North Moat Loop 2/6/14

[Guthook]

We took advantage of the fresh powder yesterday to hike up Red Ridge Trail, then across the Moat Mountain Trail to North Moat, and then back down to Diana's Bath parking area. Broke trail the entire way, with snowshoes absolutely necessary the whole way, with at least 6 inches of new, fluffy snow for the entire trail (and a lot more than that along the ridge). The crossing of Lucy Brook at the bottom of the Red Ridge trail was tricky, but possible with a little help from poles.

Snow drifts along Red Ridge made travel exhausting, and then there were a few steep climbs between the junction an North Moat Mountain where we needed to take snowshoes off and do some almost-technical climbing. We lost the trail on the way down North Moat for a short time, so if anyone follows our tracks, beware. We did find our way back to the trail pretty quickly.

All in all a fantastic day to be in the mountains. To top it off, we got to meet Tom and Atticus when we returned to the parking lot (hurrah!).

Just a few pictures should be visible here...