Sleeping Giant in the snow

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Violet and Yellow Trails - 5.4 miles


After all the snow a few days ago, it was time to get out into the woods for a couple of hours.  Head to toe on the Giant and back again.  I picked the Violet and Yellow trails since they stay off the rocks (for the most part anyway) and were likely to have the best footing.  Packed snow most of the way, with just a bit of blazing my own trail.




Much of the Violet Trail had only one or two sets of footprints - human anyway.  Dozens of others.  It was still easy to pick out the dog and deer and squirrel tracks in the snow.  There were a couple interesting prints that reminded me of some needed gear.  I could pick out the spiral wire pattern of Yaktrax Pro and the boxy pattern of Kako ICEtrekkers.  For any of you out there who has tried one or the other - what's best for traction on packed snow and ice on the rocky trails around here?  Leave a comment and help me as I start shopping.

Violet Trail near the Quarry


Mill River from the dam


Yellow Trail at the Green crossover
The trails have seen a lot of traffic - the snow has been packed down along most of the way to make the walking easy.  There were a few sections on the Violet still over a foot deep where only snow-shoers have gone, but the Yellow was packed all the way.  Time to get outside everyone!


Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 2, 2011 at 9:05 AM

    Nice shot of the Giant's head! Happy New Year!

    Re: foot gear - most of us on Trails Crew have rejected the Yak trax (if I recall correctly) - I have Stabil-icers from LL Bean - except on sheer ice, they seem to work pretty well.

    ReplyDelete

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