BIGEarl
Well-known member
April 15, 2013: Garfield
Trails: Gale River Road (road walk to the trail head), Mount Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail
Summits: Mount Garfield
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Sue gets a fresh supply of vacation days every year – a seemingly endless supply; she is on vacation again, and we’re hiking. Both of us have “tax day” open on our completion list. The next day had an early start for Sue (back to work). We needed an early finish and return from hiking. Something relatively short was would be best and we decided Garfield was perfect.
One of the really nice things about Garfield is it hikes a lot shorter than the specs seem to suggest. Except for the final .2 to the summit it’s a mild hike from the trail head to the top. With winter closure in effect we needed to complete a short road walk on Gale River Road before actually starting up a hiking trail. From the summer trail head to the summit we enjoyed a terrific trail and trail conditions.
Initially, we were on bare ground. We started bare booting the hike and that’s the way we stayed all day with not a single posthole. The early part of Mount Garfield Trail has small areas of mud, lots of exposed roots, and the rest of the stuff we find in spring conditions; generally clear sailing, just watch your step. We reached the three crossings and they were all open without bridges at all, but the water is down and bridges aren’t needed; all three crossings were easy rock-hops.
After the third crossing we started into the more consistent trail cover. Evidently there was recent snowfall, perhaps overnight, and we had a nice covering of wet, sticky snow to help with traction; roughly one inch of new snow down low to perhaps a little over two inches up top. We were the first ones in since the snowfall. The low section of trail was generally a layer of ice with the new snow and traction was very good. No traction aid was needed. Eventually, perhaps a third of the way up, we made the transition from ice-covered trail to a layer of snow pack. I can’t really guess at the amount of snow on the trail because when I stepped off trail for a nature call the surface crust supported my weight; I have no good sense of snow depth and spent no time trying to find out.
We had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy and the lower part of the hike through the hardwoods was terrific. Eventually we made the turn into the conifers. The snow depth Increased a little, or perhaps the snow melting decreased.
We had a nice layer of wet, sticky snow, a wide place on the side of the trail, and no wind; yeah, it’s time for a snowman. Sue dropped her pack and started to roll a big one. The snow balled up nicely and in no time there was a snowman improving the overall atmosphere of the place. That was a nice distraction but we had more to climb and an early return to keep.
Soon we were starting into the section of switchbacks and another pair came up from behind. Their packs seemed to indicate they planned to stay for a while. They passed and we were no longer first-in. When we reached the Mount Garfield – Garfield Ridge trails junction we found the other two having just returned from a summit visit. We made the turn and started up the final steep climb.
I was concerned we might be forced into a stop to add some traction during the climb. As it turned out the snow on the hard trail provided terrific traction and we simply did the climb. We hit the summit and were treated to the outstanding 360 degree views Garfield has to offer. We were able to clearly see to Mount Mansfield, Camels Hump, Abraham, Ellen, and Killington/Pico in Vermont and all around the Whites. The conditions were predicted to be much more overcast for the day but the experts were again wrong in the right direction.
Sue and I will generally hike with our main concern being safety; views are secondary and not usually a concern in planning. Consequently, we see many viewless view hikes. This time was different. We stayed for a while to enjoy the place. On a day like this the views from Garfield are among the best you’ll find.
Eventually we started to do the math. The objective was always to be back home by 7:00pm. If we could hit Gale River Road by 4:00pm we were in good shape to meet our target, the short remaining road walk out to the truck wouldn’t take long. Everything was working in our favor. We were able to walk a very brisk pace without a concern for footing all of the way out. There was no icing problem that slowed us down. As hoped, we hit the summer trailhead and Gale River Road at 4:00pm, and roughly thirty minutes later we were loading our things into the truck.
Usually, we make a stop to get cleaned-up and changed into dry clothes before heading south. This time around we just grabbed some cold drinks from the cooler and hit the highway south. Well before the 7:00pm target time we pulled into the driveway. Sue started to get her things together while I went inside for her keys. I delivered the keys to Sue, she loaded her car, we said our goodbye, and she was gone.
It’s funny how if everybody smells bad nobody notices. The amount of time I was out of the truck was long enough for my senses to adjust to fresh air. I climbed back into the truck to move it to the usual parking location and it hit me. Now I know what a pig farm must smell like.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Gale River Road (road walk to the trail head), Mount Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail
Summits: Mount Garfield
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Sue gets a fresh supply of vacation days every year – a seemingly endless supply; she is on vacation again, and we’re hiking. Both of us have “tax day” open on our completion list. The next day had an early start for Sue (back to work). We needed an early finish and return from hiking. Something relatively short was would be best and we decided Garfield was perfect.
One of the really nice things about Garfield is it hikes a lot shorter than the specs seem to suggest. Except for the final .2 to the summit it’s a mild hike from the trail head to the top. With winter closure in effect we needed to complete a short road walk on Gale River Road before actually starting up a hiking trail. From the summer trail head to the summit we enjoyed a terrific trail and trail conditions.
Initially, we were on bare ground. We started bare booting the hike and that’s the way we stayed all day with not a single posthole. The early part of Mount Garfield Trail has small areas of mud, lots of exposed roots, and the rest of the stuff we find in spring conditions; generally clear sailing, just watch your step. We reached the three crossings and they were all open without bridges at all, but the water is down and bridges aren’t needed; all three crossings were easy rock-hops.
After the third crossing we started into the more consistent trail cover. Evidently there was recent snowfall, perhaps overnight, and we had a nice covering of wet, sticky snow to help with traction; roughly one inch of new snow down low to perhaps a little over two inches up top. We were the first ones in since the snowfall. The low section of trail was generally a layer of ice with the new snow and traction was very good. No traction aid was needed. Eventually, perhaps a third of the way up, we made the transition from ice-covered trail to a layer of snow pack. I can’t really guess at the amount of snow on the trail because when I stepped off trail for a nature call the surface crust supported my weight; I have no good sense of snow depth and spent no time trying to find out.
We had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy and the lower part of the hike through the hardwoods was terrific. Eventually we made the turn into the conifers. The snow depth Increased a little, or perhaps the snow melting decreased.
We had a nice layer of wet, sticky snow, a wide place on the side of the trail, and no wind; yeah, it’s time for a snowman. Sue dropped her pack and started to roll a big one. The snow balled up nicely and in no time there was a snowman improving the overall atmosphere of the place. That was a nice distraction but we had more to climb and an early return to keep.
Soon we were starting into the section of switchbacks and another pair came up from behind. Their packs seemed to indicate they planned to stay for a while. They passed and we were no longer first-in. When we reached the Mount Garfield – Garfield Ridge trails junction we found the other two having just returned from a summit visit. We made the turn and started up the final steep climb.
I was concerned we might be forced into a stop to add some traction during the climb. As it turned out the snow on the hard trail provided terrific traction and we simply did the climb. We hit the summit and were treated to the outstanding 360 degree views Garfield has to offer. We were able to clearly see to Mount Mansfield, Camels Hump, Abraham, Ellen, and Killington/Pico in Vermont and all around the Whites. The conditions were predicted to be much more overcast for the day but the experts were again wrong in the right direction.
Sue and I will generally hike with our main concern being safety; views are secondary and not usually a concern in planning. Consequently, we see many viewless view hikes. This time was different. We stayed for a while to enjoy the place. On a day like this the views from Garfield are among the best you’ll find.
Eventually we started to do the math. The objective was always to be back home by 7:00pm. If we could hit Gale River Road by 4:00pm we were in good shape to meet our target, the short remaining road walk out to the truck wouldn’t take long. Everything was working in our favor. We were able to walk a very brisk pace without a concern for footing all of the way out. There was no icing problem that slowed us down. As hoped, we hit the summer trailhead and Gale River Road at 4:00pm, and roughly thirty minutes later we were loading our things into the truck.
Usually, we make a stop to get cleaned-up and changed into dry clothes before heading south. This time around we just grabbed some cold drinks from the cooler and hit the highway south. Well before the 7:00pm target time we pulled into the driveway. Sue started to get her things together while I went inside for her keys. I delivered the keys to Sue, she loaded her car, we said our goodbye, and she was gone.
It’s funny how if everybody smells bad nobody notices. The amount of time I was out of the truck was long enough for my senses to adjust to fresh air. I climbed back into the truck to move it to the usual parking location and it hit me. Now I know what a pig farm must smell like.
Pictures will follow.
