woodland wanderings: Mount Willey

via Kedron Flume Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, Willey Range Trail, (Mt. Willey), and back down...

I really wanted to hike up to Mount Pierce, watch the sunrise, and possibly take a jaunt over to Eisenhower. I needed a relatively easy hike to ease me back into winter hiking. When I told my husband he said, “Why would you want to do that? We’ve been to Pierce; it’s a waste of a hike.” He kept bringing it up until I changed my plans. I’m not sure why he cared; he was home watching the football game.

I decided on Mt. Willey. It’s a steep little bugger of a mountain and I found myself grumbling, sending imaginary darts at my husband’s head, in my mind. I love wandering through the woods during winter but I don’t love winter mountain hiking. It’s more treacherous, boring, and the rewards don’t come (at least not for me) until I reach the higher elevations where trees start to look like Christmas cards. If it wasn’t for the hikers I met (Dan, Ralph and Darrell) who distracted me from the monotonous, endless, ascent, I would have turned back before I reached the summit.

I had on my new Hillsound Trail Crampons (http://hillsound.com/hillsound-product/trail-crampon/) trying to determine if they were better than Kahtoola Microspikes. I ordered a size based on the fit of my microspikes. Don’t do this.

The Kahtoola’s run small and the Hillsound’s run a little larger. For example. I ordered a size Medium in the Kahtoola’s and they were too tight for my winter hiking boots. A Large fits my boots perfectly. Based on that I ordered a Large (following the size chart) of the Hillsound’s and they were too big. They looked like they fit okay until I started hiking on a steep incline and they started to slide around on the shoe. I read reviews that said they move around on the shoe. However, I think it's more of a sizing issue than a product flaw. The other thing I noticed was the snowballing on the metal plates. It wasn’t bad, a couple of kicks against the other foot released the snow. At higher elevations it wasn’t a problem since the snow was harder and less sticky.

The recent snow hid the narrow trail making it tricky to follow in places, especially in the lower elevations. If you keep your mind focused, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. There is a section of the Kedron trail that is pretty eroded with loose rocks, shale and tree roots. Add running water and ice to the mix and it’s a challenge on the descent. There are three water crossings, two small walk-overs and a larger one - the Kedron Flume. There are lovely views here. It’s worth the time to stop and take photos. It was an easy walk across today, but may be an issue after heavy rains.

Kedron Flume on the way up. The falls go over a ledge - could be tricky crossing in the spring thaw.

I loved the infamous ladders! They are referred to as ladders in blogs, but they are in-fact steep stairs. I wish there were more of them. I thought they were easy to ascend and descend even with the few inches of snow. Once you finish hiking the stairs, your mind will try to fool you into believing you are close to the summit. Nope…there is still another 800 feet (or thereabouts) of elevation and it took me another 40 minutes before I reached the summit.

Mountain-Forecast promised bright sunny skies in the morning. I have lived in New England all my life and it shouldn’t have been a surprise to emerge onto the outlook completely engulfed by fog. As I walked back to the trail I asked one of the other hikers where the actual summit was, he pointed down to a small snow covered cairn. Haaa : ).