I can provide a route for the Skook trail. Have a great hike.
PVSART usually breaks out Skook if there are any winter SARs in the area; the S in PVSART could stand for Skook.
Kevin Rooney
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Good to know, Thom, and it makes good sense given the alternative trails.PVSART usually breaks out Skook if there are any winter SARs in the area; the S in PVSART could stand for Skook.
Now, are we talking actual breaking-out of the trail, or as Steven says - just a good denting?
When she's along on a hike, I never worry about finding our way over an unbroken, poorly marked trail, as she has an almost uncanny trail memory.
Who is "she"? Someone we both know whose dead-reckoning skills surpass any GPS capabilities on the planet?
Ascending AND descending
I should have mentioned that the plan would be to do and up and back. The issue is that we'll be hiking in some snow and if our tracks are covered the trail may be hard to find especially around treeline.
I do remember a decent corridor most of the way up. Thank you all for the input. We'll be looking backward on the ascent to check condition of blazes, bringing surveyor tape in sketchy areas to mark as needed, removing it on descent.
I recall some very nice, peaceful woods on this trail, and I think some route-finding is worthwhile. If weather is bad enough, we'll eschew Lafayette summit and be happy with reaching the ridge.
I'll post a report.
I should have mentioned that the plan would be to do and up and back. The issue is that we'll be hiking in some snow and if our tracks are covered the trail may be hard to find especially around treeline.
I do remember a decent corridor most of the way up. Thank you all for the input. We'll be looking backward on the ascent to check condition of blazes, bringing surveyor tape in sketchy areas to mark as needed, removing it on descent.
I recall some very nice, peaceful woods on this trail, and I think some route-finding is worthwhile. If weather is bad enough, we'll eschew Lafayette summit and be happy with reaching the ridge.
I'll post a report.
Papa Bear
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Consider wands for the top section. Often used above tree line out west.
CINDERSMOM
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I did an up and back last spring. We followed the snowshoe trail and there were several places where the trail went in 2 different directions. One time we took the wrong way and ended up turning around as the tracks just dead-ended. When we got out of the trees there was no sign of any trail at all. So we just snowshoed up and toward the summit. we eventually stumbled onto the trail. On the way down we could see the trail and had to decide to stay on the trail and hope we didn't lose it or follow our tracks back. We decided to stay on the trail which was a mistake because as soon as we hit the treeline we couldn't find the trail. This ended up in some nasty bushwhacking and spruce traps and a lot of time. I had a GPS and had marked a waypoint at the spot that we came out of the trees on the way up and we bushwhacked to that waypont and found our tracks. Note to self: follow your tracks back down when on the Skook trail. There were very few blazes and it was very difficult as we got lower as there was little snow and a barely visible track of old snow. We had the track in the GPS to help us stay on track on the way down.
Mike P.
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above treeline in bad conditions would be the issue as many suggested. Several wand would be the way to go if the weather was even iffy as it could take a fair amount of time to get from trrline to summit & then back again.
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