btausend
New member
Date of Hike: 04/12/14
Trails: Old Speck Trail
Conditions: The trail is covered in snow from the trail head to the summit. The snow at the summit must be about 4' deep because the trail signs are barely above the snow. We did not encounter any dirt, mud, rocks or ice. At the trail head we only took a few steps to know we would be post holing if we didn't wear snowshoes. You can see the monorail forming in the trail. If you didn't walk in the center of the trail you would post hole even with snowshoes. I don't know how many water crossings there are, but we encounter one early on that was partially bridged. It held us in the morning, but not in the afternoon. The next crossing appeared completely bridged, but we broke right through it into slush. It was even worse on the way back down. Any others were bridged. It was a warm day. On the way back down the snow was a lot softer and we post holed a lot. Also watch out for the tree branches. They are a face height and you could easily get poked in the face or the eye. Some of them you have to duck under.
Equipment: Snowshoes
Comments: At the trail head there was not a could in the sky. The sun was warm and we were down to summer layers in no time. Winds picked up by the time we got to the summit. The views at the top of the observation tower were amazing. We didn't see anyone else all day. There were others in the parking lot, but they headed north on the AT. It nice to finally meet up with Chris "Gaiagirl" and hike with her.
Brian
Trails: Old Speck Trail
Conditions: The trail is covered in snow from the trail head to the summit. The snow at the summit must be about 4' deep because the trail signs are barely above the snow. We did not encounter any dirt, mud, rocks or ice. At the trail head we only took a few steps to know we would be post holing if we didn't wear snowshoes. You can see the monorail forming in the trail. If you didn't walk in the center of the trail you would post hole even with snowshoes. I don't know how many water crossings there are, but we encounter one early on that was partially bridged. It held us in the morning, but not in the afternoon. The next crossing appeared completely bridged, but we broke right through it into slush. It was even worse on the way back down. Any others were bridged. It was a warm day. On the way back down the snow was a lot softer and we post holed a lot. Also watch out for the tree branches. They are a face height and you could easily get poked in the face or the eye. Some of them you have to duck under.
Equipment: Snowshoes
Comments: At the trail head there was not a could in the sky. The sun was warm and we were down to summer layers in no time. Winds picked up by the time we got to the summit. The views at the top of the observation tower were amazing. We didn't see anyone else all day. There were others in the parking lot, but they headed north on the AT. It nice to finally meet up with Chris "Gaiagirl" and hike with her.
Brian
