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Mrs. Magoo and I got an early start from Peck Rd.
There were a couple of hunter vehicles in the parking area and sure enough we passed 2 hunters maybe 1/2 mile up the trail. Not sure why they were on the trail. It seems to me that hikers would scatter the deer before they could get a shot off, but about when we passed the lean-to we heard a shot, so maybe they got lucky.
It was definitely a microspike hike. The trailhead temperature was in the low teens so of course the wet woods road in the beginning was icy. When we got to the lean-to, the trail was covered with a light coating of new snow and some ice underneath. Later there were a couple of inches of hard packed snow, completely frozen, that didn't give under your footsteps. Finally, above 3000' there was a pretty good snowshoe track, but it was hard as a rock. Microspikes worked well for all of those conditions.
The sky had some blue in it when we started, but it became overcast and from time to time we had some flurries with a thin layer of "accumulation". There was an eerie view to the north, and when we returned to the first lookout there was an eerie apparition of Blackhead and Black Dome. Thomas Cole was shrouded in a misty cloud. The weather stayed very cold until we signed out at noon. Don't think it was going to warm up much after that either.
There were lots of people out despite the cold. Most must have come from Rte 23 since there were only 3 small parties signed in after us.
There were a couple of hunter vehicles in the parking area and sure enough we passed 2 hunters maybe 1/2 mile up the trail. Not sure why they were on the trail. It seems to me that hikers would scatter the deer before they could get a shot off, but about when we passed the lean-to we heard a shot, so maybe they got lucky.
It was definitely a microspike hike. The trailhead temperature was in the low teens so of course the wet woods road in the beginning was icy. When we got to the lean-to, the trail was covered with a light coating of new snow and some ice underneath. Later there were a couple of inches of hard packed snow, completely frozen, that didn't give under your footsteps. Finally, above 3000' there was a pretty good snowshoe track, but it was hard as a rock. Microspikes worked well for all of those conditions.
The sky had some blue in it when we started, but it became overcast and from time to time we had some flurries with a thin layer of "accumulation". There was an eerie view to the north, and when we returned to the first lookout there was an eerie apparition of Blackhead and Black Dome. Thomas Cole was shrouded in a misty cloud. The weather stayed very cold until we signed out at noon. Don't think it was going to warm up much after that either.
There were lots of people out despite the cold. Most must have come from Rte 23 since there were only 3 small parties signed in after us.
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