spring hiking a no-no?

The Green Mountain Club just announced their yearly request that hikers stay off the trails until they dry out. Assume AMC does the same. All hiking trails on Vermont state lands are now closed to hiking until Memorial Day weekend. Do you hike in the mountains in the spring?

I'm trying to stay on the lower elevation, south facing trails.

The AMC does not close trails like the GMC. I still hike in the spring and when I do I try to minimize my impact on the trails by staying in the treadway and not going around mud puddles which widens the trail and can lead ot erosion troubles.

Neither the AMC nor the GMC has any authority to close trails on FS land. The only trails that actually close for mud season are State Park trails in VT. The USFS doesn't close trails (except for the Tuckerman Ravine trail for safety in spring when there snow arch comes in).

The soil in the Whites doesn't seem to hold the major mud issues that occur in the Greens, so it's not clear that a voluntary ban on hiking is needed. Major trails in the Whites are more hardened then trails in the Greens, as well. My spring hiking isn't really affected by mud season, but I'm sure to wear gaitors and just go through the mud when I find it, rather then widen the mud pits by going around.

-dave-

And with regard to impact, You still have a few weeks of snowshoe hiking on the higher peaks in VT. There is still TONS of snow in the 2000+ range in central - northern VT no matter which side of the mtn you are on.

The other suggestions were good, just stay on trail Most well traveled paths are already eroded or packed down enough so if you stay on the trail you wont have any/much impact.

VT's concern is on the more heavily (relatively) traveled trals on Camel's Hump & Mansfield although Hunger & The Wooster Range also has a closure sign. From memory Stratton on the LT from the south doesn't (or didn't in 1995)

I do try & either avoid muddy trails by doing more CT, MA & this year PA hiking in April or think it's still winter & head to NH. When you do find mud the object as Dave pointed out is to go straight through.

It's not pleasant to hike in mud. I do hike in spring on trails that are dry enough to handle me and wait for the others. Usually Memorial Day Weekend is when I will strike off for the bigger peaks...except last year when I was building an Arc instead :wink:

The biggest thing I see is that some trails are getting WAY too much traffic. One of my local haunts, Gile Mountain, is less than a 1.5 mile hike roundtrip. Someone at the Boston Globe thought that it would be a good idea to splash that hike in the paper. Overnight it became a muddied, trashridden, congested thoroughfare. The amount of damage done to the trail has been astounding....I feel bad for the locals who have to maintain it. Perhaps what could be done is to have at least a donation box or something...or at the very least instructions of proper trail etiquette.

Some places its best to avoid the mud altogether...if possible, I try to find a bypass without breaking branches etc. If the trail as turned into a brook, for instance,, walking up it can put more top soil into the stream and cause additional erosion.

Mike P. said:

VT's concern is on the more heavily (relatively) traveled trals on Camel's Hump & Mansfield although Hunger & The Wooster Range also has a closure sign. From memory Stratton on the LT from the south doesn't (or didn't in 1995)

Click to expand...

I can vouch for that. The crowds on C.H. this weekend were astounding, most of them were college chickies tho so I'm not complaining Plenty of snow still so mud is still a non issue, but thats not going to last long! I imagine that Mtn gets an amazing amount of foot traffic because of its proximity to Burlington?

Wear waterproof hightopped boots and hope for the best. If the trails are overused it can become a big problem and should probobly be closed on a case by case basis.

I wouldn't be horse-packing though; those beasts can churn a soggy trail into a deep bog.

trails....

Most of the trails, if any, up here don't get that much traffic....it's not that much of an issue....but I make a concerted effort not to disturb anything, and bring out anything I can...

Steve