Mount Isolation

Trail: Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhacks, Davis Path, Isolation Spur

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Slush

“I started in bare boots and used no traction until the river crossing. The snow was quite firm early this morning and I had pretty good traction even over the ice. At the water crossing, I opted for Hillsound Pros because it was getting warm and I figured the snow would be sticky plus I like the longer spikes to bite into softening snow. They worked well. The snow was balling up on my poles but my feet were pretty okay. I kept them on all the way back to my car. The trail held up well despite the temps making it to 60 degrees but the top layer totally turned to slush so I was kind of skiing all the way down. I am light enough that I stayed on top and did not posthole at all but snowshoes may be needed it you weigh more than a 5th grader. Pretty nice spring conditions out there today!”

Trail: Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhacks, Davis Path, Isolation Spur

Conditions: Wet Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush

“Typical spring with a bonus 20-25 degrees day, so the snow was very hard, sometimes even beside the trail, so microspikes were used throughout, though it might become needed for snowshoes soon and will continue to disintegrate and fill in with postholes. I fell through a few times, not my normal thing, but mostly in the engine hill bushwhack and ISO bushwhack, which are both very choppy, but often felt easier to step into the frozen post holes than not, so that’s why I kept spikes on, it felt easier to dance around the Swiss cheese monorail! It was exhausting, and wonderful, and striking as usual - I recommend this on a cold day but many open water areas are opening - large stretches of water already on trail with muddy patches, so I’d try this soon or wait until the snow melts completely and this turns into a swamp again! Yay!”

Trail: Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhacks, Davis Path, Isolation Spur

Conditions: Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush

“2-4” of fresh snow made for nice conditions right out of the parking lot. We wore spikes as did 3 others that started before us. I chose to switch to snowshoes before the first bushwhack. The trail was solid and the fresh snow made for pretty decent conditions. The usual wet spots were easy to get through/over or around. The crossing was fairly easy with careful footing. Water level was ok. We followed someone else’s tracks on the next bushwhack and it was hell! OMG ducking/diving,squeezing through total crap. Should have checked out tracks 1 or 2 more times before that point. Finally on Davis Path and pretty smooth sailing to the summit. Tossed on all the layers before heading up to the summit. On the descent we to the correct whack and life was good. No problem crossing again. Both of us had been in snowshoes for a while by now and they stayed on all the way to the car. I think the trail was nicely frosted after we finished. Conditions much better than expected!”