yogi
New member
Date of Hike:12/27/14
Trail Conditions: Just about everything you can think of at one point or another. Mostly crusty, unsupportive, unbroken snow though.
Special Equipment Required: Snow shoes, micros and tried crampons on the slide. Could have changed gear often so I opted to suck it up as much as possible.
Comments: Groomed corduroy to the service road bridge. From here, Livermore has been untouched since before the rains. Prior to the rain, 3-4 bare booters left post holes the width of the trail. Crusty snow that sometimes supported me in snowshoes, and sometimes not. Tiring on the ankles, with the rotted post holes, you always broke through at a bad angle. Scaur Ridge untouched since who knows when. Crust was harder and was able to fly up this beautiful trail. Following the actual trail is difficult at the top due to debris and ice chunks covering the entire forest floor. Just went straight for the ridge and came out very near the intersection. Found upper Pine Bend to be a real pain. More debris, ice chucks, poorly placed blow downs. Snow shoes worked, but spikes may have been easier. Swapped to spikes for the ridge and this worked, more debris and following the actual trail was difficult but not necessary. Note this if following my tracks. South slide was a hoot. A little bit of everything. Rotten frozen post holes, soft waist deep mashed potatoes, hard slick ice, bare rocks. Logging road back to Livermore Road was again difficult due to old boot tracks and moose and deer post holes over thin and thick crust. Some bare ground and rocks where wet. Brook crossings were easy, with the last big crossing done by stepping on slightly submerged rocks.
Strong knees and ankles recommended for this route.
Also note that route finding was difficult at times and required some thought, mostly between the south slide and the logging road out. And between the peaks where it really didn't matter.
Played frogger with cross country skiers the last couple miles. Most were very friendly, some not so much.
Your name: Dave K. and Tucker
Your E-mail address: [email protected]
Trail Conditions: Just about everything you can think of at one point or another. Mostly crusty, unsupportive, unbroken snow though.
Special Equipment Required: Snow shoes, micros and tried crampons on the slide. Could have changed gear often so I opted to suck it up as much as possible.
Comments: Groomed corduroy to the service road bridge. From here, Livermore has been untouched since before the rains. Prior to the rain, 3-4 bare booters left post holes the width of the trail. Crusty snow that sometimes supported me in snowshoes, and sometimes not. Tiring on the ankles, with the rotted post holes, you always broke through at a bad angle. Scaur Ridge untouched since who knows when. Crust was harder and was able to fly up this beautiful trail. Following the actual trail is difficult at the top due to debris and ice chunks covering the entire forest floor. Just went straight for the ridge and came out very near the intersection. Found upper Pine Bend to be a real pain. More debris, ice chucks, poorly placed blow downs. Snow shoes worked, but spikes may have been easier. Swapped to spikes for the ridge and this worked, more debris and following the actual trail was difficult but not necessary. Note this if following my tracks. South slide was a hoot. A little bit of everything. Rotten frozen post holes, soft waist deep mashed potatoes, hard slick ice, bare rocks. Logging road back to Livermore Road was again difficult due to old boot tracks and moose and deer post holes over thin and thick crust. Some bare ground and rocks where wet. Brook crossings were easy, with the last big crossing done by stepping on slightly submerged rocks.
Strong knees and ankles recommended for this route.
Also note that route finding was difficult at times and required some thought, mostly between the south slide and the logging road out. And between the peaks where it really didn't matter.
Played frogger with cross country skiers the last couple miles. Most were very friendly, some not so much.
Your name: Dave K. and Tucker
Your E-mail address: [email protected]
