Hikes with Hannah
Member
Via Polecat Ski Trail and Wildcat Ridge Trail
Good day to finally get to the Cats. Trails in good shape except WRT between D and C peaks in need of some thorough brushing. Barebooted the first half mile up the slopes, then put on the microspikes and left them on until about half a mile after the summit of D on the way down. The snow was much softer in the afternoon, so while they weren't needed too much headed back from A, there were enough areas that were still bare ice where I was glad to have them. There were isolated 1-2' areas of drifting on the top mile or so of the slopes - I didn't use snowshoes today, but after the next decent snowfall they will definitely make that section much easier - not too many sections on the ridge where they'd be needed yet though.
Hannah had a pretty good day - tere were a few short tricky icy spots on the ridge, particularly between D and C peaks, but she navigated them with no problems. Not much running water this time of year, but certainly abundant clean snow along the whole route for sno-cones.
It's impressive how some ski trails can feel MUCH steeper when you're hiking up and down them compared to skiing down them ... all in all a great day out!
- Sarah and Hannah
Good day to finally get to the Cats. Trails in good shape except WRT between D and C peaks in need of some thorough brushing. Barebooted the first half mile up the slopes, then put on the microspikes and left them on until about half a mile after the summit of D on the way down. The snow was much softer in the afternoon, so while they weren't needed too much headed back from A, there were enough areas that were still bare ice where I was glad to have them. There were isolated 1-2' areas of drifting on the top mile or so of the slopes - I didn't use snowshoes today, but after the next decent snowfall they will definitely make that section much easier - not too many sections on the ridge where they'd be needed yet though.
Hannah had a pretty good day - tere were a few short tricky icy spots on the ridge, particularly between D and C peaks, but she navigated them with no problems. Not much running water this time of year, but certainly abundant clean snow along the whole route for sno-cones.
It's impressive how some ski trails can feel MUCH steeper when you're hiking up and down them compared to skiing down them ... all in all a great day out!
- Sarah and Hannah
