Yeah, that’s the summit but I didn’t make it today. Without snow this is a really nice hike. We get to the summit in about three hours.
Today, in the snow, the exertion was so intense I only went a bit more than 4 miles up in 3 hours and then I turned around. How deep? Well, here is a photo of one of the places where I broke through the snow and went up to my hip. I have my poles in place to show how deep the footprint is:
The combination of so much snow and lots of windstorms lately created a major blowdown problem. Here is one of the minor obstacles:
In one place I had to stop and figure out how to get by. I should have taken a picture but I was kind of preoccupied with the immediate challenge. I wound up having to go off-trail, partly down a hill, to get around the monster tree.
I should have brought my snowshoes. I had read a trip report that scoffed at snowshoes, calling them overkill. And indeed they might have been overkill that day, but today, it was sunny and (relatively) warm so the snow was getting soft and it was easy to break through. Ouch!
But, no regrets. I wanted a vigorous workout and hiking 8.6 miles up and down a very snowy mountain for 5.5 hours is pretty good exercise. And, as always, the views are to die for:
I may go back next weekend, this time with the snowshoes. Live and learn.