Umsaskis
New member
12-29-14, Stratton Mt. via Long Trail. The road to the trailhead (West Wardsboro side), beyond where the pavement ends, had some ice along it but because there was so much dirt showing there were no traction problems. The entire trail was hard-packed snow, and most of the snow off the trail in the woods was the same, due to the recent warmth, rain, and refreezing. Roughly the first mile is rather uneven with melted-out spots, wet spots, and some shallow post-holes, but nothing too annoying. Beyond that the trail smooths out nicely. I used stabilicers (yeah, I know, I need to spend the money for some microspikes but I'm too cheap!) but they probably weren't entirely necessary; they just made me move along faster with a little less slipping. The tower at the top is mostly ice-free; just rime ice of the kind that makes little tufts but isn't slippery. I went as far as the third landing but the wind was really strong so I decided to be satisfied with not going all the way to the top.
