Stash
Active member
Date of Hike: Feb 2, 2013
Trail Conditions: Hard packed snow from the rain -> warm -> cold. Quite a bit of ice on lower sections with open snow areas heavily crusted. A little softer higher up with little ice. Best to stay on monorail higher as light postholing if you step off. Some sections of CM descending from Carter Dome to Zeta Pass getting a bit narrow on the side hill (like walking on a ledge against the pines on the uphill side). Crossings not bad but take a little thought. Lowest crossing on 19 Mile Brook Trail where the bridge was washed out has a few branches spanning an area that makes crossing easier. Fairly solid on the way up but a bit cracked on the way back. Use caution. A few blow-downs with one major (crawl under and many pine branches) about 1/3 the way up switchbacks on Carter Dome Trail.
Special Equipment Required: Used MicroSpikes and Hillsounds most of the way. I switched MS to crampons for the steep climb up CM from the hut and it worked well, though a few bare rocks toward the tip. Mike wokked harder than I did in this section in his Hillsounds.
Comments: Hard pack on the lower sections was like walking on rock. Not ideal for someone who likes winter hiking because the snow softens the steps.
Trail Conditions: Hard packed snow from the rain -> warm -> cold. Quite a bit of ice on lower sections with open snow areas heavily crusted. A little softer higher up with little ice. Best to stay on monorail higher as light postholing if you step off. Some sections of CM descending from Carter Dome to Zeta Pass getting a bit narrow on the side hill (like walking on a ledge against the pines on the uphill side). Crossings not bad but take a little thought. Lowest crossing on 19 Mile Brook Trail where the bridge was washed out has a few branches spanning an area that makes crossing easier. Fairly solid on the way up but a bit cracked on the way back. Use caution. A few blow-downs with one major (crawl under and many pine branches) about 1/3 the way up switchbacks on Carter Dome Trail.
Special Equipment Required: Used MicroSpikes and Hillsounds most of the way. I switched MS to crampons for the steep climb up CM from the hut and it worked well, though a few bare rocks toward the tip. Mike wokked harder than I did in this section in his Hillsounds.
Comments: Hard pack on the lower sections was like walking on rock. Not ideal for someone who likes winter hiking because the snow softens the steps.
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