Mount Garfield

Trail: Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail

Conditions: Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable)

“It was a tale of 2 seasons. We started in the rain. The road walk and first 1.5 miles of the trail was BARE GROUND. We may have had to relearn how to walk on it. About .5 miles from Halfway rock, the ice began. George continued to bare boot but I donned spikes. Beyond that point, the ice was more present with still some stretches of bare ground. There were many large stretches where the trail was a stream and very muddy. We gave up on staying clean or keeping our feet dry. There were also stretches where we could hear the water running under the packed snow on the trail. The monorail in those areas was very unstable. I busted through a few thin spots. Up higher the trail was more firm and held my weight well. The ice diminished as we got higher up and the snow depth is still impressive. The actual summit has a lot of bare rock. It felt like true spring conditions - a little of everything so bring a good sense of humor.”

Trail: Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail

Conditions: Wet Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Mud - Minor/Avoidable

“Great day on Garfield! Bare booted from gate for first 4+ miles when we added Microspikes/Hillsound Pro's as we continued on to the summit. The snow pack on the upper mountain was very firm. Kept the spikes on for the descent to the water crossings. The warm temps in the afternoon made for some mud on Gale River Rd.”

Trail: Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail

Conditions: Wet Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder

“Met just a couple other parties doing Garfield. Crossings were thoughtful. Snowshoes went for a ride for the first 6 miles...but were put to good use after that! I was glad to have lugged them; the trail was unbroken and the snow was deep enough that the trail sign is still at foot-level. The steep descent from Garfield was interesting with the stream flowing down several icy steps; someone had started to go this way and turned around. I pushed on and was glad I did, but it was tiring. I lost the ridge trail several times with all the schwacking above/under/around blowdowns. I opted to descend when I hit the Gale River Trail junction rather than tack on Galehead. All in all a good, long, quiet solo day!”