May hiking

[hikingslut]

Hey everyone,

I'm starting to plan a solo hiking trip (2 days) aiming for sometime in mid May. Any suggestions on what the trail conditions might be like / equipment I should bring? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MichaelJ]

Where are you looking to hike? Conditions vary greatly right now from Southern New England to the Whites, Daks, VT, or ME. You'll need to be more specific, lest the answers range all the way from dry ground to deep mud to still snow and ice and winter-like conditions.

 

[hikingslut]

Probably heading up to the Whites. I was thinking about the Lafayette / Franconia Notch area.

 

[David Metsky]

Expect undermined and melting snow up high, snowshoes probably won't help. Above treeline should be clear.

 

[Mike P.]

I concur with Dave, I was just there last week. A couple of weeks will raise the snow line some but unless it rains a ton & it's freakishly warm day & NIGHT (night is key, 24 hour melt cycles melt more than just daylight melting)

Some south facing trails will melt out a little faster & lower areas in hardwoods will be melted but higher fir & spruce areas will have a lot of snow in them. (Between Willey & Field on Sunday (4/27) you could still end up in thigh deep spruce traps.

If I was heading up Lafayette soon, I'd head up OBP since a lot of it does have some type of southern or SW aspect to it.

 

[MichaelJ]

We were in the Pemi yesterday (Sat). Below 3500' there were just spots of snow here and there where drifts collected, and if the trail passed through said spots, there was still a monorail. With the rain to soak down the snow then the cold overnight temps to firm it up the past few days, that monorail is firm enough to support you bareboot if you can step really, really carefully.

Above 3500' or so all is a gamble. There were trail sections where monorail would hold, spots where you would posthole no matter what you did, and up on the top of Owl's Head there were patches where you could step anywhere and be supported.

The real risk right now is where the trail is rocky or crossed with roots or blowdown. If you posthole in just the wrong spot, you can small a knee into one of those unseen obstacles. Repeatedly. Bleeding all over the snow.

Up high, snowshoes will still make a difference where the packed trail crosses snow drifts. I had to pull myself out of one which my compatriots (with MSR snowshoes) stepped right over.

Of course, it will all be different again by next weekend.

 

[hikingslut]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.