Trail conditions in spring

I'm new to winter hiking this year. I started hiking last April-ish for the first time since I was 10 or so and have really got hooked. I didn't think that I would be winter hiking at all, but here I am doing just that.

On my way down today I was thinking of a hike I did about a week ago where it was above freezing and it got me thinking, exactly what happens to these trails when everything starts melting? Is it post hole city? Does it just get packed more and more? Something to avoid? Or embrace?

Sorry for the n00b question, I just don't want to get stuck in an unpleasant situation. I already had one this winter that just about squashed my desire to hike any more.

Last year I started during mud season, but it wasn't bad. Is it bad form to hike up muddy trails? Meaning erosion.

Late March, April and sometimes early May are in my opinion the crappiest time of year to hike. The rivers are high from melt so trails can become difficult or impossible to take (often very rapidly), snow is soft and "post hole friendly" and the monorail becomes exposed from the surrounding snow which can also be tricky. You also get a wide variety of weather conditions which requires carrying a lot of different gear to respond to the changes. The wide temperature changes also cause a lot of freezing and thawing so you conceivably run into every single type of trail condition from dry to underwater to frozen solid, all on the same trail. I personally don't care for it because you and your gear get absolutely filthy so I try to plan hikes in traditionally dry areas to minimize the mess.

Mornings may be still cool enough for hard monorail. early spring can have boilerplate ice fields needing crampons. Mid day too warm for pants. Afternoon slushpuppy type ice makes you wish you brought gaiters. River crossings that make you wish you brought an ark. IMO its winter with more ice and questionable river crossings but you get to wear shorts more frequently. (zip offs are my friend) Best be on your toes.

edit: the bugs come out!

My son and I went to a double peak in May last year. First one was perfect. Second one we got carried off by black flies. It was a crazy amount.

Dumb question, what is this monorail you speak of? The (previously) frozen trail?

I found out quick last year about overdressing and underdressing at the same time. It was 70 one weekend, then 30 the next with ice on the rocks. And jeans.....bad. First miserable trip with those was my last. Tried to warn my son in law, he didn't listen. He found out the hard way as well.

Framerman said:

Dumb question, what is this monorail you speak of? The (previously) frozen trail?

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During winter everyone more or less walks the same track of snow day after day on a given trail. This compacts it tremendously. In Spring as all of the snow melts this heavily packed track melts much more slowly than its surroundings so a snow "railing" emerges, often 1-2' high compared to the surrounding ground, which is often very wet and muddy. It's not bad while the monorail is still fairly cold and solid but as it melts it crumbles and gets very unstable and walking trails with it can become very.....interesting. Not unusual to have monorail sections well into May depending on where you are hiking.

Now imagine enough rotting snow all around to cover this and hide the edges. One step you go down half an inch and hit this solid monorail, next step you go hip-deep in mashed potatoes.

Lot to be said for taking up whitewater paddling with a wet suit in spring conditions. With respect to mud, green mountain club closes the Long Trail during mud season and few folks follow the standard advice which is to hike through the mud rather than finding a dry way around it. Given the right spring conditions a 2 foot wide trail can become a 20 foot wide mud pit in a couple of weekends. There are south facing slopes that melt out fairly quickly and hardened trails like Tuckermans Ravine that can be used to keep in shape but black flies are another story. Either buy bug gear, go paddling or stay away from the woods

In April, I usually decide to hike in Southern NH or the seacoast where most of the snow has melted and signs of spring begin to emerge. It gives me an excuse to explore lesser peaks and trails. It depends on the season/weather, but I usually start running into problems with black flies in the White Mountains in June...cooler temps in May keep them away.

April can be the least busy time to hike! In VT due to mud season they close some of the trails. Rotting snow and the Monorail can be a pain, when frozen the rail is not bad.

A lot of people visit places they've read about in other states. There are very scenic sections of the AT along the CT/MA border. The Catskills tend to melt out before the ADK's and the Whites. I'd imagine close to the water, the Camden Hills and Acadia are snow free long before BSP and Sugarloaf.

Later in April and early May, look for trails that go up South facing areas with either Slides or open hardwoods. The South Slide on Tripyramid should be snowfree before the Pine Bend or North Slide Approach just leaving the top of ridge to worry about.

There is good info here. I love the nartreb pic !
For me, and others, there are 5 Seasons: Winter, Mud, Spring, Summer and Fall.
I've decided to use Mud to put up wood for Winter and perform camp maintenance.
I enjoy the fact that I can do this now without feeling guilty about missing any of the other 4 seasons.

nartreb said:

Now imagine enough rotting snow all around to cover this and hide the edges. One step you go down half an inch and hit this solid monorail, next step you go hip-deep in mashed potatoes.

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Great photo! Garfield? Carrigain?

One issue not yet mentioned is hollow snow, where the top is still frozen but it has melted from the bottom at wet spots so every few steps you go crunch

A good reason to avoid the high peaks until they melt. Stay further south on lesser peaks, and for that matter south facing trails melt off faster as well.

Spring on the lower peaks might be the best season of the year. Leaves off the trees for great views, lots of sun, wildflowers, fiddleheads. Best of all, bushwhack ( not herd path trough) where there won't be a monorail or muddy trails to worry about or destroy.

So true. Bushwhacking naturally avoids many of the problems of trail travel!

I'm not much of a fan of deep mud and monorails. What I do to shorten this season:

>Prolong "winter" by choosing high, north facing routes until they start to deteriorate; switch as quickly as possible to "summer" by choosing open, lower, south facing areas.

I usually never have to deal with the problems of "spring" travel. For example, Gothics north face is often in good condition at the end of March or first week in April. Second week in April, I will bushwhack to a south facing cliffline at 700' elevation, and it will abruptly be "summer!"

I think of hollow snow & rotting snow as the same thing.

Ideally, my March & April would look like this in most years.

Through March, anything in the Whites and ADK are winter-like. (Generally, some years colder and snowier, some melt sooner but you should be fine, A couple of years ago, I did the Moosilauke Carriage Path in late March and the bottom was Spring & the top was winter but that's wide & south facing through hardwoods down low. Still snowy from 112 by the Beaver Brook Trail)

I also work with scouts so I'll do a last weekend trip with them near the coast. Early to mid-April, the AT in CT. (In some years I was in PA for business & picked up parts of the AT there or NJ's High Point. Last Year, Bear Mt, NY was snow free on 4/24 & Race and Everett were snow-free also a couple of days later. (some ice found off trail in a dark area).

By late April, the Catskills are usually devoid of meaningful snow. Looking back at my records, I see I did hikes there on two 4/29's one year apart (2006 & 2007) 2006 was the eastern 1/2 of the Devil's Path & other than a patch or two of ice in shady areas, it was snow free. A year later, Balsam Lake & Graham had around 6" at 3,000 and above, scenic but not dangerous.

2005 Did Morgan & Percival on 4/22 & only a piece or two of rotting snow up high & a little in the cave, again, none of consequence.

Every year is different, it it doesn't approach normal temps soon, you may get winter trail conditions through mid-April in the higher peaks of NY, ME & NH. IN CT, the weather forecasters are teasing us with a possible 50 temp Saturday. May be just the 1st or 2nd one we've had this year. We usually have a few close to it at least before now.

Roy said:

Garfield? Carrigain?

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19 Mile Brook, April 2008.

RollingRock said:

In April, I usually decide to hike in Southern NH or the seacoast where most of the snow has melted and signs of spring begin to emerge. It gives me an excuse to explore lesser peaks and trails. It depends on the season/weather, but I usually start running into problems with black flies in the White Mountains in June...cooler temps in May keep them away.

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Living here in Plymouth, I do the same. But go to Ossipees, Belknaps, Ragged, etc with a 4k or two mixed in if I'm up for the punishment spring snow and melt bring. Seeking out south facing slopes where possible.

Living in Central MA, I find spring is the perfect time to hike the Taconic and Berkshire ranges.

TCD said:

>Prolong "winter" by choosing high, north facing routes until they start to deteriorate; switch as quickly as possible to "summer" by choosing open, lower, south facing areas.

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Solid advice! Last year I never stopped hiking, but we definitely mixed it up in the spring. We had decent winter conditions until the end of March, although a thaw wiped out most of the snow bridges. This is the season that makes me not want to do the grid, as doing the bigger peaks this time of year can have very nice stretches, but generally at some point you'll walk through a 'crap zone' where the melting snow meets the mud. The post holing can be maddening, and avoiding the mud can lead to erosion problems.

My trips included:

4/1: Tecumseh Loop (CW, skied back on Tripoli Rd, weeeee. NW side had lots of snow, as did higher elevations.)
4/6: Twins from 7 Dwarfs (not much snow, but it was cold and super packed down low, tons of snow up high)
4/20: Rattlesnakes - SLA (no snow, just about no mud, no bugs, no leaves - nice warm day to explore every trail!)
4/27: Mt Cube and Smart Mtn (some snow on cube's NW side, decent amount in the conifers on J trail up smarts, almost none on the south side)
5/13: Tremont and Owl's cliff (a little bit of ice on the upper north side of Tremont, no major crossings)
5/26: Coppermine trail up to Bridal Veil falls (good flow, and no major unbridged crossings)
5/27: Kinsman Pond via Cascade Basin (this was a terrible decision as there are major crossings that were very high due to that Memorial weekend snow - but it did make for a good story)

By June, things were pretty much snow/ice/mud free last year. Hope that helps give you an idea on spring hiking trips!

Most of you will never be gridders!

Nor will I!