Garfield Attempt - Gale River Rd., Garfield Trail - 2/21

Set out a little after 8:00 am with a temp of -10 at the car. Mark was excited about his new telescoping poles until he realized they telescoped on the trail. After a couple of duct tape repair attempts, Mark was down to one pole and we proceeded to the Garfield Trail.

We were pleased to find the trail a bit packed down by what looked like a sled. A little over 2 miles up the trail, we found and passed the 2 guys with sleds. The trail was completely unbroken in front of them, and we were breaking trail in 2-3 feet of fresh powder. As we slowly worked our way up, the wind began picking up and the snow started blowing. We made it to about 4700 feet, a little less than a mile from the summit, and decided to call it quits. We were bonking, and the combination of the steep portion of the Garfield Ridge, blowing snow, likely deep drifts, and the cold temps didn't suggest that things were going to get better if we kept going up.

Not sure if the guys in the sleds made it much farther. At this point, the trail is banged out until our turn around point. After that, it is anyone's guess. Still a nice day to be out in the woods, and we were happy to get back to the car before the snow started to fly.

I had wondered if it was broken out and had thought about trying the Garfield trail today but decided on something smaller...I hadn't seen any recent trail conditions. Thanks for this report and for breaking trail for as far as you did!

Thanks for the report...its high on my list for skiing tomorrow.

Its snowing heavily on the Kanc and in Conway right now. My guess is that it will need another breaking Sunday morning.

Thanks for the report I'm planing to attempt Garfield tomorrow.

Unless the snow is super deep I assume you meant 3700'. I think the peak is only 4500'!

I was one of the guys with a sled. Thanks to the break you gave us breaking trail we were able to make it to 1/4 mile from trail junction where we were passed by a group of three women who finished breaking trail to the summit. We did finally make the summit. Trail well packed out at 7:00pm Saturday with snow and high winds coming in. Would expect some drifting on Sunday.

An interesting thread, a flash back to the good old days when you cant be guaranteed that a trail to a major summit was broken out.

It was a tough day for sure.

TJsName said:

Unless the snow is super deep I assume you meant 3700'. I think the peak is only 4500'!

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3700' is right. I guess I was a little loopier than I thought last night.

DAYHIKER said:

I was one of the guys with a sled. Thanks to the break you gave us breaking trail we were able to make it to 1/4 mile from trail junction where we were passed by a group of three women who finished breaking trail to the summit. We did finally make the summit. Trail well packed out at 7:00pm Saturday with snow and high winds coming in. Would expect some drifting on Sunday.

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Congrats. You guys had a long and tough day.

FWIW, it was well-packed Sunday around noon. The snow was worthy of klister, almost wet and very slick--- but finally the skies were blue, and everyone could hike and ski with just 1 base layer on.

If at first you don't succeed, wait a week and go back after someone else has broken the last mile of trail. Mark and I went back and finished Garfield today with Andy, Colleen, and Stella the dog. Trail is well packed out all the way to the top. Lots of snow up high. Given the amount of snow, and temperatures 10 degree colder and winds 15-20 mph higher, last week would have been ugly if we had kept going. Mark even figured out how to work his poles today. Good vibes all around.

DAYHIKER said:

View attachment 5167 It was a tough day for sure.

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Looks to be right at the Garfield Trail/GRT junction. Beautiful. I hiked this, before the winter gate closure, the day after Thanksgiving two years ago with a few companions. There was a bit of snow about 3500', enough to be really pretty. Our day, the winds were whipping at the cold summit, so we didn't linger for long up there. Looking forward to getting back to that beauty someday.

Roy Boy said:

If at first you don't succeed, wait a week and go back after someone else has broken the last mile of trail. Mark and I went back and finished Garfield today with Andy, Colleen, and Stella the dog. Trail is well packed out all the way to the top. Lots of snow up high. Given the amount of snow, and temperatures 10 degree colder and winds 15-20 mph higher, last week would have been ugly if we had kept going. Mark even figured out how to work his poles today. Good vibes all around.

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Congrats - always a good feeling to get one, especially after having to turn back before.

Roy Boy said:

If at first you don't succeed, wait a week and go back after someone else has broken the last mile of trail. Mark and I went back and finished Garfield today with Andy, Colleen, and Stella the dog. Trail is well packed out all the way to the top. Lots of snow up high. Given the amount of snow, and temperatures 10 degree colder and winds 15-20 mph higher, last week would have been ugly if we had kept going. Mark even figured out how to work his poles today. Good vibes all around.

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Thanks for going back and breaking the trail out, and this report. (I don't see any trail conditions on this site or NEtrailconditions again), besides yours! I'm going to try it this weekend. So far it doesn't look like there is much snow in the forecast...

If I have to guess, there has been enough snow that the upper section after the zig zags will be partially drifted in. It doesn't take much snow if the wind is right.