Appropriate hiking gear for Thanksgiving?

I have not been hiking recently, and plan to hike a 4K on Thanksgiving (burn the calories before pigging out ). Clearly there is some snow and lots of ice on the trails, so winter boots plus traction. But how much snow: any need for snowshoes yet?

Thanks!

bring turkey jerkey.

It depends on where you go. Most 4Ks I hear are no. But I did have some friends who couldn't make it up Marcy because they lacked snowshoes. I'll hopefully be doing something in the Dix range, and from people I've talked to there's no need for snowshoes there yet. Maybe if you have any particular climbs in mind, though, you could get specific beta.

I did the Jackson/Webster loop this past Saturday. Snow depths ranged from 3-10 inches. No need for snow shoes yet but there was plenty of ice. I had microspikes on from door to door. Hope this helps.

no snowshoes needed in the eastern high peaks region of the adks.

Mohamed Ellozy said:

Clearly there is some snow and lots of ice on the trails, so winter boots plus traction. But how much snow: any need for snowshoes yet?

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I think it's going to depend upon what happens with the rest of this storm...Mt. Hale on Saturday was still a few inches away from snowshoeing. I suspect you'll want the snowshoes on it if Mt. Hale received the snowfall we've recieved here in the Lakes Region.

Went to Isolation on Saturday, 11/22, no snowshoes needed. I wish - still too many rocks and roots exposed. Bring on the snow.

BobC said:

Went to Isolation on Saturday, 11/22, no snowshoes needed. I wish - still too many rocks and roots exposed.

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Last week, the Presis basically acted as a levy, holding back the snow. It was amazing to see the difference between Bretton Woods and Pinkham/Conway!

It's now starting to sleet, so this could get interesting.

ADK88 said:

It depends on where you go. Most 4Ks I hear are no. But I did have some friends who couldn't make it up Marcy because they lacked snowshoes. I'll hopefully be doing something in the Dix range, and from people I've talked to there's no need for snowshoes there yet. Maybe if you have any particular climbs in mind, though, you could get specific beta.

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The question was asked in the New England section braa. I do the new post thing too but know he is a NE regular.

I can't speak to what's fallen since, but some friends and I did South Hancock on Sunday, and it was nowhere close to needing snowshoes. We skipped North Hancock because the trail up looked too icy (and we were too lazy to take the long way from South to North and back), but it didn't look like the snow was deep enough for 'shoes, there, either.

ColdRiverRun said:

The question was asked in the New England section braa. I do the new post thing too but know he is a NE regular.

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Oh sure, chastise the newbie but say nothing to leaf about her adk comment. Just kidding, leaf rocks.. everyone rocks.

Issued at: 11:47 AM EST 11/25/08, expires at: 3:00 PM EST 11/25/08

Winter storm warning in effect until 3 pm est this afternoon.
The NWS in gray has issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow, which is in effect until 3 pm est this afternoon.
Most of the precipitation will fall in the form of snow in the mountains and foothills of Maine, as well as the northern half of New Hampshire, where a storm total of 6 to 10 inches are expected. Elevations above 2000 feet will see the highest accumulations, while less will fall in some valley locations.
A winter weather advisory means that snow will cause travel difficulties. Be prepared for slippery roads and use caution while driving.

Mohamed, about 4" of fresh snow at 1500 feet in Waterville this AM, and the ski area is reporting 5"+... the snow line has stayed south of Thornton all AM.

As Rocket21 said, it's going to depend on what happens later today and tonight, but the probability of more-substantial snow above 2000 feet is there.

You know about as well as anyone what fresh, wet snow conditions would mean -- certainly would want a waterproof-breathable top, gaiters, etc., to deal with the slop coming off the trees (unless we get a lot of warm rain). Traction probably will be an issue up high regardless.

Like Rocket21, I was in the Zealand Rd area on Sunday (Sugarloaf) and there was anywhere from 6 to 8 inches with one drift on top well over a foot. Snowshoes would have been chewed up on the rocks. On the same day, I was in Franconia Notch (Mt Pemigwewasset) and there was hardly any snow (a dusting to maybe 4 inches at most).

On the other hand, Carl's post of an aborted trip to Mt Washington shows chest deep drifts (http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26415).

So it obviously depends on what part of the White Mountains you're going to (and on the coming storm).

I attempted Garfield on Sunday from the Skookumchuck trail. Just before finally breaking out on the ridge there was 12+ inches of snow. It was light and fluffy and more of a nuisance since it just hid the rocks. I turned back at the top of the ridge after realizing I didn't have anything to really cover my face.

only 7" reported at Lonesome Lake but 15" at Tucks. The AMC list reported depths at huts here.

AndyF said:

only 7" reported at Lonesome Lake but 15" at Tucks. The AMC list reported depths at huts here.

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That's a good reference, but it's too bad they do not list the Washington summit, which is currently reporting 100+ MPH winds!

Tom Rankin said:

That's a good reference, but it's too bad they do not list the Washington summit, which is currently reporting 100+ MPH winds!

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And apparently some icing to knock off. Check out the windspeed drop this morning on the Rock Pile anemometer log.

Saturday on PaTN we started at Haystack Road in 4 inches of snow which increased to a foot in the woods near the top and in open areas 2 - 3 foot drifts. When we left Twin Mountain to head home Sunday there was a good six inches on the ground at our campground.

As others have said, not enough snow yet for snowshoes and not icey enough for crampons, but bringing along micro spikes is a good idea. Not sure what we will hike on Thursday yet, but unless we see signifcant more snow on the ground we'll just bring micro spikes ourselves.

What is PaTN?