The Snow Is Melting

11/13/2012

Rain and wind are a great combination for melting snow. We received .71" of rain yesterday. The high was 43 and the low was 19. The temperature is dropping. Thank goodness it stopped raining before the temperature dropped. The melting snow will turn to ice, with these low temperatures. This means there will be patches of ice on the trails. Alum and Rainbow are good to go. Trillium has a few trees down and there is a land slide on the upper section of Trillium. We hope to have that taken care of today. We are looking forward to a few days of sun and warmer temperatures. It is nice seeing grass again.

doug

11/13/2012 12:14:40 am

It makes one wonder about what kind of winter lies ahead. I hear all sorts of predictions, tall tales, myths, "signs", and so forth, and all I do is wait it out as I am not qualified to predict the weather, ,aking the most of it throughout the season, continuing to take my day hikes when the weather isn't terrible. I'm curious about what other readers of this blog think about or predict for the months ahead. Not long left in the lodge's season and I guess everyone is looking forward to that transition. G'day.

Mike

11/13/2012 11:20:19 am

The forecast I've seen for here in Indiana is night time darkness followed by some daylight filtered by gray cloudiness. Time to hibernate!

Brian N bama

11/13/2012 01:15:12 am

Well I am back to reality today. Looks like I brought all the snow with me to the top and then brought it back down with me. My mind is already pondering when I can make at least a day hike back to the top. Alum was amazing friday when we came up. Lots of snow but very easy hike if prepared. Only saw 3 people with any sort of traction device on our way up. Crazy, crazy. See you soon.

Bill B.

11/13/2012 02:01:03 am

We came up last Friday on Rainbow. The remaining ice and snow on the upper portions of the trail were challenging, but yaktrax pro and yaktrax xtr worked well; I recommend them highly. Our thanks to the staff for their superb service and hospitality.

Kristy

11/13/2012 03:41:18 am

Boo Hoo. Makes me want to cry!! Sure was hoping for some of that snow when I came up next week.....guess I will have to jump up and come from Florida when the snow hits the ground next time...:(

Debi

11/13/2012 03:56:29 am

Probably won't get anymore snow this year,, JP is coming. :)

Terri

11/13/2012 04:13:10 am

Agree...Snow arrived so Alysson could take pictures of it for JP to prove it does happen. But will it just be a tease for him?

Brian N bama

11/13/2012 05:30:30 am

Um Debi, that snow was for me!LOL Oh and FYI, the wife said she really did enjoy it. She wore her hotpink ski pants the whole time. We had a blast. I believe it was the best time I've had up top.

Debi

11/13/2012 10:36:48 am

Just like Disney, sometimes wishes do come true. I like pink too. I wear a bright colored shirt so if I fall off the mountain, people can find me easier. lol Glad you all had fun! It don't matter if its icy or not, just going there is well worth it. Yep, I have had trax for year. My husband says I don't need those. I finally bought him and my son some and man, they loved them. And T. Hutton, take your shoe off before you put the screws in. lol I remember the ice riding days on dirtbikes or on the lakes where my husband would put screws in his tires to grip and grab. Everyone always had there own pattern. It was lots of fun watching them fly across the ice and lay there bikes down slidways. The time one of his buddies caught his snowpants and ripped a huge hole in them, with those screws. Good times! Play hard days!

Audie

11/13/2012 04:04:08 am

We loved our stay Monday. Already got Oct 29th 2013 booked. I'm on a count down again!!!!!!!

Bryan

11/13/2012 05:05:42 am

If hikers can't afford buy ice cleats, I have an offer to save money, go to Home Depot buy hex screws for .97 cents, and screw it in your under boots 10 of thems on it. And u can walk on ice :-) as long as your boot have thick rubber which is good for hex screws (1/4 to 3/8). If your boot is not thick rubber, please do not put hex screws in.

T Hutton

11/13/2012 08:27:12 am

Ouch! I just drilled a hex screw right thru my boot into my foot!

dan

11/13/2012 05:58:28 am

Did the same thing on my winter hiking boots, has worked pretty good so far. Thinking about trying it on athletic shoes if I can find thick enough soles.

Jacob

11/13/2012 09:24:47 am

Hi Allyson,

I'm planning on taking Alum up on Sunday. Forecast looks doable. It's my 3rd year in a row and I want to keep it going! I've never hiked in these temps before. Could you give me some advice on preparation/gear? Thank you!!

elktonbrant

11/13/2012 11:39:41 am

Jacob,
LAYERS, LAYERS, LAYERS. Make sure you have a very good wicking base layer (with at least one spare so you can change at the top). Also, you want to be cold at the start of the hike, as your body will heat up rather quickly as you go up Alum. Have at least one extra pair of gloves, as cold fingers are a good start of hypothermia. Be able to take clothes on or off to regulate your temperature.

Try and have some sort of hot liquid you can consume, but still drink water as if it was summertime. Don't forget yaktrax, stabilicers, etc. as there will likely be some ice above the Alum Cave Bluffs. Some people like the chemical hand/foot warmers.

Don't forget the time change; leave enough time to make it down safely before sunset.

Jacob

11/15/2012 12:04:07 pm

Thanks for the info! I'm sort of concerned about my feet & whether conditions will be icy or snow/slushy. I'm planning on wearing my Brooks Cascadia trail shoes w/ Ice Trekkers & carrying extra socks. I have waterproof boots w/ wool liners, but my feet always sweat in them. If it's mainly ice, do you think I can do the trail shoes?

John Potter

11/13/2012 12:38:23 pm

Smooth, fast walk down Bullhead this morning. Some snow for the first mile or so, some blowdown (easily crawled through, over or around), and some rock hopping over runoff.

doug

11/14/2012 12:50:23 am

Great advice from everyone. I made my own ice cleats, too, in an old pair of heavy Vasque boots, and I use them sometimes, but more often wear the commerical ones. Debi: I''ve ridden dirt bikes many, many years, but never on ice like you described; sounds like a lot of fun. Trail advice: I took a couple from the city hiking in the Park a few years ago and thought I had prepared them thoroughly. But only about three miles into our hike of about 15 miles the guy developed a bad problem with his foot. It was ugly and a result of his having trimmed his toenails that morning. This isn't the most pleasant subject to write or read about, but I have to say that one should trim their toenails at least two or more days before undertaking a long hike, It will perhaps eliminate a problem. We had to cut short that hike because of that one inflamed toe ! Layers, layers, layers.......good advice !

Barbara

11/14/2012 02:41:22 pm

Why does it make a difference when you trim toenails in relation to hiking? Really want to know as I have lost toenails last two years , one year I trimmed early and one year did not trim. Both from jamming toes on way down.

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The Snow Is Melting

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