drweo
New member
There was not nearly as much snow from the big storm on this route as there was in the Hudson Valley. About 4-6 inches of powder over not much else, especially in the lower elevations. Three of us barebooted and then used microspikes on the Biscuit Brook Trail, following a hiker who used snowshoes for a while but went back to either bareboots or spikes. We put on the snowshoes for the bushwhack, which helped a bit with the traction, as this was where the most new snow was. The south facing ridge got lots of sun all day so the new snow got a little mushy. The forest is pretty open but there are enough saplings and down logs that it is difficult to keep a straight line going up. But the slope is pretty gradual with just a couple steep ledges up high. The route levels off up there, so it fools you into thinking you are at the summit, but there is more to go, both distance and a little more elevation. We found the canister fairly easily, though I remember searching for it last time I climbed this mt. The hiker who preceded us on the trail met us at the canister; he had already been to Big Indian! We were moving a lot slower. The trip down in the afternoon sun was almost balmy, and low down the snow on the trail was almost gone in spots. We switched to spikes and bareboots back on the trail. Beautiful day.
