I think we all can agree that this winter has been a roller coaster ride from bitter, windy, cold temperatures to mild temperatures and rain. Then, there was “the” snowstorm. We have not had a snowstorm like that in a few years. It was one that just kept on giving. I do love winter and I was happy when the snow finally arrived and I could play in it. The only issue is that with that much snow it is accompanied by brutal trail breaking. I’ll be the first to admit, I can break trail for a bit but I am ever so appreciative of the ‘real’ trail breakers. Yep, they are out there. Some hikers love to break out that fresh, pristine snow.
I had been saying to my friends daily that I wanted to climb the Ranger trail up Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain as I had seen some photos of some gorgeous ice walls on that trail. After a ski outback, I decided to give Poko a go. I like to take my dog Bucky on my Poko hikes but with the amount of snow we had received, he would not do well.
Upon arriving at the Ranger trailhead, it was clear by the 6 cars parked along the road that the parking lot was not plowed. Those six cars did give me an optimistic feeling that the trail would be broken out. Pack on my back and snowshoes on my feet, I plodded my way through deep snow to the trail. The trail was not great but someone had been on it with snowshoes. Unfortunately someone else had also been on the trail afterwards without the help of snowshoes. Also, I think all those parked cars were ice climbers not hikers snowshoeing as I never did see any of them.
When I reached the sign in register, there was a pair of older snowshoes leaning against it. I thought to myself,” Seriously, you left your snowshoes to only post hole the whole trail!” I looked up the meaning of post hole and came up with the following. If you are postholing while hiking, it means your legs are sinking deep into the snow with every step — usually up past your knees or even up to your hip, which robs you of most of your mobility and makes walking even a short distance into an exhausting proposition. The term is a literal reference to the way a fence post sinks into the ground. But in this case your leg is the fencepost. As I snowshoed along, it improved the trail and each person wearing snowshoes on the trail after me would improve it more eventually making it a nicely packed trail.
I continued on carefully, as the trail was partly smooth but partly covered in large boot holes easy to twist an ankle on. When I arrived at the icy section that I was so looking forward to, the icy rock walls were mostly covered with a dusting of snow. I took care as I navigated the icy ledges and with the hefty crampon on my snowshoe, it went well. After conquering the ice, I turned around and looked down and thought to myself, do I really want to go down that?
From that point on, the trail was not pleasant. Mr. or Mrs. Barebooter had plunged well up to their hip with each step. I really don’t understand why someone would not wear snowshoes on a soft trail. It is way more work and not safe. It was definitely work to try to navigate that mess. I knew a group had started that morning on the Observer’s Trail up Poko so I gave them a call and asked about the conditions. The reply was, “Perfect, like a sidewalk.” It was going to take me a while just to reach the lean to and being solo, I figured it would be safer not to try going down the ice and return by the Observer’s trail.
Up high there were many deep drifts. At times, I would almost be able to stay on top but then plunge down to my butt. It was a chilly day but I was sweating like crazy even though I had removed my hat, mittens and jacket. Slowly but surely, one slow step at a time, I did reach the lean to.
My friends messaged me that they were on their way back from the summit. The firetower is only a few minutes away from the lean to but I definitely had all the exercise I needed. I passed on reaching the top and grabbed a bite to eat and drank some water as I waited for them.
Soon, the gang arrived and after a short visit, we began the trek back. What they said was true. The trail was almost like a sidewalk. Several times I stopped and said, “I love this!” That sentiment was far different from what I was saying climbing the other trail. Not only the conditions but the company of good friends was great. I’ve always said that I didn’t like hiking by myself, but this hike confirmed it.
It seemed like no time at all, and we arrived at a nicely plowed parking lot. Lucky for me, one of the hikers had room in their car to give me a ride to my car at the other trail head. I was pretty happy not to add an extra mile of road walking.
In the end, I give a big shout out to all those that break out the mountain trails. I know it is appreciated by many. Without your help, there are many of us who would never be able to climb our beautiful mountains.
Happy Trails!