T
T.J.
Guest
Greenleaf:
We were the 3rd and 4th people up - we saw the other two solo hikers on their way down. The trail should be decently packed as a result. The trail itself only had one walk-around blow down. The snow cover on the section that follows the highway wasn't deep enough to cover all the rocks, so it's a bit annoying on snowshoes. We wore snowshoes until we left the scrub for good. We used microspikes from there to the summit, although some people were clearly using crampons.
Garfield Ridge:
The ridge is mostly clear of snow, with a few drifts and some ice spots. Microspikes were sufficient. The sign for Skookumchuck is unobscured.
Skookumchuck(ish):
Broke trail almost the entire way down (someone came up from the parking lot on snowshoes maybe 1.5 miles, and someone had skied around as well). Deep drifts most of the way down. The top and bottom of the trail is easy to follow. We lost the trail when it makes a sharp left turn to follow the ridge and we continued straight. On the plus side, the area in the South Branch Gale River ravine is a stunning and wide open hardwood forest - a great place to back county ski/snowshoe! We climbed back up through the height-of-land south of Big Bickford and quickly found the trail again. If you follow our tracks you'll be adding about 700' of vertical to your trip!
Bike Path:
The path is well packed by snowmobile traffic. We kept our snowshoes on because we were tired and didn't want to slip, but it could easily be bare booted.
Required Equipment: Snowshoes will still be needed in parts - this snow was really fluffy and tough to pack. Microspikes above treeline.
[email protected]
We were the 3rd and 4th people up - we saw the other two solo hikers on their way down. The trail should be decently packed as a result. The trail itself only had one walk-around blow down. The snow cover on the section that follows the highway wasn't deep enough to cover all the rocks, so it's a bit annoying on snowshoes. We wore snowshoes until we left the scrub for good. We used microspikes from there to the summit, although some people were clearly using crampons.
Garfield Ridge:
The ridge is mostly clear of snow, with a few drifts and some ice spots. Microspikes were sufficient. The sign for Skookumchuck is unobscured.
Skookumchuck(ish):
Broke trail almost the entire way down (someone came up from the parking lot on snowshoes maybe 1.5 miles, and someone had skied around as well). Deep drifts most of the way down. The top and bottom of the trail is easy to follow. We lost the trail when it makes a sharp left turn to follow the ridge and we continued straight. On the plus side, the area in the South Branch Gale River ravine is a stunning and wide open hardwood forest - a great place to back county ski/snowshoe! We climbed back up through the height-of-land south of Big Bickford and quickly found the trail again. If you follow our tracks you'll be adding about 700' of vertical to your trip!
Bike Path:
The path is well packed by snowmobile traffic. We kept our snowshoes on because we were tired and didn't want to slip, but it could easily be bare booted.
Required Equipment: Snowshoes will still be needed in parts - this snow was really fluffy and tough to pack. Microspikes above treeline.
[email protected]
