Trail conditions in spring

[jrbren]

March is still deep winter in the 4K peaks of Vt, NH and the ADKs. "Spring" according to the Green mountain club for trail closure starts tax day and goes through memorial day (they will expand that some years depending on conditions that year). Mono rails will generally be during this period. March is the best month of the year for winter hiking, if not hiking period. Days are longer and warmer, snow packs are generally at maximum depths. One of my best winter hikes ever was in 3' of fresh snow in April on Mt Madison (I do not subscribe to the hiking clubs definition of winter in the mountains corresponding to the calendar winter, such as "winter 46ers", Thanksgiving though tax day is a more realistic definition). By March, some peaks like Colden and Giant in the ADKs that normally have forested summit ridges of 10-15' trees get 360 views due to huge snow depths and drifts. Personally I find spring is the best time to go hiking, but I understand the trail erosion concerns and usually minimize it. When I lived in the Champlain Valley I found Lake George and the Pharoah loakes region and great place to hike when the higher peaks were a mess. Now that I live in Greater Boston I will seek out lower elevation hikes down here, even if it is the freedom trail in down town Boston. I have yet to climb Mt Monadnock, I am looking forward to that. All this said, my road running hobby usually dominates my spring and I do not hike allot.

 

[Raven]

Most of you will never be gridders!

Nor will I!

I've wondered more than once if the variations in weather and ground conditions, and the challenge of remaining dry make April arguably the hardest grid month in some respects. I feel colder at 30 F with moisture than I do at 10 F.

April is great for avoiding crowds on popular peaks...as is the last weekend of March often.

 

[RoySwkr]

March is still deep winter in the 4K peaks of Vt, NH and the ADKs. "Spring" according to the Green mountain club for trail closure starts tax day and goes through memorial day (they will expand that some years depending on conditions that year). Mono rails will generally be during this period. March is the best month of the year for winter hiking, if not hiking period. Days are longer and warmer, snow packs are generally at maximum depths.

I agree that the maximum snow depth on Mt Mansfield was traditionally early April, but if what took 5 months to build up takes only 2 months to disappear that explains why the snow is mushy and the streams high! And the same is not true for the approach hike - there was a lot of bare ground in Twin Mountain yesterday.

One disagreeable feature of spring is that precipitation is more likely to be rain than snow, which can be both uncomfortable and dangerous if the temperature drops

My sister used to have 3rd week of March/last week of winter as college vacation, we always went canoeing instead of hiking although not always ideal for canoeing

I've wondered more than once if the variations in weather and ground conditions, and the challenge of remaining dry make April arguably the hardest grid month in some respects. I feel colder at 30 F with moisture than I do at 10 F.

April is great for avoiding crowds on popular peaks...as is the last weekend of March often.

I would agree with all the above.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Yeah, you can always tell the people who do the 4Ks AFTER winter is over, and just before it starts are gridiots.

 

[hiker0200]

I usually stick to the southern reaches of NH and some areas in Mass during the spring. I'd rather not try to hike 3-4 miles in the Whites in slush, spring snow, the works. There are plenty of places in southern NH that melt way before White Mtn peaks do, and many of them are just as good, if not better, than them. I hiked Monadnock in the beginning of May '13, and there was no snow or ice whatsoever; up north, there was still plenty of snow above 3,000 feet.